How to Remove Small Flies At Home?

Don’t be fooled by the small body size! Because, in fact, small flies are as annoying and harmful to human health as they are to other types of flies. Learn more about how to remove small flies at home with Rentokil in this article.

Flies are one of the most common pests that can be found year-round in Indonesia, regardless of size, whether large or small.

There are approximately 160,000 known species of flies in the world, of which seven are common in home and business settings in Indonesia. Among these fly species, some are known to have smaller body sizes than others.

There are two most common types of small flies found in Indonesia, including:

• Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster)
• Waste flies (Psychodidae)

Although small flies such as fruit flies and waste flies are small in body size, that doesn’t mean you’ll find it difficult to see them.

In general, both small flies have poor flying skills. They are commonly found circling awkwardly around sinks or drains and hovering over fruits or vegetables.

Just as annoying as spotting large flies can be, looking at the appearance of small flies can make your home look unhygienic. This is especially true because these types of small flies often appear in supposedly clean places at all times, such as kitchens and bathrooms.

Before we begin our discussion on how to remove small flies in your home, let’s first understand the characteristics of both types of small flies and where they come from in your home.

Fruit flies

As the name suggests, fruit flies are a type of small fly that has a particular interest in overcooked or fermented fruits and vegetables.

Small fruit flies are known to breed quite quickly. Female fruit flies may lay eggs about 500 items above the surface of cooked fruits, vegetables, or other rotten organic materials. And it only takes about 24–30 hours for fruit fly eggs to hatch or progress to the larval stage.

Under ideal conditions, the fruit fly life cycle from eggs to adults is complete within 8–10 days. While the adult fruit flies themselves can survive for up to 2 months.

What are the characteristics of fruit fly pests?

Do you know? Fruit fly pests are the smallest species of the fly family. Even due to their very small body size, they are one of the few species of flies that are not easy to remove themselves without the help of a mosquito remover.

How to identify fruit flies based on their physical characteristics:

• Adult fruit flies body length is about 3 mm
• Have bright red or deep red eyes
• Brownish-yellow body (tan) with black upper abdomen and grey lower
• The stomach hangs while flying, making it fly slowly or likely to float

If you find a small fly that exactly matches the physical characteristics of the description above, then we can make sure that what you see is a fruit fly!

Where do fruit flies come from at home?

If you often wonder: “Why are there so many fruit flies in my home?” Then this is the answer!

The small size of a fruit fly makes it very easy to sneak into a home through even the narrowest gaps or openings. They can slip through the gap between doors or windows, or even fly through your window screen. Not infrequently, these small fruit flies can be carried into the home through products such as fruits and vegetables purchased from supermarkets

Once inside the house, fruit flies will fly into their preferred habitat to find food and place eggs on places or materials such as:

Cooked fruits and vegetables in the open space

Fermented products

Remaining food in kitchen sink filters

Drains and trash cans—where organic materials have decayed

Also read: What food do flies like?

How to remove fruit flies

It is important that you take prompt precautionary measures before small fruit flies can multiply, turning into larger problems at home.

Here’s how to remove self-made fruit flies at home:

• Store cooked fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator until you eat them
• Do not leave fruits and vegetables open on the table; cover them with food wrap or store them in an airtight container
• Clean kitchen tables or other food preparation areas immediately after use
• Clean the sink regularly and thoroughly; make sure there is no remaining food in the sink filter
• Clean up spills of liquid or remaining food contained in trash cans

Waste flies

Waste flies, also referred to as duct flies, get their names based on where they breed. Waste fly habitats are generally located in humid areas or where standing water can be found.

A female waste fly can produce between 30 and 100 eggs at a time around sewerage and sewage systems. It takes only about 48 hours for waste fly larvae to emerge from their initial stages (eggs).

Under ideal conditions (21°C), the life cycle of a waste fly from egg to adult takes only 10–15 days. Meanwhile, adult waste flies can survive for up to 2 weeks.

What are the characteristics of waste flies?

Many people often mistook waste flies as moths because of their glimpse-like appearance, where the body and wings were covered with hair.

How to identify waste flies based on their physical characteristics:

• Adult waste fly length is about 2 mm, or usually no more than 5 mm
• The body is dark black or grey, with a lighter wing colour
• Their bodies and wings are covered by fine hair
• Does not have good flying skills and is more often seen sticking to walls or surfaces around sinks or floor drains

Waste flies are a type of small fly that is nocturnal or more active at night. But they can also be drawn to the light source, and its presence can also be seen during the day. So if you can see small flies drawn to a light source, these may be the waste flies you are looking at!

Where do waste flies come from?

If you can see the appearance of waste flies in a particular place inside your home, this is an early sign that there is a waste fly breeding ground nearby.

As previously described, this type of small fly always looks for moist areas to lay eggs on and food sources. Waste flies are generally attracted to decaying organic matter, which accumulates and causes clogging in drains. This is why it is not uncommon to see waste come out of places like bathrooms or kitchens.

For example, waste flies are often found breeding in drains on bathroom floors that are clogged due to hair or mold buildup. Waste flies are also often found in kitchen areas, especially in the drains of clogged or slow-moving sinks.

Related article: 4 reasons why houses have many flies

How do I remove waste flies?

Are waste flies hazardous? The answer is no. But seeing a lot of waste fly in a home is certainly not an enjoyable sight for every homeowner.

Here are some ways to remove waste flies that you can work on at home:

• Clean all potential blockages of decaying organic material in the drain and around the drain filter regularly
• Ensure that infrequently used drains are always closed
• Periodically flushing water or allowing water to flow through infrequent drains (at least twice a week)

How to remove small flies from your home

Whether you’re dealing with fruit flies or waste flies, the presence of these two types of small flies always interferes with the comfort of every homeowner. Because, in addition to being able to breed for a short period of time, these types of small flies can be a more serious problem if not controlled by their breeding at an early stage in their life cycle.

As a professional fly removal service in Indonesia, Rentokil offers the best, safest, and most effective solution to prevent and eliminate small flies in your home for the long term.

Our certified and experienced technicians will ensure full protection to control small fly attacks through the use of:

• ULV fogging
• Foaming solution
• Electric fly traps

Call us today at 150808 or fill out an online form to discuss how we can help you remove small flies quickly and efficiently.