Professional Pest Control Services in Port Monmouth, NJ

A restaurant in Port Monmouth found itself with a fruit fly infestation in its kitchen. These tiny, rapidly reproducing little pests, which are easily identified by their distinctive bright red eyes, are so-named because of their attraction to fermenting fruits and vegetables. Perishable food start to smell when bacteria and fungi that are decomposing the food release certain chemicals. While people may be repulsed by the smell of spoiled foods, for fruit flies, these odors are an attractant. And it’s not just the smell of overripe fruits that will lure fruit flies. They are attracted to any fermenting liquids no matter where it’s coming from. So, you’ll find these little gnats hovering over drains, garbage cans, garbage disposals, mops, grease traps, and in this commercial kitchen, dirty rags thrown in a bin inside a heated closet. The heat made the problem worse by accelerating the fermentation process. A pungent rotten odor that had permeated the closet had gone unnoticed to the restaurant staff. Unfortunately, we can become acclimated to certain odors over time and don’t even notice them.

Usually, insect and rodent infestations in restaurants can be traced back to some hygiene or sanitation issue, and fruit flies are no exception. Fruit flies will congregate around kitchen items or appliances that are not regularly cleaned and contain organic residue. We often find that pest infestations occur when proper cleaning protocols are not followed.

In sensitive areas such as commercial kitchens where food is being prepared, we strive to minimize the use of pesticides and instead employ EPA-recommended Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques that use less invasive environmental solutions. Here, the solution was simple. We resolved the infestation by removing the dirty rags and then thoroughly cleaning out the bin and the inside of the closet. Going forward, cleaning rags will be regularly washed and the staff will keep out only clean rags in a bucket of sanitized water. Restaurants and other commercial facilities that work with the pest control service by instituting and implementing appropriate procedures is the most effective long-term solution for avoiding infestations and minimizing their severity if they do occur.