Fruit flies lay their eggs in fruit. When a fruit falls to the ground, the fly larvae crawls out of the fruit and into the ground to pupate. If the fruit is not left on the ground, the hundreds of eggs that a fruit fly can lay, never have a chance to develop. Sanitation is the process of disposing of infested fruit so that the fruit fly larvae will not survive.

Why is sanitation important to Fruit Fly suppression?

What are some sanitation practices I could use?

There are many possible ways to remove fruit from the field or backyards:

1. Compost: Make sure the compost pile is covered and working (. i.e. generating internal heat levels in excess of 140 ° F.)

2. Animal Feed: Be careful to avoid leaving fruit in ground piles for more than a day.

3. Drowning: Ensure infected fruit are placed under water for at least 48 hours. Fruit can become re-infested after treatment.

4. Bagging: When bagging fruit in plastic bags, make sure the opening is sealed tightly and there are no holes in the bags. Larvae can wiggle through very small spaces. After 1 month all the fruit fly larvae in the bags will have died, and the organic waste can be dumped in the field for green manure.

5. Grinding: Mechanically destroying larvae requires a mechanical process such as thorough as a garbage disposal. Crushing or smashing the fruit is not an effective way to kill larvae.

6. Burying: Larvae have been known to burrow 18 inches to the surface in loose soil. Therefore, if you prefer to bury cull fruit, make sure that it is buried at least 18 inches deep.

7. Augmentorium (a tent-like screen structure that is designed to retain the fruit flies both under and above ground): This technique has the added advantages that it allows the natural enemies of the fruit fly to reenter the farm environment, and it does not take the green compost out of the farm.