How Do Fruit Flies Affect Bananas?
WouterFruit flies are a nuisance that can be dangerous to your health. They are attracted to ripe produce and can be a problem all year long. To keep them from harming your bananas, ripen them early. However, they can also affect other perishable items in your home.
Fruit flies are super-tiny insects that feed on overripe and rotting fruit. They can detect the smell of over-ripe fruit and even fermenting alcohol, which attracts them to those foods. Bananas are a common target of fruit flies because they are easy to ripen.
While bananas are not the only fruit affected by fruit flies, they are the most common fruits that flies prefer. Apples, squash, tomatoes, and bananas are all susceptible to attracting them. Adult female fruit flies lay up to 2,000 eggs on moist or rotting surfaces. The eggs hatch in thirty hours and tiny maggots begin eating decayed food. After eight to fifteen days, the fruit flies mature and are ready to reproduce.
The best way to combat fruit flies is to remove their food source. If you have fruit in your home, you should store them in the refrigerator and avoid putting them out on the counter. If you are able to avoid leaving them out, you should have no problem controlling fruit flies in your home. However, if your fruit is too ripe, you should discard it as soon as possible. You should also clean up any spilled fruit juices or juice.
