Local fruit fly information

Fruit Fly control in Iowa

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Fruit Flies in Iowa: what to know

Around Iowa

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

What to note

Where you see fruit flies, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.

A useful next step

Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.

Local research

Fruit Flies in Iowa: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which fruit flies actually live in Iowa, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

Red-eyed flies about 1/4 inch long, commonly associated with overripe and fermenting fruits and vegetables

Adult size and appearance

Iowa State's description is the fastest way for a homeowner to tell a true fruit fly from a fungus gnat or a fuzzy drain fly before buying any product.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Slow-moving or seldom-used sink, bathtub, shower and floor drains where a layer of slime has built up, plus dripping pipes and refrigeration equipment, garbage containers, and discarded bottles and cans

Primary indoor breeding sites

In Iowa homes and bars the source is usually plumbing and recycling, not the fruit bowl, so control means finding and eliminating the breeding source rather than spraying the adults.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

Moth flies (drain flies) develop in and feed on the gelatinous film, or slime, that builds up inside drains; ISU notes there is no benefit to treating drains with bleach or ammonia

Drain fly look-alike

Iowa restaurant operators who dose a floor drain with bleach and still see small flies the next week are treating the wrong pest with the wrong product; brushing the drain wall is what removes the larval habitat.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

When fruit flies are busiest in Iowa

Iowa State reports spotted wing drosophila becomes noticeable outdoors in mid-July and stays active until frost, and indoor fruit fly complaints track the late-summer and fall produce season; drain-breeding populations persist year-round wherever drains stay slimy.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach states that control of fruit, vinegar and pomace flies is a matter of finding and eliminating the breeding source: brushing drains, high-pressure rinses, boiling water and bacterial drain treatments. It warns that household insecticide sprays give only temporary relief, and that bleach or ammonia poured down a drain provides no benefit against the slime layer the larvae live in.

For context, nationally

8 to 10 days egg to adult — Life cycle length. University of Maryland Extension
As few as 8 days — Fastest life cycle under optimum conditions. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Sources: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach; University of Maryland Extension; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Iowa cities

Ames

Humid Continental · suburban setting

Fruit Fly control in Iowa

Fruit Flies in Iowa: what to know

Around Iowa

What to note

A useful next step

Fruit Flies in Iowa: what the public record shows

When fruit flies are busiest in Iowa

For context, nationally

Explore Iowa cities

Ames

Ankeny

Cedar Falls

Cedar Rapids

Council Bluffs

Davenport

Des Moines

Dubuque

Iowa City

Marion

Sioux City

Urbandale

Waterloo

West Des Moines

Fort Dodge

Ask about fruit fly control in Iowa