Local fruit fly information

Fruit Fly control in Washington

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

Fruit Flies in Washington: what to know

Around Washington

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 Washington: what the public record shows

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

Adults about 1/8 inch long with red eyes and a yellow-brown body; males have a dark spot near the wing tip

Spotted wing drosophila identification in Washington

Red eyes and that wing spot are how a Washington homeowner tells a fruit-infesting SWD from the ordinary kitchen vinegar fly.

Hortsense, Washington State University

Peach, plum, cherry, table and wine grapes, strawberry, blueberry and cane fruits

Washington fruits vulnerable to spotted wing drosophila

Nearly every soft fruit grown in the state is a host, which is why outdoor populations are large enough to spill into houses.

Hortsense, Washington State University

171,000 acres producing 7,540,000,000 pounds valued at $1,885,000,000 (2025)

Washington apple production

The country's largest apple crop means fruit bins, culls and juice residues on a scale no other state matches, and packing houses are a fruit fly source year-round.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

When fruit flies are busiest in Washington

Pressure builds with cherry harvest in early summer and peaks through the apple and grape harvest in late summer and fall, when crush and packing residues are heaviest.

WSU's Hortsense notes that spotted wing drosophila attacks healthy fruit as it ripens on the plant rather than waiting for it to rot, and that vinegar traps are for detection only. Chemical controls reach adults only and should be applied in the evening after bees have finished working.

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: Hortsense, Washington State University; USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service; University of Maryland Extension; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Washington cities

Auburn

Marine West Coast · suburban setting

Fruit Fly control in Washington

Fruit Flies in Washington: what to know

Around Washington

What to note

A useful next step

Fruit Flies in Washington: what the public record shows

When fruit flies are busiest in Washington

For context, nationally

Explore Washington cities

Auburn

Bellevue

Bellingham

Everett

Federal Way

Kennewick

Kent

Kirkland

Olympia

Redmond

Renton

Richland

Seattle

Spokane

Spokane Valley

Tacoma

Vancouver

Yakima

Walla Walla

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