Around West Virginia
Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.
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Local fruit fly information
Fruit Fly control in West Virginia
Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.
Fruit Flies in West Virginia: what to know
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 West Virginia: what the public record shows
Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which fruit flies actually live in West Virginia, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.
2011
Year spotted wing drosophila was first identified in West Virginia
West Virginia has had an established outdoor vinegar fly reservoir for well over a decade.
West Virginia University Extension2 to 3 mm long, yellow-brown body, very large red eyes; males have a dark spot at the edge of each forewing
Adult size and identification
Those measurements match the flies people find hovering over a fruit bowl, so identification has to be done by wing spot and ovipositor, not size alone.
West Virginia University ExtensionA 16 to 32 ounce clear container with 3/16 inch holes near the rim and about an inch of apple cider vinegar, checked once or twice a week
WVU Extension trap recipe
The same cider-vinegar trap works indoors on a counter to confirm whether flies are still emerging after a cleanup.
West Virginia University ExtensionWhen fruit flies are busiest in West Virginia
Outdoor spotted wing drosophila is active through the soft-fruit season; indoor vinegar fly pressure follows late-summer and fall produce brought into the house.
WVU Extension is blunt that eradicating spotted wing drosophila is unattainable once it is in an area, and that sanitation carries the load: pick and remove all ripe and overripe fruit, and bag or solarize culls so larvae do not complete development.
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: West Virginia University Extension; University of Maryland Extension; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources
Explore West Virginia cities
Beckley
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
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Charleston
Humid Subtropical · urban setting
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Clarksburg
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
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Fairmont
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
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Huntington
Humid Subtropical · urban setting
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Martinsburg
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
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Morgantown
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
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Parkersburg
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
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Weirton
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
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Wheeling
Humid Subtropical · suburban setting
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Bluefield
Humid Subtropical · rural setting
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