Bryan Mundo's Home Trends

BRYAN MUNDO

GETTING RID OF SUMMER PESTS As fresh fruit becomes more abundant through the summer, so does the threat of fruit flies invading your home. The best way to keep those pests at bay is to remove the food sources that let fruit flies thrive. Fruit flies love acetic acid – this is found in very ripe to rotting fruits and vegetables and things like wine or vinegar. The little pests will feast off of scraps of food, empty bottles and cans and can easily find their way into your compost, garbage and recycle bins. Because they reproduce at an alarming rate (adult fruit flies can lay 500 eggs over their lifespan and those eggs can hatch within hours), you'll want to get rid of scraps as soon as possible and rinse out your bottles and containers before recycling. If you’re still seeing fruit flies around your home, you can trap them. A common way to trap these flies is with a vinegar and dish soap mixture in a bowl in the kitchen or near where you see them most often. The vinegar attracts the flies and the dish soap helps drown them. A paper cone fly trap is another option. Put vinegar or an overripe piece of fruit in a glass and then use a piece of paper rolled into a cone with just a slight opening as a funnel and place it on top of the glass. Flies will easily enter the trap but won't be able to escape. For flies that are gathering in garbage cans and drains, you can spray 91% isopropyl alcohol on them which kills live bugs, eggs and larvae. Do not use isopropyl alcohol on fruit. If flies are making a home in your outdoor spaces, citronella candles as well as scents like rosemary, basil, mint and lemongrass will keep these pests at bay.

780.909.3547 • bryan@bryanmundo.com