Catching fruit flies in fruit fly traps in a late summer garden

Watch me catch fruit flies
Fruit Flies, also commonly referred to as the Pumpkin Fly in South Africa, are incredibly descrutive flies that fly around the garden looking for mature fruits to sting and lay their eggs inside of. What you end up with is a fruit filled with maggots that if left along will results in larvae landing in the soil, creating even more fruit flies.
There are some really effective ways of preventing fruit fly damage, however, the most effective way to bring fruit fly populations under control in the home or urban vegetable garden is to reduce and control their numbers. This is where fruit fly traps come into play. They are very efficient systems that capture female fruit flies to reduce egg laying and ultimately the future generations of fruit fly.
How to control fruit fly in South Africa
There are some dedicated fruit fly management systems and organisations that exist in South Africa to control the spread of fruit flies in the country and provide the necessary preventative measures to ensure that crops are not damaged or yields reduced.
However, all the amazing work that these organisations do in controlling fruit flies in South Africa are easily undone by home gardeners that are not vigilant and do not work to control their own, local, home-based fruit fly infestations. To be able to really control fruit fly populations in the urban landscape home growers need to ensure they are catching fruit flies during the correct time of the year using the correct fruit fly trap systems.
How to use a fruit fly trap to control numbers
There are a few different options when it comes to controlling fruit flies using traps. Firstly, you need to look at your budget and resources. There are some fruit fly trap systems that require a hefty investment in terms of buying physical trapping systems and then also buying lures, scents or baits. These can be costly and most often make home gardening less cost-effective than buying food from the grocery store. Secondly, you need to identify that you actually have a fruit fly problem. Some areas have completely eradicated fruit flies and others simply never had fruit fly issues. There are then some places that are riddled with them, so make sure you know you actually have a fruit flies before investing in trapping systems.
When it comes to the most cost-effective fruit fly trap system, personally I have found that the Ceratrap solution from Intelligrow provides the greatest value for money. Their trapping system also comes in a complete set, meaning no costly trapping systems that need to be purchased in addition to the bait or lures. To find out more please visit the links above.
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