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

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.

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.