Steamy weather has fruit flies swarming in Louisiana restaurants and bars

By Wendy Waren, VP of Communications, Louisiana Restaurant Association

We live in a tropical environment here in Louisiana and with that fact comes many creepy crawlers and pesky flies. This time of year, it’s hot with temperatures raging into the 90s and even 100s some weeks. Fruit flies in particular are an aggravation and an embarrassment that many operators struggle with and some can’t seem to ever overcome.

At the recent Louisiana Foodservice & Hospitality EXPO, we witnessed a demonstration by Fruit Fly BarPro, a new product on the market approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use inside of food service establishments, the first of its kind and patent pending. While we were standing there speaking to Jeff McCoy about the product, he released hundreds of fruit flies into a clear box, then opened the Fruit Fly BarPro strip and hung it in the box. Within minutes, the entire lot of fruit flies had met their demise.

Fruit flies are attracted to yeast and a restaurant or bar is heaven for them with its bottles of liquor, beer taps, soda dispensers, used linens, mop rooms and trash areas. The Fruit Fly BarPro not only kills the ones flying around these areas, it also kills the larvae and eggs that may enter your establishment in the skins of fruits like bananas especially.

The strips are easy to use. Simply place the strip in an enclosed, non-food area. Once Fruit Fly BarPro is removed from the foil package, the air immediately activates the pest control ingredient. The product works similar to an air freshener, as the time-released vapor moves into the crevices. It’s not a fly trap. Rather than attracting bugs, as a fly trap would, the vapor reaches nesting areas for total elimination.

Extensive research revealed Fruit Fly BarPro was found to be effective for fruit fly control and prevention of fruit flies and as an added bonus, studies have shown excellent results for eliminating pests like flies, cockroaches, spiders, moth, silverfish and gnats.

During the month of September when you attend a LRA Chapter meeting, you’ll have the chance to win an entire case of the product to see for yourself how well it defeats the problem. If you don’t win a case, this affordable product is available from several food distributors and sanitation providers for just $100 for a case of 10.

From what we’ve witnessed, the Fruit Fly BarPro is a solution you can’t afford to overlook.