August,
2005
Fighting the
dark-eyed fruit fly
InVade Bio Foam,
Cleaner address the pest’s breeding area
By Jordan Fox
Contributor
Small
fly infestations have been making themselves known in significant numbers around
the nation in recent years.
Dr.
Cisse Spragins, CEO and founder of Rockwell Labs Ltd in North Kansas City, Mo.,
manufactures the InVade line to combat just such invasions.
Rockwell
Labs recently reformulated and improved the Invade line by adding natural
citrus oil. The citrus oil has insecticidal activity and smells like fresh
oranges.
“It’s
not necessary tp put anything else in the water because it’s got the
microbes, citrus oil chemical cleaners,” Spragins explains.
“It’s used in areas where scum has been built up at the floor
level, such as cracks in the tile or peeling baseboards.”
In the
northeast corridor, JP Chemical Co. in Milford, N.H., and A&D Professional
Pest Control in Pawtucket, R.I., each use Rockwell Labs’ InVade Bio Foam
and InVade Bio Cleaner to rid their customers’ facilities of these pests.
“The
real bear of all small flies that we are asked to treat for is the dark-
eyed
fruit fly,” says Chris Del Rossi, director of JP Chemical’s
commercial division.
“We’ve
seen more of the dark-eyed fruit fly over the last six years, compared to the
old days. They are related to the vinegar fly – commonly known as the
fruit fly – but are a little larger in apperance. These small flies tend
to be quite visible. The adults just sit on walls in public areas instead of
flying around. That’s not good for a facility’s image.”
Dark-eyed
fruit flies breed in areas that are difficult to clean, such as broken tiles in
aging kitchens, according to Del Rossi. They’re also found in broken
baseboards, neglected floor drains and other areas that are difficult to clean
with a mop or brush.
“We
apply InVade Bio Foam to those tough-to-clean areas,” he explains.
“The product breaks down the organic materials on which the larvae are
feeding. It basically starves the larvae by eating the organic material faster
than they do. It also has citrus oil agent that will kill a lot of the larvae
on contact, so it’s got dual effectiveness.”
Del Rossi
also uses InVade Bio Cleaner in his small fly control efforts. It’s a
product designed to replace the usual mopping solution used to clean
difficult-to-reach areas. It leeches into the cracks and crevices when the end
user is mopping the floor. “We usually sell it to our customers directly
for their own use,” he adds.
JP
Chemical recently helped a doughnut retailer get rid of a dark-eyed fruit fly
infestation.
“When
we arrived on their premises, we found no less than 200 fruit flies on the
walls and other public areas,” Del Rossi said.
A
wet-dry vacuum helped get the flies off the walls. The team then inspected the
facility and found hundreds more flies literally billowing out of the plumbing
conduits. Unfortunately, the floor drains were nearly impossible to reach and
clean because cabinets had been built directly over them.
“One
of their maintenance people sawed out the bottom of the cabinets so we could
get access to the drains,” Del Rossi recalls. “Once we reached
them, we thoroughly scraped and cleaned them and used the Rockwell products. We
got the place smelling and looking nice.”
Upon
inspection two days later, Del Rossi found only a few flies on the wall. Since
then, weekly inspections only turn up an errant survivor fly or two.
“It’s
amazing – a true success story, “ he says.
Anthony
Tudino’s A&D Professional Pest Control services a lot of restaurants,
among other commercial and residential accounts, that suffer dark-eyed fruit
fly infestations.
“The
treatment for regular fruit flies in restaurants wasn’t very effective
until we started using Rockwell Labs’ InVade Bio Foam about a year
ago,” says the 20-year pest control industry veteran. “Since then,
we’ve had excellent success with it.”
Along
with the Rockwell product, Tudino uses Gentrol, an insect growth regulator
manufactured by Wellmark International. It’s not sufficient to walk into
a restaurant and treat it only one time, he says.
“Start
with weekly treatments of the biological products, and as you successfully
eliminate the small flies, cut back to monthly or bimonthly treatments,”
he advises.
“When
it comes to inspections, good sanitation and prevention both the client and PMP
must act together. If we can find, clean and treat areas that have organic
matter, we’re going to prevent infestations before they happen.”
This
ranges from sealing water leaks to emphasizing that tile grout must be in good
shape to prevent organic matter buildup underneath and behind tiles.
“We
have to show our customers what they can do with shop vacuums and fans to keep
floors dry,” Tudino adds. “Cooperation is very important if
you’re going to eliminate small fly problems.” PC
JP
Chemical Co.,
Milford,
N.H.
•
Founded in 1925 by Justin Pestana Sr.
•
Owned by the third generation of the Pestana family
•
22 technicians serve New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts
A&D
Professional Pest Control,
Pawtucket,
R.I.
•
Founded in 1990
•
Licensed in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut
Full range of services include pigeon
and termite control
Gaining
control over dark-eyed fruit flies
Sanitation
strategies that incorporate Rockwell Labs’ InVade Bio Foam and Bio
Cleaner