Controlling Flies in NYC Restaurants
House flies, Phorid flies, fruit flies, black-eyed fruit flies, and moth flies can all be found wherever you have unsanitary conditions that contain both food and moisture. One of the biggest challenges we have in the pest control arena is fly control in restaurants and food processing facilities. Flies are nature’s garbage cleanup crew. They breed rapidly, most of the aforementioned flies can move easily from area to area except the moth fly, and are serious harbingers of disease. In fact the house fly due to its breeding and feeding habits actually has as much bacteria on its body as you would find on over 100 cockroaches. This is why the New York City Department of Health takes fly control so seriously. Here is a manual on What to expect when you are inspectedd by the NYCDOH. The New York City Department of Health focuses heavily on sanitary conditions within food handling places which is defined as where food is handled, stored or prepared mainly to protect the public’s health. But I’m sure all those fines help the bottom line New York City’s government as well.
It is commonly asked what is the most important thing when it comes to fly control in a restaurant. The one main thing that you can do is control your moisture. Now water is an integral part of any restaurant operation but the worst fly situations that I have seen has been the results of copious amounts of water sprayed on the floors at the end of the day pushing food particles, grease etc. into an under equipment in cracks and crevices and in places not easily accessed and removed. I find that it is much better using smaller amounts of water in a controlled cleanup process that utilizes mops and wet vacuums. It is then imperative that those cleanup tools are cleaned and sanitized and left to hang to dry at the end of the night. In addition one of the more serious issues that prevent the overgrowth and infestation of flies is floor issues and drain problems. If there are areas on the floor that have cracks in the ground that allow water and food particles to seep underneath tile you have a fly situation that will never be tamed. This is because when you have a fly infestation what you are looking at is the adult flies moving about but this only makes up a small portion of the problem.
Like the tip of an iceberg the main issue plays underneath these tiles. Totally protected from desiccation and from chemical use these maggots or fly larvae get to remain in a moist environment while being fed plenty of food which helps in their development. Unfortunately especially in the older establishments floors are an ongoing issue. One thing that can be used to help mitigate the situation is the use of citric acid-based floor cleaners and the degreasers. Citric acid that is processed from orange peals is deadly the fruit fly larva because it is able to penetrate the mucus coating that the maggot envelops itself with. The degreaser breaks down the food particles and eliminates the food source so in addition you also starve them out. We carry different strengths of citric acid degreasers specifically designed for Fly control in restaurants in NYC but most chemical manufacturers will have a version readily available for their food handling customers. This will also help the drains remain clean which is where a lot of fly breeding occurs as well. One of the most overlooked areas in the drains is the upper areas of the pipes. In times of high volume of water level raises up and food particles become stuck to the top of the pipe. During most operations the water never touches this area but it remains moist enough that fly breeding and feeding can occur. You need to employ a high-quality drain foaming – digester to clean these areas and also make sure that you pay particular attention to the areas around the drain cup that build up food particles. In addition to the chemical programs that are available specialty ultraviolet light traps are excellent monitoring and adult reduction devices that are available to the food handling industry. For New York City restaurants that are dealing with flies they can be a wonderful tool in the battle against fines. It is important that these traps are not placed above any type of food area including countertops, food storage areas, prep areas etc. and they also should not be placed so that they are combating direct sunlight or fluorescent light bulbs. In restaurants do not want the electrocuting fly lights as this may produce fly particles that become airborne. You want to make sure they use the glue board type traps as they are more efficient and in some cases are impregnated with attracting pheromones to help increase fly catch amounts. We carry a full line of these types of devices at www.proflycontrol.com We are always available with full service programs and are more than willing to offer you advice over the phone if you are having issues with flies.
