Fly Exterminator in Saddle Brook, NJ — Drain Flies, Gnats & House Flies

Gnats exterminator: fruit flies vs. fungus gnats

Most people call any tiny flying bug a gnat, but in a Saddle Brook kitchen it's usually one of two different flies — and the fix is different for each:

• Fruit flies hover around food and the sink. Throw out overripe produce, rinse bottles and cans before recycling, wipe up sticky spills, clean the garbage disposal, and replace damp sponges and mop heads. A small dish of cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap traps adults while you remove the source.
• Fungus gnats hang around houseplants and windows. Let the top inch or two of soil dry out between waterings, empty saucers under pots, and repot plants that stay soggy. Yellow sticky cards in the pots catch the adults.

If you've done all that and the gnats are still there, something is breeding that you haven't found yet — a drain, a bag of potatoes in the basement, a recycling bin in the garage, or moisture under a floor. That's what our inspection is for. More tips: preventing gnats in the home and how to get rid of fruit flies.

Cluster flies: the slow flies at your windows every fall

If you see big, slow, buzzing flies gathering on the sunny side of the house in September and October, then turning up at upstairs windows on warm days all winter, those are probably cluster flies. Their young live in the soil as parasites of earthworms, so they're common around homes with lawns — which describes most of Saddle Brook's single-family neighborhoods.

In the fall the adults look for a sheltered place to spend the winter and crawl into attics, wall voids and window frames through tiny gaps. They don't breed inside the house and they don't spread disease the way house flies can, but they can show up by the dozens and they're hard to get rid of from the inside.

• Vacuum them up as they appear — squashing them leaves stains.
• Seal gaps around windows, siding, soffits and attic vents before late summer.
• Outside treatment of the sunny walls where they gather, done in late summer, works better than anything inside.

Fly control for Saddle Brook restaurants and businesses

For restaurants, bars, delis and food shops along Route 46 and around town, flies are more than an annoyance — customers notice them and health inspectors do too. New Jersey inspection placards are rated Satisfactory, Conditionally Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, and fly activity counts. Commercial fly problems usually come from:

• Floor drains, under-sink drains and soda-gun or bar drains with buildup
• Mop sinks, damp mops and floor mats
• Garbage and recycling areas, empty bottles and dumpster pads
• Back doors that are propped open for deliveries

We inspect, show your staff where the flies are breeding, and set up a plan that fits your hours, with a written record of each visit. See our restaurant pest control page, and for roaches in the same kitchen, our Saddle Brook cockroach control page.