Commercial Pest Control
Restaurant Fly Control: The Six Fly Species You'll Actually See
Published 10/29/2025 · 7 min read
Every fly complaint in a restaurant has a specific source. Here are the six, and how to trace each one.
The six species and their sources
House flies (dumpster/garbage), fruit flies (bar drains and produce), drain flies (floor drains and grease traps), phorid flies (broken drain lines or dead animal), blow flies (dead animal or exposed protein), fungus gnats (over-watered plants).
Why UV lights alone don't work
Insect Light Traps (ILTs) monitor and reduce — they don't fix the source. If ILTs are your whole program, you'll never solve a drain fly problem.
The audit-grade fix
Source elimination + drain foaming + ILT placement + door sweep + air curtain. All five together is how you pass a fly inspection during a health department visit.