Pest-Type Service / Flies
Fly control that removes the source, not just the flies you can see.
Flies land on waste and then on food, carrying whatever they picked up along the way. In a kitchen or a food facility that is a direct contamination route. ASC controls flies with insect light traps, drain hygiene and exclusion working together, then trends the catch so you can prove control is holding.
Why It Matters
Flies are the ultimate contamination courier.
Several fly groups pressure South African premises. The house fly (Musca domestica) feeds on waste and faeces, then on your food, regurgitating and defecating as it goes. Fruit flies (Drosophila spp.) and other small flies breed in fermenting spillage and the organic film inside drains. Blowflies, the large metallic flies, are drawn to meat, offal and decay and signal a nearby source. A fly moves from filth to food in seconds, which makes it a public-health hazard first and a nuisance second.
Direct contamination
House flies carry Salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens from waste to food-contact surfaces, transferring them the instant they land.
Hidden breeding
Fruit flies and drain flies breed in the organic film inside drains and sumps. Kill the adults and the source keeps producing more.
Legal exposure
Regulation R638 of 2018 requires food premises to be free of pests. Any insecticide used must be registered under Act 36 of 1947 and applied by a registered operator.
Audit & brand risk
Flies over open product, or a rising insect light trap catch count, are among the most common findings that cost premises their score and their customers' trust.
The ASC Fly Method
Exclude, remove the source, then trap what is left.
Insect light traps alone never solve a fly problem. They catch the adults inside while flies keep entering and breeding. Real control layers three things: exclusion to keep flies out, source removal through drain hygiene and waste management, and correctly placed insect light traps (ILT, also called electric fly killers or EFK) to intercept and monitor what still gets in.
- ✓ Exclusion: door seals, air curtains, fly screens and self-closing doors to keep flies outside.
- ✓ Drain & waste hygiene: biological drain treatment and cleaning schedules that remove the breeding film.
- ✓ Insect light traps: mapped, numbered and correctly sited, never over open food, with tubes replaced on schedule.
- ✓ Catch trending: counts recorded and trended by unit so a rising line points straight at a flaring source.
Catch Trending
The catch tray is a data source, not just a bin.
Every insect light trap is inspected and its catch identified and counted at each service. Recorded over time, that catch becomes a trend line. A spike in one unit tells us a door is being propped, a drain has flared or a delivery brought flies in, so the next visit targets the source instead of guessing. All of it is captured live in My ASC Pest Hub, with live trend graphs by unit and a one-click audit pack ready whenever your inspector or certification body asks for it.
Identify
Catch is identified to fly group, because house flies, small flies and blowflies each point to a different source.
Trend
Counts are trended by unit and zone, turning the trap into an early-warning system rather than a passive killer.
Act
A rising line triggers a source investigation and a corrective action, closed out with evidence, not a shrug.
Prove
The whole record generates a one-click audit pack from My ASC Pest Hub, exactly as an auditor reads it.
Why A Food Safety Specialist Should Handle Your Flies
We audit facilities for a living, so we control pests the way an auditor reads it.
ASC Pest Control is South Africa's only pest control company owned by accredited food safety specialists. Anyone can hang an insect light trap on a wall. Placing it correctly, reading the catch, chasing the source and documenting the trend is the diligent, professional work that actually keeps flies off your product. We care about the impact of chemicals on people, product and the environment, so we lead with exclusion, hygiene and physical trapping, and use registered products only where they are genuinely needed and never over food.
Our team is trained in
Where This Applies
Fly control for every set of premises.
Commercial premises
Kitchens, restaurants, hotels, retail and waste areas. Mapped insect light traps and drain programmes, documented for audit. →
Food & beverage facilities
HACCP designed fly programmes aligned to BRCGS, FSSC 22000, SANS 10049 and R638. →
Homes & estates
Family-safe fly control focused on exclusion and source removal rather than sprays around the kitchen. →
Species identification guide
Tell house flies, fruit flies, drain flies and blowflies apart, and read what each one means, in our species guide. →
Keep reading: Insect light trap placement · Why trend analysis matters · The real cost of pests
Questions
Fly control FAQ
Do insect light traps alone solve a fly problem?
No. An insect light trap catches the flies already inside but does nothing about where they come from. Lasting control needs exclusion to stop flies entering, source removal through drain hygiene and waste management to stop them breeding, and insect light traps positioned to catch what still gets in. Traps are the monitoring and knockdown layer, and their catch counts tell you when a source has flared up.
Why does drain hygiene matter for fly control?
Small flies such as fruit flies and drain flies breed in the organic film inside drains, sumps and floor gullies. You can catch and kill the adults endlessly, but the population replaces itself until that breeding film is removed. Effective fly control treats the drains and moist organic matter as the real source, combining biological drain treatment and cleaning schedules with trapping.
Where should insect light traps be placed in a food facility?
They should intercept flies as they enter, not be visible from outside so they do not draw flies in, sit out of direct and competing light, and never hang directly over open product, preparation surfaces or packaging. Typical positions are near entrances, dispatch and receiving bays and inside kitchens, mounted at the correct height. Placement is mapped and numbered, and tubes are replaced on schedule.
How often should insect light trap tubes be replaced?
The ultraviolet output that attracts flies fades long before the tube stops glowing, so tubes are replaced on a scheduled basis, typically annually and ideally before the peak fly season, to keep each unit working at full effectiveness. We record every tube change as part of the documented programme.
Next Step
Cut off the flies at the source.
Book a no-obligation site assessment. A registered specialist will walk your premises, map the insect light traps, find the breeding sources and design a layered fly programme around your risk.