Food How to get rid of breeding flies in a grocery setting?

I work in a warehouse that has a large produce section. On a long table we have potatoes and onions. Normally, we don't have problems with the onions, it's the potatoes. The russet potatoes seem to do fine.

The flies love the smell of any single slightly bad, and up, potato. When a potato has a bad spot they'll start feeding on it causing more rot to grow. The spot will get mushy and smelly and that smell will attract more flies to more potatoes and start eating producing more rot.

Is there any way of keeping flies off of our produce and from breeding amongst them? The most popular of our potatoes that flies love are the tiny fingerlings, red potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Seems like those nasty flies work their magic overnight.

Any solutions?

 

I worked at a grocery store for 11 years and I don't remember seeing this problem. The ones not on display were kept in a cooling room. At what temperature are they stored?

One thing that does come to mind is the bakery. The same thing you described above did start happening with the donuts, even though they were in a plastic (not airtight) display. They put a 2-foot diameter fan a few feet away, aimed at the donut case doors, and the flies disappeared. From then on the fan ran 24 hours a day and the problem never returned.

 

Our potatoes come in ~50# thick paper bags and you rip it open to reveal the smaller 10#/15#/xx# plastic bags. Usually the plastic bags are solid plastic on one side with their logo and nutritional info and stuff, and on the reverse side is a cross hatched plastic pattern for ventilation.

We take the potatoes out of the paper bags and display them stacked neatly on our display tables at room temp. New get rotated on the bottom and back keeping the oldest on top.

The fan suggestion is nice, but there's no electrical outlet near the table. And I don't think corporate would like a big fan blowing on the table either.

Any other suggestions?

 

A fly catching strip where customers can't see, but that's probably not sanitary.

Bugs in general don't like citronella or tea tree. You can't use the candles or burning oil in the store. I use citronella and tea tree essentials oil in my homemade lotions for sunscreen. I'm not sure what is available for store settings. You might find something with it that can be wiped onto nearby surfaces.
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This one Ultralite 30 Watt Discreet Ultraviolet Trap uses UV light to attract, with hidden capture pads.

 

I would go against anything that might smell as it would clue the customers in that there is a problem. Though in my experience the only thing that works for sure is getting rid of whatever is bringing them in and waiting the days/weeks until they're gone to bring it back. I doubt that's a realistic possibility so the only advice I have is that whatever solution you choose it needs to be discreet.

 

You're not ventilating them properly. Potatos, even after they've been picked, breathe and need to exchange gas in order to continue on their original purpose as a seed/bulb. If you don't allow for venitlation, which is sounds like is the problem, then they're going to rot. The flies are the problem - they're just the symptom. They're only eating the already-dead portion of the potato, not the live part that's good to eat. When I worked in a grocery store in IA, we had a large fan that blew across all the root vegetables. In TN, they were next to the ventilation intake in the back of the store.

Basically, if you're not letting the potatos breathe, then you're killing them, and flies are feasting on those dead parts.

 

agreed. when I worked at a warehouse store we had big shop fans hanging from the roof so they would blow down on the produce section.

 

Well, where I grew up we had about 10 apple trees at the top of the garden, and this worked a treat for catching wasps and flies. Dont know if it would work in a warehouse.

Get a glass or plastic container (like 1 litre capacity at least), and smear jam all round the inside of the lid and the top of the jar.

Then fill the jar about 50% with vinegar

Wrap a layer of clingfilm over the top of the jar, and then make a smallish hole in that (a couple of inches across) Have a bit more jam on the underside of the clingfilm if you like

_

What happens is the bastards love the jam and cant get enough of it. They get inside and start lapping it up, but then they cant get out! Once they get into the vinegar they get drunk and drown. Used to catch literally 100's of the bastards in the summer like that.