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Since I've been TL I have yet to be given a NNC. Right now I have a battle with fruit flies, not the worse case but they are visible so that's what she can get me for.
Yetive
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Baristas Say Morale At Starbucks Is Sinking
Thought this was interesting. Some of the same issues we are having.
Thought this was interesting. Some of the same issues we are having.
Yetive
Servant of 2 Masters
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They seem to come in with the p-fresh orders. Last year, my PA said she got in pineapples and the fruit flies were like a cloud flying up from the box.
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It's funny because I was feeling the same thing with the promotions coming out left and right. My fridges are crammed with pitchers and canisters with the ever increasing menu offerings. My kiosk is really small for our volume and we get beat up when we are busy. It's hard for us to constantly keep the place clean.
Yetive
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The fridges! They are so packed. And really, I'm not selling the granitas well enough to give the components that space. At least we are dropping to only the strawberry smoothie.
Has anyone ordered the "purple drink" yet? I had my first today.
Has anyone ordered the "purple drink" yet? I had my first today.
My store has been plagued with fruit flies for many many years. There have been at least a dozen times where I clean something that hasn't been cleaned in years (or ever...) and I think "Yeah! I've got it! This is where they were living!" and then the flies get better for a couple days and find somewhere new to live. It's insane. Pest vendors are absolutely worthless. They tell me to clean something. I clean it and there is zero change. The only things that help are cleaning the drains daily and leaving out apple cider vinegar and soap traps, but those just kill the adults and don't fix the underlying problem. We could have definitely gotten an NNC every summer for the last half dozen years, and even some winters! The DMs I've had just don't seem to be looking for the flies very hard. They'll notice when it's bad, but that's it.
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You might want to try this:6 Smart Ways to Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Haven't had that yet, but I just googled it. PT with soy, blackberries, and vanilla. Takes a really cheap drink and adds $1.60, sounds good from my perspective!
That lists my method on there, but like I said, it's treating the symptom and not the cause. They're living somewhere and I've spent 3 years trying to find out where. We've even had flies in February on days that it's below zero (a couple years ago).
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Are they near a common area, like a icee or soda machine. Flys are looking for sugar. Find the source. It can be food ave.
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This has been my issue literally all the time. I've taken apart the entire kiosk and I still can't get them. I share an area with Food Ave and the FATL doesn't deep clean anything and I feel I'm getting them because of that as well.
I've looked everywhere that I can think of. They're all over Starbucks.
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You literally read my mind.
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Use a paper cone in 4 areas. Write the date on it. Flies have a short life span. Make sure that, you put 2 cones near the syrups on counter & in storage rooms.
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What I've noticed is that at the bottom of the trash cans, some liquid from garbage bags can stay inside the trash cans themselves and I'm sure they breed there. Clean that if you haven't already and maybe that will help.
Tried that last year with about 7 traps. Didn't really help because the three traps in the bar area all had around a dozen flies. The ones in the surrounding areas (Icee machines, condiment bar, and in the kitchen area) each had a couple. But it's a good suggestion and now I might try it again, but making sure I do it two nights in a row. The first night will get rid of the vast majority of the flies. The second night will get rid of the younger adults that just came from their nest, so maybe that will point me in the right direction... hmm...
Yetive
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Yeah, anything made in a shaker is fine with me.
Oh shit, I just realized we'd be putting soy in a shaker. That means we'd have to wash that shaker. Unless we shake it without the soy and then add it after.
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Just order another one and put a soy sticker on it if you want to make it easier instead of wash, rinsing, and air drying after every use.
Yetive
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I have asked my closers to take the trash bins back to the compactor.
I set up a breadstick pan underneath the pastry case to catch all the condensation that drips from that pipe (the pipe was pretty disgusting, I found out how to detach it a few weeks ago) and I've seen some eggs in the breadstick pan if we forget to empty it and don't spray it with glance before replacing it. Just little white dots. But that's it. I've never seen any larvae though. That would really be a tell-tale sign.
