BACKGROUND Attractant‐based trapping is used in the establishment of pest free areas and areas of low pest prevalence for fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). Male lures are commonly used attractants in fruit fly trapping. In this study, the effects of male lure dispensers, traps and combinations of dispensers and traps on monitoring of two fruit fly pests: Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) were investigated in South Africa. RESULTS In male lure based trapping systems evaluated: Trimedlure (TML) for C. capitata and Methyl Eugenol (ME) for B. dorsalis, the type of dispenser affected catches for both species. Higher catches of B. dorsalis males were recorded in bucket traps baited with a dispenser containing 15 g of ME compared to traps baited with dispensers containing either 4 g or 2 g of ME. Catches of C. capitata males were higher with dispensers containing TML than those with TML plus extender (Capilure). The type of trap used with TML also influenced catches of C. capitata with higher numbers recorded in yellow Delta trap compared to the Sensus bucket trap. CONCLUSIONS The use of dispensers with higher ME loadings would be more effective for monitoring of B. dorsalis. The yellow Delta trap baited with TML (without extender) would be an effective monitoring system for C. capitata. Fruit fly prevalence levels as determined by specific trapping systems should be related to their efficiency in terms of catches of the target pests. This article is protected by copyright.