Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I would like to know how to get rid of drain flies. I'm infested with them. Please help.
By donna from Troy, OH
first would need to know if you are you talking about true drain flies (also known as moth flies) or just a generic gnat you are finding near your drains. Every drain fly issue I have worked with had sewer issues to deal with, usually a busted sewer or drain line, once it was an unused sink that the water in the trap had evaporated which made a straight shot to the city sewer line. For these just having the sewer issue fixed, when the water dries the flies will be gone shortly.
If you are seeing small gnats around certain drains, they may be living in the much of old drains and garbage disposals. Their maggots feed off of the algae and fungi in the muck that can build up. They (fungus gnats) may also be originating from potted plants that are being over watered and the adult gnats have just found their way to other parts of the home (bathrooms, kitchen). A bleach solution to clean the pipes may all that is needed, if from plants you may have to re pot the plants in clean potting soil and cut back on the watering in the future. Have heard that adding a layer of sand will keep the gnats from laying eggs in the wet soil beneath.
over 21 years doing pest control
When I lived in the country I use to get the same. The best thing I found that worked was once in a while pouring a little bleach down the drain.
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How do you kill drain flies?
By kacee from Crystal Lake, IL
Clean your drains. Use 1 part salt, 2 parts baking soda packed slightly into the drain, and add one part vinegar. Let it foam until the fizzing stops completely, then flush well with warm water to clean the lines.
The flies should disappear but if any remain, pour a mild bleach solution like 1 part bleach to 10 parts water into the drains slowly and let sit for a few hours before flushing with cold water.
I recommend doing the safe environmentally friendly and very effective cleaning first and once a month or so after that. It's really effective and while bleach will disinfect it won't scour the pipe walls and get rid of gunk like the baking soda mixture.
Any vinegar will do and don't worry, you won't be smelling vinegar in your kitchen when you're done. It will just be fresh and clean. (03/28/2009)
By d horner
I've never heard of drain flies before so wanted to see what they were :-) I came across these two links that talk about the need to first get rid of the source of the flies (gunk and nests).
http://www.pestproducts.com/fliesdrains.htm#Eliminating
And here's the other: http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef615.asp
I hope these are helpful for your particular situation. (03/28/2009)
By Deeli
