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Drain flies???

eteller

eteller

Addicted Member
The last few weeks we have been plagued with house flies. They look like normal house flies but slightly smaller. I was thinking they were coming in the side door when the kids were going in and out as kids do, we have our trash can near there and I figured they congregated around that. Well the other day my GF was cleaning and saw one emerge from the shower drain. I googled it and apparently there is such a thing as drain flies. Since we've tried drain cleaner, bleach and hot water, nothing seems to kill there things. Yesterday i killed eleven with a swatter. I had fly paper strips up till my ten year old got her hair stuck in one :no: and the GF put her foot down. Anyone got any ideas on getting rid of these?
 
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I have roaches coming out of my drains and they are hooked to city sewage. Been spraying roach killer down my drains. No flies though.
 
True drain flies are very poor fliers and don't venture far from their place of infestation. They require moisture and live on the scum in the drain as well as lay their eggs. House hold insecticides will kill them however direct contact is generally required, this should take care of the current adults.

You will need to clean down inside the drain, you will need to remove the strainer, scrub the inside of the drain with bleach and detergent, just pouring down the drain won't remove the scum that they seek, this should take care of the next generation, they have a short life span, in order to be rid of them you need to break the life cycle.

Jim
 
I googled this again and the flies we have do not look like the drain flies pictured. They also fly very well. This leads me to believe they are small (young) house flies. I guess I have to figure out where their coming from.
 
Use an enzymatic cleaner that will eat the gunk in the drain. I wish I could remember the product we used to use for our drains when I managed a hospital cafeteria. Took care of the problem quickly.
 
eteller said:
I googled this again and the flies we have do not look like the drain flies pictured. They also fly very well. This leads me to believe they are small (young) house flies. I guess I have to figure out where their coming from.
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Get a rubber sheet or plastic coffeecan lid or SOMETHING that will cling to the floor of the shower over the drain
when you are not using it and will close/seal the drain hole. They can't come out of a hole that isn't there.
 
We have closed off all the drains except for the basement floor drain, going to try and cover that tonight. The a/c drains into it but I think I can cover it with duct tape.
 
Are you on a septic tank, or public sewer? If a septic tank, you might call a septic contractor to see if there is something wrong with the seepage pits (or leach lines if you have that type of system). If you have a leach line which has gotten too shallow, and there is any opening to the surface, the flies are simply flying into the leach line, then back into the tank, and up the house main pipe to the drains.

Whether on a septic tank OR sewer, you should have P traps in all of the sinks and showers, and maybe in the basement (and other floor) drains. Any drain without a P trap must be capped when not being used. The P traps, if not leaky, should be completely sealed from the sewer because of water sitting there, and the flies cannot swim past it. Also, you will get sewer gas in the house if you don't have P traps. In vacation homes, often the P trap water evaporates, which opens up the passage for gas, and then you have a stink when you go in the house.

If these flies are not coming from the sewer or septic tank, they're actually already in the house (or a few adults were last week), and have laid maggots in the drain sludge, and now those maggots have morphed into baby flies, and by killing those as they emerge over the next day or so, you will be rid of the problem.

Charles
 
I like the Drano idea, and for roaches especially, get some boric acid. Just make sure kids & pets can't get into it.
 
kx250rider said:
Are you on a septic tank, or public sewer? If a septic tank, you might call a septic contractor to see if there is something wrong with the seepage pits (or leach lines if you have that type of system). If you have a leach line which has gotten too shallow, and there is any opening to the surface, the flies are simply flying into the leach line, then back into the tank, and up the house main pipe to the drains.

Whether on a septic tank OR sewer, you should have P traps in all of the sinks and showers, and maybe in the basement (and other floor) drains. Any drain without a P trap must be capped when not being used. The P traps, if not leaky, should be completely sealed from the sewer because of water sitting there, and the flies cannot swim past it. Also, you will get sewer gas in the house if you don't have P traps. In vacation homes, often the P trap water evaporates, which opens up the passage for gas, and then you have a stink when you go in the house.

If these flies are not coming from the sewer or septic tank, they're actually already in the house (or a few adults were last week), and have laid maggots in the drain sludge, and now those maggots have morphed into baby flies, and by killing those as they emerge over the next day or so, you will be rid of the problem.

Charles
Click to expand...

No septic tank. Me thinks some flies got in and laid some eggs somewhere. Going by Lowe;s on the way home and picking up some enzymatic drain cleaner to drop into the basement floor drain. We'll see what happens.
 
I've been having a similar issue lately. No clue where the little buggers are coming from.
 
I recycle my coffee grounds and last year I found some fruit flies or some such were apparently breeding in that!
Had no idea they could ... but I tossed all the grounds out and now keep the daily used grounds
in an old Folgers plastic can with a snap top lid so its sealed, and I dump that once a week.

But if you have a floor drain and don't put water into it periodically, it can dry out and be an air path to the sewer below.
Pour a gallon of hot water into it to fill the trap, and see if that helps.
Then do it again every month or 6 weeks to keep the trap working like it should.
 
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