Here is all about getting rid of drain flies coming from the toilet, their worms; using physical, chemical, and biological means.

Drain flies are unsightly and can also be annoying. There are ways to handle this fly pest problem effectively and we seek to show you how through this “how to get rid of drain flies” guide.

Drain flies are always found around kitchen and bathroom sinks and are more common when such drainage is blocked or left unused.

COMPARE: Fruit Fly Vs Drain Fly

Whichever situation you face, you’ll find several ways to get rid of them by reading on.

What Attracts Drain Flies?

To get rid of drain flies, you need to know what attracts them or favorable conditions that make your home a target. Drain flies love to hang around stagnant or slow draining water. Such conditions provide a suitable breeding ground for them.

Hence to keep them at bay, regular cleaning is needed. Also, you need to inspect your drainage system to ensure that there is no blockage whatsoever.

Drain Fly Infestation Problems

How dangerous are drain flies?

Lots of pests are known to easily transmit diseases. However, in the case of drain flies, no connection has been established between it and disease transmission. Although this is the case, drain flies may spread bacteria on food.

This is possible from the drainage filth they live in especially in kitchen drainage.

What Other Information is Necessary?

Getting rid of drain flies requires obtaining as much information as possible. These include what they feed on, life-cycle, and habitat.

What Drain Flies Feed On

Home drainage (especially those not regularly cleaned) hold lots of organic content or material. This also includes sewage and sludge. These provide drain flies with ample food sources to live on. To get rid of them completely, you’ll need to clean such drainage and also ensure they are regularly checked for clogging.

Drain Fly Life-cycle

You need an understanding of the life-cycle of a drain fly. This enables you to tackle the problem most effectively. Drain flies have three main stages of development; the egg, larvae, and adult stages.

  • Eggs

Decomposing organic matter found in drainage provides the best conditions for drain fly eggs to develop. These eggs will eventually hatch into larvae thus completing the first stage.

  • Larvae

At this stage of development, larvae are tiny yet active by helping in the breakdown process of organic matter. If your drainage is blocked, you’ll be able to see these larvae in action. The development process continues until larvae are fully matured.

  • Adult

This is the final stage of drain fly development. At full maturity, adult drain flies will live for two weeks, after which they are replaced by newly matured ones. All drain flies must pass through these three stages to becoming fully matured.

How to Get Rid of Drain Flies in Bathroom and Other Apartment Areas

In the lead up to this point, we have considered all necessary information deemed to be vital for drain fly control. This section will discuss the various ways to get rid of this pest problem. It includes seeking the help of pest control specialists as well as Do It Yourself DIY techniques.

With such information, you have the choice of selecting which strategy best fits your needs and situation.

Without further delay, let’s get into the details;

  • Calling the Experts

Pest control specialists or services abound. By conducting a review, you will be able to choose your most preferred pest control provider. The advantage of having professionals handle the job is that you only tell them the problem and watch them get rid of it. Pest control technicians will first inspect the problem and choose the most effective treatment to apply.

Reputable pest control services offer a money-back guarantee. This gives you an added assurance of their level of competence. If you would rather have the experts rid your home of drain flies, then this option is what you should go for.

How to Exterminate Drain Flies Yourself

There are lots of natural solutions for drain fly problems. These are mostly DIY strategies that have proven to be quite effective in addressing the problem and include;

  • Identifying the Source

Whenever you notice a drain fly problem, there is a corresponding cause. In other words, drain flies are attracted by certain conditions.

In most cases, it is due to a build-up of organic matter along with the drainage ways or pipes. Such conditions will always attract drain flies as long as there are no solutions for it. When faced with such a situation, you need to clean up the organic matter within the drainage pipes.

Get pipe brushes of varying widths and lengths (depending on the size of your drainage pipe) and insert them into the pipe.

By pushing and pulling back and forth, you can dislodge a significant amount of organic matter within the pipe. This is necessary because drain flies feed on them. Thus by cleaning it, you’ll be discouraging them from hanging around.

Hot water should be poured into the drainage to help clean up the pipe after brushing.

  • Using Bleach

Bleach is also an important remedy for keeping drain flies at bay. To get rid of these pests using this natural remedy, simply mix a part of bleach to 10 parts water. This should be emptied into the drainage and allowed to sit for some hours, after which it should be flushed with water.

Doing this frequently helps keep your drainage clean of accumulated organic matter, hence getting rid of drain flies completely!

  • Baking Soda, Vinegar, and Boiling Water

To make your drainage and home unsuitable for drain flies, consider using baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water. To use this method, you need to pour in half a cup of baking soda into the drainage. This is followed by a cup of vinegar. You should ensure you do so slowly as doing otherwise will make it react violently with contents coming out the drain.

After slowly emptying the vinegar, it should be allowed to sit for at least an hour. Boiling water should then be used to flush the drainage. This completes the clean-up process, leaving your drainage free of organic matter. It also kills all drain fly larvae in the process.

  • Using Vinegar as Bait

Apart from its use, as shown above, vinegar can also be used as excellent bait for getting rid of drain flies. To do this, you only need half a cup of apple cider vinegar and a glass bottle. The Apple cider vinegar should be emptied into the glass but instead of a cover, get a perforated sheet with holes large enough for drain flies to pass through.

Placing the glass close to the drainage will act as bait by attracting drain flies into the glass thereby drowning in the process. This can be used in combination with other strategies in getting rid of drain flies from your home.

  • Using Insect Light Traps

Insect light traps are additional alternatives for getting rid of drain flies. These mostly work by emitting UV lights that attract insects, including drain flies. Although this serves as a solution to the problem of drain flies, it doesn’t fix the problem from its source.

Hence, while effective, it has its limitations as it cannot prevent further influx of drain flies.

  • Using Contact Aerosols

Contact aerosols are used to completely rid drains of these pests. This non-residual insecticide is sprayed around infested areas. Before using contact aerosols in drainage, the organic matter needs to have been removed.

Without this step, there is a little impact if any effect at all. This helps exterminate adult drain flies as well as larvae. However, contact aerosols are non-natural drain fly control remedies

  • Bio-Clean

Bio-clean is a natural solution for getting rid of drain flies and can be used for homes and businesses (such as in restaurants etc). Applying this pest control strategy is easy as you only need to pour a portion (as instructed in the ‘directions for use’) into your drainage. This non-toxic product feeds on organic matter found in drainage thus denying drain flies a vital source of nutrition.

Before long, the drain fly population declines drastically as long as this is frequently applied. This has no adverse effect on the environment.

  • Using Insect Growth Regulator

During and after treatment, insect growth regulator is effective against the return of drain flies. Hence to rid your home of drains flies and keep them from returning any time soon, an insect growth regulator is the answer and should do the trick. For best results, this needs to be applied occasionally. This is most effective at the egg and larval stages of development and will either inhibit growth or kill drain flies altogether.

  • Getting Rid of Stagnant Water

Last but not least, stagnant water needs to be gotten rid of. This action contributes to keeping drain flies in check. This isn’t a one-time action but should be done whenever there’s accumulated water. The best solution to this problem is by clearing the blockage to allow for a free flow of water.

We have seen how to get rid of drain flies with ample information provided on multiple ways to get the job done.

As mentioned earlier, either one or a combination of several of the above-listed methods will help you keep your home or business drain fly-free.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *