How Do You Get Rid of Fruit Flies Coming From Drain?

How do you get rid of drain flies?

Few things are more annoying than fruit or drain flies invading your kitchen or bathroom. The pesky insects thrive on rotting foods and other organic matter found inside moist drains. Drain and fruit flies are harmless though they can carry bacteria from rotting foods that can contaminate other foods. There are many ways to resolve this issue – so put down the fly swatter and learn about some of the fastest ways to rid yourself of drain flies and get your drain back to normal!

How to Fix

While some insecticides and household chemicals can be used, there are also many natural ways to take care of things. First things first, you’ll want to clean out the drain in question. There are a few ways to do this:

• Pour a 1/2 cup of salt, 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar and allow it to work its magic overnight. Follow up with boiling water the next morning. Repeat if necessary.
• Pour a half gallon of water and 1 cup of vinegar or bleach down the drain to sanitize.
• Pour boiling water down the drain to loosen rotting matter. Use a metal pipe brush to clean the pipe lining. Follow with more boiling water.

After sanitizing the drain, you may want to create a homemade trap to catch the remaining flies.

• Place a small piece of ripe fruit in a cup covered with plastic wrap. Next, make small puncture marks in the wrap with a fork. This method is perfect for catching fruit flies.
• Mix a cup and a half of apple cider vinegar and 5 drops of dish soap and place near the drain (heat in the microwave for 15 seconds to attract more flies).

If these methods do not work to kill drain flies, you may have an issue with your p-trap. Every kitchen or bathroom drain has a self-sealing water trap, which stores about two cups of water in a U-shaped bend that sits below the piping and the fixture. When there is no water in the pipe due to cracks or non-use, odors and flies can escape. If the flies come back, there may be something wrong with your p-trap or a drain line. Schedule a Roto-Rooter service here and we'll help you clean your drain and get your kitchen back to normal in no time.