No one likes doing the dishes, but you know what’s even worse? Doing the dishes when you also have drain flies! Drain flies are little gnats or moths, and they hang out around your drains for the moisture and nourishment they provide. While drain flies are not harmful to you, they are annoying. To get rid of them, you’ll need to clean and sanitize the drain, getting rid of their eggs and the flies themselves. If you need help getting rid of drain flies you can see our pricing here.
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But sometimes, it can feel impossible to get rid of them! These drain flies reproduce extremely fast, so before you know it, you’re practically a drain fly hotel. Let’s talk a bit more about what drain flies are and how to stop them from reproducing in your home.
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What are drain flies?
Drain flies are little bugs that hang out around your drain. But, they go by many names. Some people call them moth flies, sewer flies, filter flies, and even fruit flies. However, they are much different than fruit flies. Though they can look similar, drain flies hang out around your drain and look a bit more like moths rather than flies.
Drain flies are true flies, but they are extremely tiny. At just about 1/8 th inch, they can be hard to see if there is only one or two of them. But as they begin to reproduce and hang out around your sinks, you’ll notice them.
The flies lay their eggs in your drain and overflow pipes. This can be any pipe, but you’re most likely to see them in your kitchen sink because they feed off of the sewage and fermented food that hangs out there. However, it’s not unheard of to see them in your bathrooms as well.
What do drain flies look like?
While drain flies are flies, they look a lot like moths. Most of the time these flies are black and brown. They have wings that spread out like moth’s wings and have thin veins on their furry wings. On their heads is a tuft of fur, and they have long antennae that look feathery or striped. Their defining characteristics are:
- Small body at 1/8 th inch
- Black or brown
- Striped wings with thin, straight veins
- Moth-like wings spread out
- Tuft of fur on their head
- Straight, feather-like antennae on their heads
What causes drain flies?
Drain flies love the humidity, so you’ll often find them if you live in a humid environment. On top of that, they love being in drains that are contaminated with sewage. This may be your kitchen sink, sewer, septic tank, or even soil.
When a sink is left alone or not properly sanitized, there can be sewage that is contaminating it. Because drain flies like the left behind fermented sewage, they fly around the drains and eat at it. Then, they reproduce. Unfortunately, they are extremely fast with reproducing. They lay their eggs within two days of being born themselves, and they lay 30 to 100 eggs at a time.
Before you know it, you could have thousands of drain flies in your home, and it can be really difficult to get rid of them. You need to use your sinks and properly sanitize them to prevent drain flies from coming around.
Do drain flies bite?
Drain flies do not bite. Biting or not, no one likes to have bugs in their house. While drain flies are definitely a nuisance, they aren’t going to bite you like some other flies or other flying bugs that you may have.
Are drain flies harmful?
Surely, any bug eating sewage cannot be good, right? Well, as annoying as drain flies are, and as gross as their diets may be, they aren’t harmful to us. There are no cases of drain flies harming humans or causing any illnesses or diseases, so you don’t have to worry about that! Still, they are annoying and may cause you to be frustrated.
How to get rid of drain flies
Thankfully, there are five ways you can get rid of drain flies naturally. These DIY methods to get rid of drain flies can help you stop the reproductive cycle, which will help cut down on the number that you see. If you catch the problem early enough, they can be pretty easy to get rid of.
- Pipe brush: Use a pipe brush to brush the pipe as far as you can go. Brushing the pipe dislodges the eggs and larvae from the pipe. Then, flush the pipe with boiling water and sanitize the pipe brush so you don’t unknowingly keep larvae around.
- Traps: You can also use a trap with sugar, water, vinegar, and dish soap. Put equal parts of water, sugar, and white vinegar. Then, put a couple of drops of dish soap in there as well. The flies are often drawn to the smell of this soap and then end up in the water.
- Boiling water: Boiling water can kill the larvae, but it won’t do much for the flies already flying about. Twice a week, pour a pot of boiling water down your drain to dislodge and remove any larvae and eggs.
- Salt and baking soda: Using ½ cup of salt and a ½ cup of baking soda, sprinkle it in your sink and down the drain. Once you’ve done that, pour a cup of vinegar down the drain. It may fizzle and foam, so be sure your sink or pipe has enough room to let out this excess. Let it keep foaming overnight, then pour boiling water down it in the morning.
- Apple cider vinegar: For flies already in your home, use apple cider vinegar in a bowl. Pour as much as you want into a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Then, poke a few small holes in the plastic wrap. This will trap the flies.
Call a Professional
Many times, drain flies can be hard to get rid of because they reproduce so quickly. If you seem to try all of the DIY methods and don’t seem to get anywhere, you’re not alone. In that case, it may be time to call a professional. An exterminator knows exactly what needs to be done to stop the reproductive cycle of the drain flies. They have better treatments that work immediately, and the problem will be gone much quicker.
While drain flies may not be harmful to your health, they can cause a general feeling of sickness. No one wants bugs flying around their home, dishes, and food—especially not bugs that eat sewage. To get rid of them quickly and efficiently, call an exterminator and tell them what you’re dealing with.
Conclusion: How to get rid of drain flies
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Frequently Asked Questions
They are tiny, about an eighth of an inch, black or brown, with fuzzy moth-like wings held out to the sides. The wings show thin, straight veins, and the head carries a tuft of fur plus long feathery antennae. People often mistake them for fruit flies, but fruit flies do not have that moth shape.
They breed in the film of sewage and fermented food that builds up inside drains and overflow pipes. Humid conditions and a drain that goes unused or unsanitized make it worse. Kitchen sinks are the most common spot, but bathrooms, sewer lines, and septic tanks all qualify.
Very fast. They lay eggs within about two days of hatching themselves, and each female lays 30 to 100 eggs at a time. That is why a couple of flies turn into a constant cloud in a week or two, and why treatment has to target eggs and larvae, not just the adults.
Scrub the pipe with a pipe brush to dislodge eggs and larvae, then flush with boiling water. Half a cup of salt plus half a cup of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar, left to foam overnight and flushed with boiling water, works too. For the adults already flying, set a bowl of apple cider vinegar covered in perforated plastic wrap.
No. Drain flies do not bite, and there are no known cases of them making people sick. They are still unpleasant, since they feed on sewage and then land on dishes and food surfaces. That alone is reason enough to clear the breeding site.