If you’re wondering what’s attracting drain flies to your home, you may be wondering whether a light source could be behind it! In this article, not only will you find out whether drain flies are attracted to light or not, but you’ll also learn why it could be, whether certain light is more attractive than others, and most importantly, how to prevent them from coming back in the future!
So keep reading to find out everything you need to know!
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Light?
Yes, drain flies are extremely attracted to light. In fact, even a tiny spot of light is going to be enough to attract drain flies to your home. So if you’ve left a light on with a window open, this could be one of the ways drain flies were attracted to your home.
Why Are Drain Flies Attracted To Light?
No one knows for sure why drain flies are attracted to light; however, the most agreed-upon reason is that, like us, light helps them navigate. Because drain flies are used to living in dark, damp places, any sort of light is going to help them know where they’re going a lot easier.
Another reason that drain flies might like light is that it provides them with a heat source as well.
What Kind Of Light Do Drain Flies Like?
Again, it’s hard to know for sure what kind of light drain flies are attracted to because there hasn’t been much research on the topic. It’s generally agreed upon though, that any light strong enough for a drain fly to navigate is going to be favorable to them.
What Else Attracts Drain Flies?
Light isn’t the only thing that attracts drain flies. In fact, light alone isn’t nearly enough to interest drain flies. As well as light, drain flies also look for the following:
Damp And Moist Places
First of all, drain flies are going to flock to places that are damp and moist. Not only do these areas provide perfect breeding grounds, they normally have food too! In fact, when an environment is too dry, they won’t be able to reproduce.
As you can guess, this is one reason that drain flies love plumbing pipes so much!
Decaying Matter & Stagnant Water
Drain flies also absolutely love decaying matter and stagnant water also. Both of which provide them with an abundance of food and a place to breed! And it’s not just the drain flies that love this. Their larvae also thrive in areas filled with decaying matter and stagnant water.
Humidity
Anywhere humid is going to be attractive to drain flies too. Humid environments are another ideal place for drain flies to breed, and as you can guess, plumbing pipes are going to provide this for them!
Darkness
Counterintuitively, drain flies also like darkness as well as light. While light will attract them at first, when drain flies breed, they prefer to do so in dark areas.
How To Prevent Drain Flies?
If you want to prevent drain flies, you just need to make your home so unappetizing to them that they won’t want to live there.
To do this, you should remove any standing water that builds up in your home. You should also frequently wash and flush any drain, making sure any buildup of muck is being removed.
As you can see, a lot of prevention is just keeping the forgotten areas of your home clean enough to prevent drain flies from coming back.
You should also look around your property for any areas drain flies may be living in secret as well. Here’s a great list of places to look when drain flies aren’t coming from your drain.
Are Drain Flies Attracted To UV Light?
While drain flies are attracted to UV light, they’re nowhere near as attracted to it as other flies are, so using an electronic fly killer to get rid of them is going to have mixed results.
Recap
As you can see, drain flies are attracted to light; however, light alone isn’t enough to keep them in your home. As well as light, they like areas that are damp, humid, and full of food!
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