Having any sort of pest in your apartment is annoying. But when drain flies are just loitering around all the places, you think of them as hygienic. It can be an extra pain. Fortunately, in this article, you’re going to find out why there are drain flies deciding to make their home in your apartment, as well as a step-by-step guide on how to get rid of them!
So keep reading to find out everything you need to know!
Why Are There Drain Flies In Your Apartment?
Drain flies are attracted to standing and stagnant water, which is ripe with decaying organic matter (just like a drain), hence their names. Even if you keep your drains clean, there are normally small parts of the drain that have a constant amount of standing water that can attract them.
And once they’re in one part of your apartment, it’s not uncommon for them to spread and find other such areas they can grow and breed.
How Do You Know When You Have Drain Flies In Your Apartment?
Fortunately, drain flies are pretty easy to spot, and you’ll be able to quickly identify them when you have them. There are two main tests that you can do to find out.
You Can See Them
The easiest way to know you have drain flies in your apartment is when you can physically see them. Normally, you’ll notice them around drains and sinks, such as the ones in your shower, bathtub, or sinks. More often than not, when these haven’t been used in a while, and the small amount of water has been left to go stagnant.
You’ll notice them because they’re small in size (about the size of a fruit fly, but fatter). They’re also grey-colored and have light-colored wings. You’ll also notice if you squish them, they leave behind a powdery substance as well.
Lastly, unlike some flies, drain flies are noticeably fuzzy with fuzzy bodies and wings.
Covering Drains
The next step to know if you have drain flies or not is to cover your drains with duct tape overnight. Eventually, the drain flies are going to want to leave the drain and end up getting stuck to the duct tape. So when you remove it in the morning, if there are any flies stuck to it, you’ll know that you’re dealing with a drain fly infestation in your apartment, and you can move on to the next steps.
You should do this for 5 nights to be certain, as if you do it during certain stages during the breeding phase, you may not notice any drain flies stuck to the duct tape at all.
How To Get Rid Of Drain Flies In Your Apartment
Fortunately, getting rid of drain flies isn’t that difficult. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get rid of them, as well as some extra tips to make sure they stay gone.
Step By Step Guide
Step 1
The first step is to make sure you’re unclogging all the drains in your house. The easiest way to do this is to pour boiling water down the drain. Once the boiling water has gone through, pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by half a cup of vinegar.
When you do this, the two will react to each other and expand, unclogging the drain. Then finally, all you have to do is rinse it down again.
Step 2
The next step is to give your drains a good clean, to remove any organic waste that’s starting to decay and attract drain flies. You can use a tool known as a snake to unclog and clean your drain, and all you have to do is slide it down the drain and use a gentle scrubbing motion to remove all the gunk and build up.
Step 3
Next up, you need to clean the P trap; this is one of the areas that drain flies are most likely to breed in because it’s where the standing water normally sits. If you want to know how to remove the P trap, check out this article.
Step 4
Once you’ve done all this, the next step is to use a good enzyme cleaner to remove any more gunk or organic waste build-up that’s still in the drain. Drano is the go-to cleaner of choice for this, but there are a lot of other choices as well.
When choosing a drain cleaner, you want one that will leave chemicals after it’s passed through, which helps reduce the chances of a build-up happening again.
Step 5
Lastly, all you have to do now is rinse your drain through. To do this, wait for the designated amount of time your drain cleaner says to, and then run your taps for 2-3 minutes allowing warm water to pass through the pipes.
What Else Can You Do?
While this step-by-step guide can help remove any drain fly infestations in your pipes, it’s not the only thing you can do to get rid of drain flies in your apartment. Here are a few more things you should try.
Set Drain Fly Traps
The first step is to make a drain fly trap. While this won’t get rid of the drain flies that are dwelling in your pipes, it will help to keep them away. And it will also draw in any flies that are buzzing around your apartment.
To make a drain fly trap do the following: in a bowl, mix equal parts sugar, water, and vinegar before adding a few drops of liquid dish soap to produce a drain fly trap.
This will then attract the drain flies, and once they’ve flown into the mixture, they won’t be able to leave.
Apple Cider Vinegar & Plastic Wrap
Another great trap you can use for drain flies is apple cider vinegar & plastic wrap. To do this, pour some apple cider vinegar into a cup and wrap it in plastic wrap. Then, using a needle, poke a few holes in the plastic wrap. This means that drain flies will be able to crawl in but will be unable to exit.
If you leave them there long enough, they will tire and tumble into the apple cider vinegar, drowning.
Sprays And Repellents
You can also use sprays and repellents to get rid of drain flies that are flying around your apartment as well. While most will straight up kill drain flies, you’ll also find some that deter drain flies from staying in your home.
When you’re using sprays and repellents, make sure that you’re always reading the instructions first. And you should also make sure that you’re always spraying them in a well-ventilated room.
Essential Oils
Drain flies are also known not to look at the smell of essential oils as well. So you can use them to help deter drain flies from living in your apartment while also making it smell fantastic. If you’re not sure what essential oils to use, lavender, peppermint, lemongrass, and eucalyptus are all great choices.
How Do You Prevent Drain Flies From Returning To Your Apartment?
The easiest way to prevent drain flies from entering your apartment is to make sure you’re regularly removing any standing water in your home. And in the cases where you can’t remove the standing water (such as in a P trap), you should make sure you’re flushing the water regularly.
To do this couldn’t be simpler; just run your taps every week for a couple of minutes to get rid of all the old standing water and replace it with new water. For extra effect, you can also flush the drain with baking soda and vinegar to get into all the cracks.
Recap
As you can see, removing drain flies from your apartment really isn’t that difficult. In fact, if you follow the step-by-step guide above, you should have no problem getting rid of your infestation. However, in times when there’s a serious infestation, the best thing to do may be to call out a professional.
If you like this article, make sure to check out the rest of the website. Otherwise, have a great day!
