If you think drain flies are coming from your garbage disposal, then you’re going to want to do everything you can to get rid of them. In this article, you’ll learn all the best ways to get rid of drain flies for good!
Can Drain Flies Come From Your Garbage Disposal?
Yes, drain flies can definitely come from and live in your garbage disposal. They thrive and breed in any area where stagnant water is left to stand and where there’s decaying organic material. So as you can guess, your garbage disposal is an ideal place.
Why Are There Drain Flies In Your Garbage Disposal?
There are three main things that attract drain flies to certain areas of your home. Damp, dark, and an abundance of food. As you can imagine, your garbage disposal is already damp and dark. And with the amount of organic waste that ends up down there, the moment there’s a blockage or buildup, it’s going to be THE perfect home for drain flies!
And not only is it going to be a great food source for them, but it’s also going to be a great food source for their larvae as well.
How Can You Get Rid Of Drain Flies In Your Garbage Disposal?
Fortunately, there are so many great ways you can get rid of drain flies in your garbage disposal. Here are the easiest and best ways!
1. Drain Fly Trap
The first thing you should do is make a drain fly trap. While this won’t get rid of the drain flies currently living in your garbage disposal. It will attract the ones flying around your kitchen.
To make a drain fly trap, you should add equal parts sugar, water, and vinegar to a bowl before adding a few drops of liquid dish soap.
This will then attract the drain flies, and once they land in it, they won’t be able to get back out.
2. Apple Cider Vinegar & Plastic Wrap
You can also use an apple cider vinegar and plastic wrap trap to catch the intruders. Pour some apple cider vinegar into a cup, then cover it with plastic wrap to keep the drain flies from escaping. After that, make a few holes in the plastic wrap using a needle. This means drain flies will be able to crawl in, but they will be unable to get back out.
Eventually, they’ll get tired, fall into the apple cider vinegar, and drown if you leave them there long enough.
3. Boiling Water
Traps are no longer necessary once you’ve discovered the source of your drain fly infestation. Pouring boiling water down any drain or area where you find them is the quickest and easiest approach to get rid of them. And fortunately, with this method, you’ll kill them and their eggs at the same time this way.
And I know you may have heard that you should never pour hot water down the garbage disposal. Well, fortunately, this is only when there’s food in it. If you pour warm water down the disposal when there’s no food, it’s going to be absolutely fine.
4. Baking Soda & Vinegar
Combining baking soda and vinegar is another effective approach for getting rid of drain flies. Pour the solution down the garbage disposal, mixing the two ingredients in equal quantities. When you do this, the baking soda and vinegar will react with each other, expanding and killing anything in their path.
Then all you have to do is pour hot water down the drain to flush away the drain flies and their eggs.
5. Bleach
You can also try killing drain flies with bleach. However, while bleach will kill any drain flies and eggs it comes into contact with, its reach will be limited compared to some of the other treatments discussed above, so you may still end up with some drain flies alive, ready to breed and repeat the cycle.
6. Drain Cleaners
There are also a variety of drain cleaners available to help you get rid of drain flies. Traditional cleaners like Drano or bio-clean are the go-to cleaners, but your supermarket will have a lot of other options. Just remember to always read the instructions before using drain cleaners because some of them will be unsuitable for your garbage disposal.
Bio-Clean Drain Cleaning Kit is a great way to get rid of drain flies completely!
(Find out more about how effective Drano is at removing drain flies.)
7. Duct Tape
When you’re not using your garbage disposal, you can also try to cover it up with duct tape to stop any drain flies from escaping. This is a great way to stop them from spreading around the rest of your house, and when you want to use your garbage disposal again, all you have to do is take the duct tape off.
8. Sprays And Repellents
Finally, you can get rid of flies around your garbage disposal by spraying repellents that will either deter them from lingering or kill them. Just remember to always read the instructions before using these sprays to ensure they’re safe to sleep with.
9. Essential Oils
Drain flies are also deterred by some essential oils. For example, they’re known to hate lavender, peppermint, lemongrass, and eucalyptus because they dislike the smell. The best part is that they not only keep drain flies at bay, but they also smell great.
10. Hydrogen Peroxide
Another excellent option for killing drain flies, especially the ones in your garbage disposal, is hydrogen peroxide. In fact, any sewer fly that comes into touch with hydrogen peroxide will die almost instantaneously.
And the best thing is that hydrogen peroxide can also be used to clear out any accumulation of organic waste as well. So you’ll not only be eliminating drain flies from your home, but you’ll also be eliminating their habitat, making drain flies less likely to reproduce there!
11. Enzyme Cleaner
Enzyme cleaners are by far one of the most effective ways to get rid of drain flies in your garbage disposal. Enzyme cleaners will not only kill any drain worms, drain flies, or eggs, but they will also eat away at any obstructions in your drains as well.
And one of the best parts of using enzyme cleaners is the fact that they’re not going to be harmful to your garbage disposal either!
12. Check Outside
Drain flies may be found in your garbage disposal, but it isn’t the only location they may be found. Drain flies, for the most part, live outside and only come inside when they detect locations in your home they can breed.
As a result, if you want to get rid of drain flies in your garbage disposal, do everything you can to get rid of any drain flies outside as well. Here are all the possible sources of drain flies.
13. Remove Any Standing Water
You should also try to remove any standing water from around your kitchen as well. Drain flies are attracted to standing water, so by removing it from your kitchen, you’re going to reduce the chance of drain flies wanting to stay in your home!
How To Get Rid Of Drain Flies Around Your Home
Now that you’ve removed all of the drain flies from your garbage disposal, the next step is to remove drain flies from around your home as well. Otherwise, they’ll just end up flying back to your garbage disposal and breeding again.
So here are all the ways to remove drain flies from your home.
Kill Them On Sight
The easiest way to remove them is to just kill them on sight. Whenever you see one, just give it a good whack to prevent it from flying somewhere and breeding all over again.
Apple Cider Vinegar Trap
If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, then you can also make apple cider vinegar traps to kill drain flies as well. To do this, just pour some apple cider vinegar into a container. Once you’ve done this, cover the container with plastic wrap and poke small holes into it.
This will enable the drain flies to enter the container, but they won’t be able to get out again. Then they’ll slowly tire and begin to drop into the apple cider vinegar.
Dish Soap And Warm Water
If you want an insecticide that is safe for your family, then mixing dish soap and warm water is a great choice. Once you’ve mixed the two together, you just need to spray any drain flies you see.
They won’t be able to survive the dish soap, so they’ll end up perishing!
How To Prevent Drain Flies Living In Your Garbage Disposal
Now you know how to kill drain flies in your garbage disposal AND your home, the next step is to make sure that they never come back.
The main way to make sure that drain flies don’t enter your garbage disposal is to make it inhabitable for them. So the best thing to do is regularly clean it and make sure there’s no buildup of muck that could create the perfect breeding ground for drain flies.
As well as this, you should also make sure that you’re keeping the rest of your house and around your home clean as well. Especially making sure there are no areas of standing water or dark, damp areas that drain flies would want to inhabit.
Fortunately, deep cleaning the areas of your home that can often be forgotten about is one of the best ways to prevent drain flies.
Recap
As you can see, drain flies in your garbage disposal is an extremely easy thing to fix, as long as you know what you’re doing, but you should actively be trying to prevent them from living there in the first place.
So, if you liked this article, make sure you check out the rest for the website. Otherwise, have a great day!
