If you have drain flies in your home, you may be wondering what some of the things that attract them are! In this article, you’ll find out what attracts drain flies and what you can do to deter them from your home in the future!
So keep reading to find out everything you need to know!
What Attracts Drain Flies?
There are four main things that are going to attract drain flies to your home. Each of them on their own may not be enough, but when an environment has multiple of these, it’s almost certain that drain flies will flock to them at some point in time!
Damp
First of all, drain flies are going to be attracted to any areas that are damp or have standing water. Shallow dirty water is normally their go-to, and this can be found all around your, both inside and out.
Standing water and stagnant water often house decaying organic material, which drain flies love to eat.
A Food Source
And of course, on the subject of eating, drain flies are going to thrive anywhere there’s a food source as well. One of the reasons they love drain pipes is because they’re often full of organic material they can eat, such as old food, soaps, and even hair.
Humidity
Drain flies also love humidity. You should now be beginning to see why drain flies love the drains and pipes in your home so much. They provide everything they’ll need to thrive. Not only are they damp and full of food.
But any standing water in the pipes is going to create an incredibly humid environment where drain flies are going to thrive.
However, when you begin to think on a larger scale, you can understand how drain flies end up inhabiting entire rooms (such as your bathroom) when they aren’t aerated properly.
Light
Although they’re more active at night, drain flies love light as well. Any light source is going to help them navigate, and just like moths, if they notice a light source, they’ll often fly directly towards it!
What Else Attracts Drain Flies?
As well as the above, people often ask whether the following will attract drain flies as well:
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Food?
While drain flies won’t be attracted to food in your house, they will be attracted to decaying food and other organic matter around your home. For example, if you have decaying food in your garbage disposal, it’s going to be a huge attractant to drain flies.
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Fruit
Just like food, drain flies are going to be attracted to fruit that has started to decay and rot, especially if it’s in an area where they can also breed as well!
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Humans?
No, drain flies aren’t attracted to humans. In fact, humans AND animals offer nothing to drain flies, so they’re of absolutely zero interest to them. Drain flies are even incapable of biting humans.
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Mold?
You may notice that drain flies and mold occur hand in hand. While drain flies will eat mold, they’re not more attracted to it than other food sources. But the reason you often see both at the same time is that they both have the same requirements.
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.
Are Drain Flies Attracted To UV Light
Drain flies aren’t more or less attracted to UV light than normal light. And they won’t be as attracted to UV light as other flying bugs.
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Bug Zappers?
Bug zappers may not be overly attractive to drain flies; however, they will be able to help get rid of a few of them! However, if you want to get rid of drain flies permanently, bug zappers alone won’t be enough.
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Vinegar?
Drain flies are attracted to vinegar. In fact, vinegar can be so attractive to drain flies you can actually use it to trap them!
Are Drain Flies Attracted To Apple Cider Vinegar?
Drain flies are even more attracted to apple cider vinegar than they are to normal vinegar. If you’re going to use vinegar to trap drain flies, then apple cider vinegar is definitely the best choice!
What Do Drain Flies Eat?
Drain flies tend to eat any sort of decaying matter around your home. Whatever is in your pipes is going to be ideal for them. Old food, human hair, fat, certain soaps, and shampoos can all provide drain flies with the food they need to eat.
Outside, they’ll tend to feed on flower nectar and any polluted water they can find as well!
How To Prevent Drain Flies Coming To Your Home
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.
Recap
Now you know what drain flies are attracted to, you can work on removing these things from your home to deter drain flies from coming. In some cases, you can also use what a drain fly is attracted to to trap them as well!
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