How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies in Your Drain
Summer is approaching quickly, and despite all the great things that come along with the warm season, there’s one pesky nuisance that seems to return to our homes every year: fruit flies.
It can feel almost impossible to completely eradicate a fruit fly infestation; they sometimes linger even after you set multiple traps or clean your sink and appliances. Fruit flies thrive in damp, dark places, and they survive off of rotting fruit and other organic foods. This makes drains a perfect place for a fruit fly to live and feast, as there are often remnants of food scraps or similar gunk stuck in the drain.
Even if you manage to get rid of all the visible fruit flies in a given room, chances are there are still hundreds of eggs in your drains ready to hatch and continue invading your space. Female fruit flies can lay over 400 eggs in her lifetime, and these eggs are so small that even if you keep your sink in pristine condition, they can still get stuck in the small crevices of a kitchen drain or garbage disposal.
While this issue is gross and annoying, the good news is that there are simple ways to eliminate a fruit fly infestation and preventative measures you can take to keep your home pest-free. Knowing what to do now can keep your kitchen completely fruit fly free for the summer!
In this guide, you’ll learn how to avoid getting fruit flies in the first place, and how to eliminate them if and when they do show up using common household items.
Stay on Top of Food Disposal
A simple way to avoid a fruit fly infestation is being careful about how you dispose of food scraps. Many of us have garbage disposals that make it simple to get rid of waste while we cook and do the dishes. However, it’s often the gunk in our garbage disposals that attracts fruit flies.
Consider throwing away scraps in a trash can with a cover or lid, or try composting in an area far from the kitchen. Never leave scraps or leftover food sitting on the kitchen counter or hanging out in the sink. Fruit flies are also attracted to dirty dishes left in a sink, so putting your dishes in the dishwasher or washing them right after use is another preventative measure you can take.
Use a Drain Brush
Completely avoiding using the garbage disposal is easier said than done. So, staying on top of removing the build up in your drain with a drain brush is very important. Manually removing gunk and build up means that there is nothing left for a fruit fly to eat, making your drain useless to a fruit fly.
Use a Cleaning Solution
If you find yourself with a fruit fly problem, using a cleaning solution in addition to a drain brush is the best way to permanently get rid of the flies. At the store, you can look for a drain cleaner that will help dissolve residue and build-up. Or, you can also make your own solution with a few things in your pantry:
- Pour a cup of distilled vinegar down your drain; vinegar is an acid that will break down grime and buildup as well as disinfect your drain.
- For a more powerful homemade solution, mix together a half cup of salt, half cup of baking soda and one cup of vinegar. Pour the mixture down the drain.
Following either method with a pot of boiling water will help remove excess debris and rinse the solution down once and for all.
If All Else Fails
Keeping up with cleaning and removing grime from your drains is the best and most effective way to avoid and eliminate fruit flies this summer. However, sometimes the best of efforts still aren’t enough. If you find yourself unable to get rid of the fruit flies in your home, schedule an appointment with Lenox Plumbing as soon as possible.
Our plumbers will help you locate your drains to find the source of the fruit fly problem, clean out your drains to ensure make sure they’re uninhabitable for these pests and even take a look deep down inside of your drains to determine what else could be contributing to your fruit fly fiasco.
