Swatting flies away from your drain? You are probably encountering drain flies, also called “moth flies.”
The best way to prevent these flies from taking over your sink is eliminating standing water and sanitization. Areas with a lot of wet organic materials, like kitchen leftovers, can attract drain flies. They are a hardy fly and can survive underwater for 24 hours or more.
What Are Drain Flies?
The drain fly resembles a tiny moth in appearance and is a poor flier. It prefers dark areas and is commonly seen resting on walls near areas where it breeds. Moth flies breed in heavily decaying organic matter that remains fairly wet. In fact, this fly can breed in standing water that contains suitable amounts of organic materials, such as drain traps or sump pumps.
How to Help Get Rid of a Drain Fly Problem
If you consistently encounter these flies in your home you may be wondering how to kill the drain flies. The key to controlling moth flies is finding the breeding sites and removing them by proper cleaning practices. A number of breeding sites can be found and eliminated while others may easily be overlooked. The inspection needs to focus on finding all sites where wet organic matter has accumulated and then removing that matter completely. Regular cleaning of drains using appropriate drain cleaners or bacterial drain cleaning products. Bleach and hot water do not sufficiently clean drains to control flies!
On occasion, drain line breaks under slabs or in crawlspaces can result in huge moth fly populations in homes, restaurants, or other commercial buildings. Drain breaks beneath a slab floor will require the expertise of a plumber to diagnose. If flies are found to be breeding under the slab, the slab will need to be broken open and the drain line repaired. If the wet, contaminated soil is not removed and replaced with fresh, dry soil, the moth fly problem will persist.