OK...Well this didn't work out the way I wanted to. But anyway. The casa de Wellington has recently been taken over by little devils known as drain flies. the bastards look like fruit flies, but make their homes and nesting places in the drains where they feed off of biological material. Sounds like fun, right?
Anyway, you think you might have them? Here's how to tell. They are fairly small, about 1/4 of an inch. They like to hang out near the drains, like near the sink. However, they're not always over there. They like to hang out on the walls or ceiling and don't move until you disturb them. They don't really fly too much, just a bit from place to place. The first picture above the writing pictures them pretty well.
A way to control them is through a combination of homemade traps and store bought brands. However, only a certain few are worth spending your time and money on.
A good strip to use is made by a company called Victor. They come in packs of 4 and i bought them at Home Depot.
However the big daddy is something you can make yourself.
Take a jar, like about a medium pickle jar. Put in 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vinegar, fill the rest with water, and put a few drops of dish soap. The flies are attracted to the sugar and vinegar combo, but drown in the soapy water.
The next picture up after these ones is a trap that doesn't work. I bought this one at Home Depot and it DOES NOT work for these flies.
The next picture up is a product called DF 5000. You need to buy this product to eliminate the source of the problem, which is buildup in your drains. Do a google search, I bought mine from do your own pest control . com or something like that. You put it down the drains for 5 days, 4 oz a day. You should buy 2 bottles if you have a drain and a garbage disposal like i do.
Then you should use a space fogger like the next picture up. That is the one I used. It's a Raid product and works very well. it sucks to move everything out and back in again, but it's worth it.
Also, you should buy some stoppers for your drains to prevent the flies from hiding in the drains before the cleaner works. They are cheap at any supermarket.
The best thing to prevent any spare leftover flies is a spray bottle of soapy water. If you see any of the little bastards around, then just spray them and they won't be able to fly and you can kill them easily. Awesome.
8 comments:
THANK YOU so much for posting this!! Our kitchen sink area recently became infested with these pests. I am defintely going to get started with some of your recommendations.
I was in a fast food resturant recently and went to the bathroom where I saw a young man putting something in the floor drain. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was installing a new product in the floor drains in the restruant to get rid of fruit and drain flies. I asked him about the product and he told me it was new to the pest control industry and called it the Green Ideas Aromatic Drain Device. I went home and went on-line and found the company that makes it. Since I have a brother who owns a restruant I order it and gave them to him. He put them in and told me within three days the flies and bad odors were gone and that his drains were like brand new, all the grime and grease was gone. If you have a problem with floor drains call these guys.... its a cheap fast and great way to get rid of bad odors and those damn pesky fruit flies that live in floor drains
I'm still battling these creatures. Tried a defogger, but I must have gotten the wrong one because it didn't work. I have used the raid aerosol, and it seems to work pretty well. I've also used Oxyclean spray, and believe it or not, it works really well too.
this is just what i needed. our apartment got infested with them after a drain problem went unfixed for nearly a month, then the repairmen left a gaping hole in the wall! thanks guys!
ugh!!!
going to try this TODAY.
I've ordered DF500 on line and it does work well BUT, you have to apply it for 4-7 days in a row to really get rid of the problem: Don't expect it to work with one application. You can order it on-line
My kitchen is swarming with these awful things! The only thing that has worked so far is pouring red wine in a glass, tightly wrapping plastic over the top of the glass and securing it, then poking holes in it with a toothpick. I caught 17 overnight drowned in there. I have yet to permanently rid my house of them.
In my case i use Invade Bio Drain Gel. I think it is the best method.
While waiting for df5000 or similar product to fully work, you can coat a small glass or jar with oil. Place over drains. As flies exit drains they will stick to oil and die. I use 1/2 pint jelly jars over my drains. May need to rinse and recoat if oil dries or jar gets covered with flies. Good luck.
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