Drain Flies in Home....

You probably have a drain that you don't use often. A pot of boiling water down EVERY drain in your house will usually get rid of them.

I recommended this fix the last time this problem came up in a thread.

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy one of those fine mesh screens that go in the drain that catches fine food particles from going down the drain. The holes are small enough they should not allow fruit flies to enter or leave the drain.

Also, like already posted, boil water and flush the plumbing and that should kill what's in the drains. I boil a 5 gallon pot of water at least once a month and pour it down my kitchen drain. That way, any grease that may inadvertently get into the pipes is dissolved and flushed away.

I've been in my house for 32 years and have had only one kitchen drain clog and that was due mostly to old pipe having a buildup when I first got into the house.

Take a small cup or dish and put one drop of dish soap and a cup of apple cider vinegar. Set it near your sink. Will drown them all.

Very satisfying

I keep this out all summer every summer

Combating fruit flies at my bar is a chore. They are not just feeding and breading the drains only. While I use a service on my drains I'd recommend the hot water tip but add some dawn to it to break up any grease. Next step is to find what they are coming out of the drains for. Check for any area that stays moist and do a good deep clean of the area. Finally, these work really well to catch an infestation before they start.



I find them much better than the red apples

I've had issues with them as well. Mainly due to bringing in a lot of veggies and fruit from the garden. The peaches I grew were infested with them. I pour a cup of bleach down all of the drains and let it sit overnight. Seems to help. I also have one of the Terro traps out that somebody else linked.


Doesn't seem to matter how clean we keep the kitchen. We never leave dishes sit in the sink and don't leave food (other than garden veggies) out on the counter.

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Keep in mind if you have an old house and are still on cast iron pipes that bleach will tear up those old pipes. Pvc, pour away

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It's PVC. Thanks for looking out, though.

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I had to replace cast iron to the tune of $20k

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good lord! I'd be sick about that one.

After COVID a lot of shuttered restaurants reopened to find their drink dispenser drains packed with fruit flies.

Plumbers can scrub out the flies and larvae with a sewer jetter, or you can buy a sewer jetter attachment that's powered by your pressure washer.