Has this ever happened to you? You’re cleaning a dish in the kitchen sink and notice a tiny creature buzz up out of the drain. Is that a gnat? Then you see more of them flying around your kitchen. These annoying little guys are actually fruit flies. And if you’re asking how they got in there and what can be done about them, you’re in the right place.
Why Are They Here?
Fruit flies live all over the U.S., and mate quickly. According to WebMD, “An adult female fruit fly can lay up to 2,000 eggs on the surface of anything that's moist and rotting. Within 30 hours, tiny maggots hatch and start to eat the decayed food. Within two days, they're all grown up and ready to mate.” As they’re lured by moisture and rotting food, they’ll often end up in your trash can, your old fruit and the kitchen drain, which is full of moisture and little bits of food. In some cases you’ll notice them come up out of the drain. This can be particularly bad if you have a partly clogged sink or disposal that clears out slowly. This preserves more moisture and food waste that draws these insects and allows them to thrive and reproduce.
How Bad Are They?
When fruit flies transfer from a dirty surface to a clean one, they lug germs with them. This can include listeria, salmonella and even E. coli. All of these bacteria can cause severe cases of food poisoning.
What Can I Do About Them?
Because of this bacterial exposure, keep high-traffic surfaces clean at all times. Use a kitchen surface cleaner that kills bacteria. Don’t reuse sponges that can absorb, retain and exchange germs. It’s better to use paper towels and throw them out.
Bug sprays can kill the adult fruit flies but won’t kill the eggs. And you likely don’t want to apply insecticide all throughout your kitchen. Instead, run boiling water down your drain. Before bed, close up your drains with clear packing tape. Every morning, you should see some fruit flies stuck to it.
Here are other ideas you can also attempt, all involving a jar:
- Wine—Place an ounce of wine inside the jar. Make a hole in the lid so the fruit flies can access the wine. You can also have a funnel or paper cone rather than a lid.
- Rotten fruit—Same as above, but with rotten fruit in place of wine.
- Apple cider vinegar—Same as above but with apple cider vinegar.
- Apple cider vinegar and dish soap—Same as above with dish liquid added, which makes it much harder for flies to escape.
- Yeast—Put in two or three ounces of water, one packet of activated dry yeast as well as a teaspoon of sugar.
To avoid encouraging fruit flies:
- Clean your produce as soon you bring it home. In some cases they can possess fruit fly eggs or larvae.
- Refrigerate whenever you can.
- Avoid keeping old produce in your house. Buy only what you’re going to eat.
- Empty your kitchen trash often, and keep it closed.
- Keep your surfaces clean and disinfected.
- If you like to keep windows raised, make sure they have well-fitted screens.
If the listed methods haven’t eliminated your fruit fly problem, there may be an issue with your p-trap. That’s the section of your drain pipe bent in a u shape to capture water and keep foul air from drifting up into your home. It also prevents flies from living in your pipes and flying up out of the drain. If your pipe has a leak and has no water seal, this can create a fruit fly infestation. Run the water and check below for a leak. If you spot one, get it fixed right away. Leaky pipes can cause mold and structural damage to your home.
You should also call a plumber if your kitchen sink or garbage disposal is draining slowly. This problem not only helps encourage fruit flies, but over time the sink drain can fully clog and become inoperable. The Parker Pearce Service Experts plumbing team has the tools, experience and expertise to identify the problem and solve it promptly. We use a video drain inspector to obviously see what’s going on within the pipes, and multiple methods to clean them, depending on the type and intensity of the blockage. If the problem is the garbage disposal, we can repair or replace it at a price you can afford. We also clear leaky pipes.
If you need any sort of plumbing service at all, contact the professionals at Parker Pearce Service Experts. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water run, we take great pride in keeping our customers comfortable. With more than 4,000 team members, we can deliver and innovate better than anyone. Our can-do family attitude helps us get the job done on time, and right—the first time.