There is such a group of mysterious little flying insects. They tend to entrench in every corner of the house. It includes kitchen garbage, toilets, leftovers, etc. They are drain flies. It is a poikilotherm, common in the shower drain of the bathroom. When the weather is hot, their body temperature rises with enhanced moving ability. To get rid of them, clean and sanitize the drain, removing their eggs as well as the flies themselves. Yet, it can feel impossible to remove them at times! Drain flies reproduce quickly, and before you know it, you have turned into a drain fly hotel. Let us go through what drain flies are and how to prevent them from multiplying in your home in more detail. Be patient and read this article to get some practical tricks. You might as well take advantage of the end of summer to completely remove the eggs.
What are Drain Flies?
With a fluffy body length of 2 to 3 mm and a grayish appearance, it resembles a small lepidopteran moth. But if you look closely after zooming in, this “tiny moth” seems to have only one pair of wings. Moreover, its wings are wide, and the hair attached to the veins is easy to fall off. It is a kind of moth-like fly, known as moth fly, belonging to the Diptera Ceratopogonidae. It is also called a drain fly because it often inhabits sewage, such as sewers and drains.
Despite their appearance as moths, these tiny insects are unable to fly very far. Instead of buzzing around your house like other pests, they make large hops from place to place. Drain flies have a lifespan of eight to 24 days. But they can lay and hatch up to 300 eggs in just 48 hours. Thus, getting ahead of the problem before it spreads through your pipes is critical.
What Causes Drain Flies?
Drain flies can be caused by a variety of factors that differ from one household to the next. The presence of sewer gnats is usually caused by a slow or clogged drain. Debris, water droplets, and the organic stuff they like to eat build in the pipe. It provides the ideal environment for them to live and propagate. You will see them coming from drains that are not used. For example, a guest bathroom shower is only used once every few weeks. There is only one person in the house and the plumbing is not utilized more than once or twice a day. Thus, it can even be your master bathroom drain. The major point is that if you encounter drain flies, the plumbing system will be clogged.
Where do Drain Flies Grow?
The source of moth midges is stagnant water. It contains decaying organic matter, dirty and wet. Many places in our lives may become their growth and reproduction bases.
1. Indoor environment, such as standing water on flowerpot trays, toilets, bathroom sinks, floor standing water, shower drains, kitchen sinks damp rags, etc.
2. Outdoor surroundings, such as silt sewage tanks, drains, septic tanks, etc., after emerging as adults, they can enter the room through shower drains, pipes, and toilets and settle on nearby walls.
What do Drain Flies Eat?
Drain flies feed on organic material found in standing water. They can include sewage or other contaminated water. It attracts them when a film forms in a humid part of a pipe containing standing water. Drain flies flourish and multiply in this environment. Thus your drains are great for them. There are food and sewage near rubbish, animal waste, or compost gathering.
Do Drain Flies Harm to Human Body?
It can be seen from the growth environment that they contain many germs. They may contaminate food and spread diseases. Besides, they carry a variety of bacteria. Many people with respiratory problems can cause asthma and other diseases if inhaled. The wound develops myiasis. It is due to facultative parasitism. It is caused by accidental factors such as poor disinfection. Drain flies, as before mentioned, may reproduce. They build nests throughout your pipes that can be expensive to remove if left unchecked. Thus, drain flies have become nuisance pests in human settlements.
How to Get Rid of Drain Flies?
1. Boiling Water
This is almost a zero-cost method. The eggs of most small flying insects are attached to the wall of the toilet drain pipe. It is with a strong adsorption force and grease on the pipe wall for the development of the eggs. So, prepare a pot of water and pour it directly into the sewer after it boils. It should be paid attention that pours the water around the sewer. And then, let the hot water flow down the pipe wall. So it plays a role in scouring insect eggs and grease on the pipe wall.
2. DIY Mild Pesticides (Baking Soda+Vinegar+Hot Water)
If potassium permanganate is not available, you can use baking soda and vinegar. Baking soda is an alkaline substance that can remove grease on the pipe wall. Pour the baking soda into the drain, then slowly add the vinegar. The mixture should start to bubble and fizz. Then, let it stand for one to two hours, then pour a basin of boiling water into the drain to rinse.
3. Clean up Water Logging
Usually, it is necessary to drain the water in indoor and outdoor containers. Remove the water on the floor and the sink, and keep the outdoor water ditches unblocked. It can control the number of moth flies and reduce mosquitoes.
4. Clean Drains Regularly
This method is for the breeding grounds of small flies in the sewer. There will be some hair or dander in the sewer of the bathroom left by us in the bath. Thus, the bathroom shower drain should be cleaned in time. It is to avoid garbage and dirt remaining in the sewer. Also, you should scrub the floor drain cover every month. The sewer pipe needs to be disinfected and deodorized with professional pipe cleaners.
Though the moth fly is unfamiliar to everyone, it has a strong reproductive ability. Besides, the larvae live and grow in the sewers full of bacteria, so they are unavoidable. There is a certain threat to our health. Thus, firstly, if you see midges in the kitchen or bathroom, remember to clean them up in time. The cleaning method has been mentioned above, and you can use it. Secondly, their larvae like water, so they keep it dry indoors, especially in the bathroom. If you see water in some places, you should clean it up timely.
FAQ
Q1: When it comes to drain flies and fruit flies, what is the difference?
A1: Drain flies and fruit flies are distinguished by their body shapes (drain flies are slenderer) and wings (fruit flies are more spread out), despite their similar appearance. A better issue is whether the insect is hanging around stagnant drains or old fruits.
Q2: How do you prevent drain flies?
A2: Keeping your drains clean and dry is the greatest method to avoid a drain fly infestation in the future. Allowing drain water to lie stagnant is not a good idea. Run water through any drains in your home that you don’t use on a weekly basis.
Q3: Will drain flies go away?
A3: Yes, drain flies will go away. You take steps to destroy the present ones as well as deal with the source of the problem.
