Fruit Flies, Drain Flies, House and Kitchen Pests in Bryan, Texas
As their name implies, fruit flies are attracted to aging fruits and many types of vegetables too. It is the fermenting or turning of fruit from ripe to over-ripe that attracts fruit flies. Drain flies are usually heart-shaped flies that are small and black. They are called drain flies because they lay their eggs in drains where the eggs hatch into maggots and then infest your home.
Clean Kitchens and Fruit Flies
Why is it that fruit flies seem to appear out of thin air? You clean your kitchen. There is no over-ripe fruit to attract them, yet they are still infesting your Bryan, Texas home. We call these tiny flies fruit flies; but they do not necessarily need fruit to survive. All they need is a damp and moist spot where something might rot or ferment for them to breed. Even though your kitchen is spotless, you can still have fruit flies.
If your kitchen is clean and fruit flies are still pestering you, the problem is not fruit or your kitchen. The problem is likely the drains in your home. As you do dishes, laundry or clean the bathroom you flush biodegradable particles down the drains. Over time, those particles begin to stick to the sides of the pipes where a sludge begins to form. It is in those places that fruit flies and drain flies find a perfect habitat to breed.
Why Drains are Such an Attractant
These flies lay eggs in pipes, and when the maggots hatch, they begin to consume the sludge that’s built up in the pipes. Neither type of fly takes very long to pupate. Every one-two weeks a new batch of fruit flies can hatch out of our drain. That short pupation period means that all summer long Bryan, Texas homeowners will have to live with fruit flies. Because of the ambient temperature in Texas, you can have fruit flies all year long. If your drains are older, then you likely have both fruit flies and drain flies.
The process of getting rid of fruit flies and drain flies begins with a drain inspection. If your drains are positive for the eggs, maggots or pupa of either family of flies, then treatment is necessary. The process is not time-consuming, and in most case, the treatment is short. Reach out to us with questions or to schedule a home drain inspection.
Are Drain Flies or Fruit Flies Dangerous?
Neither drain flies nor fruit flies are dangerous. At worst, they are just annoying and disgusting. Even though they love to consume the sewer-like sludge in your drains, neither type of fly is a vector for bacterial disease.
You can try to clean your drains and pea traps yourself. The process is not overly complicated. A long-handled wire brush with a flexible shaft is all you really need. The idea is to remove the material that these flies feed on and then you get rid of the flies. That process does not always work. If this is a chore you do not want to add to your to-do list call our experts. We can clean your drains and if needed chemically treat the pipes so that eggs and pupa do not hatch.
