6 Best Ways for Getting Rid of Fruit Flies in Your Drain

Fruit flies are tiny insects attracted to ripened fruit and veggies in the kitchen. Once they make their way inside your home, these flies are likely to lay eggs near fermenting food or organic materials. Commonly, fruit flies breed in drains, plumbing systems, and garbage disposals. They are also found near trash cans, empty bottles and cans, cleaning rags, and mops.

Fruit flies are often considered the scourge of the kitchen. These flies might be tiny, but they’re tough to exterminate for good. They live longer than you might expect, they breed in sizeable numbers, and they carry harmful diseases. The fruit flies can pick up and spread contaminants on everything they touch.

If you suspect there are fruit flies in your kitchen sink, you should contact a plumber for their drain cleaning expertise. Urgency is essential for getting rid of fruit flies in your drain before an infestation occurs. You may also try to get rid of fruit flies in your drain with these following methods:

1. Get rid of fruits and veggies in the kitchen

If you have an infestation of fruit flies in your kitchen sink drain, the first step is to limit their amount of exposure. Start by getting rid of all the fruits and veggies within proximity to the kitchen. Fruit flies are perennially attracted to the scent of decaying food and organic waste. Don’t make your kitchen any more of a hotspot by leaving fruits and vegetables accessible in unsealed containers.

2. Pour boiling water down the sink

Simply running regular tap water down your kitchen sink drain won’t be effective enough to kill the fruit flies in there. Most fruit flies will easily survive this attempt. These resilient insects can withstand the torrent of water and thrive in the wet conditions.

You should pour boiling water into the sink drain for getting rid of the fruit flies. The temperature of the boiling water can kill most of the fruit flies, along with any eggs that they laid. Try pouring hot water a few times each week, for several ongoing weeks, to ensure all generations of flies are effectively eliminated.

If boiling water isn’t working, create a mixture of hot water and white vinegar, which can be poured down the drain. This tactic has a more powerful effect, known to kill both the fruit flies and their eggs. Repeat daily until all the flies are gone.

3. Try vinegar and baking soda

Fruit flies have made themselves comfortable in your kitchen sink because there’s debris stuck inside the drain. These flies are attracted to the ripening and rotting organic matter caught inside the sink drain. Getting rid of the clog will help to eliminate the infestation. One of the best unclogging solutions involves the use of vinegar and baking soda.

First, pour a pot of boiling water down the sink. Then, make a solution by mixing one cup of vinegar and one cup of baking soda. Pour this mixture down the drain as well. Cover the drain with a drain plug for about 10 minutes. Finally, pour more boiling water down the drain. This should unclog the kitchen sink drain, making it a less attractive place for fruit flies to reside.

Alternatively, you can create the mixture with one cup of vinegar, half a cup of baking soda, along with an additional half cup of salt. Pour this mixture down the drain and leave it overnight. In the morning, pour boiling water to flush out the drain. This should also see successful results in clearing the clogged drain.

4. Set up a fruit fly trap

The trap is a cost-effective way to get rid of fruit flies in the sink. You can either buy them at your local hardware store or create a DIY trap with basic household ingredients. Simply place the fly trap near the sink, which will draw the attention of the flies and potentially capture them within a confined container.

To make your own fruit fly trap, fill a shallow bowl with apple cider vinegar and cover it with a plastic wrap. Then, poke small holes in the plastic wrap. The flies will be attracted to the sweet aroma and climb into the bowl, but they won’t be able to come out of the trap. You can try a similar tactic with a bowl of water and a drop of dish soap.

5. Keep the kitchen sink dry

Every time you use the kitchen sink, dry it off as best as you can. This is because fruit flies are quite prevalent in the presence of standing water. In fact, the flies only need a tiny bit of moisture to breed. By keeping your sink dry and clean, this will help to minimize your fruit fly infestation problem.

6. Examine your plumbing systems

Try checking your P-trap, which is located below the piping and fixture. This P-trap is a self-sealing water trap that stores water in a U-shaped bend. If there are cracks in the pipe, the water could leak out, which also means odours and flies might escape. The fruit flies might seem like they keep coming back, even though they’re really trying to escape from the P-trap.

Getting rid of fruit flies in your kitchen sink drain may require professional expertise. If there are still flies hovering after you’ve tried the above methods, it might be time to contact a professional drain cleaning service. The plumber will ensure your plumbing systems are free of clogs, debris, and fruit flies!