Why Are There Fruit Flies in My Kitchen Sink Drain

Has this ever happened to you? You’re scrubbing a dish in the kitchen sink and watch a tiny creature shoot up out of the drain. Was that a gnat? Then you see more of them flying around your kitchen. These irritating little guys are actually fruit flies. And if you’re asking how they got in there and what may be done about them, you’re in the right place.

Why Are They Here?

Fruit flies exist 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.” Since they’re attracted to moisture and decomposing food, they’ll often end up in your trash can, your old fruit and the kitchen drain, which is full of moisture and small chunks of food. Occasionally, you’ll watch them fly up out of the drain. This can be especially bad if you have a somewhat clogged sink or disposal that clears out slowly. This preserves more moisture and food particles that attracts 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 carry germs with them. This might include listeria, salmonella and even E. coli. All of these bacteria can cause serious cases of food poisoning.

What Can I Do About Them?

Owing to this bacterial exposure, keep your surfaces clean at all times. Use a kitchen surface cleaner that eliminates bacteria. Don’t reuse sponges that can attract, retain and transport germs. It’s best to use paper towels and throw them out.

Bug sprays can eliminate the adult fruit flies but won’t get rid of the eggs. And you most likely don’t want to spread insecticide all throughout your kitchen. Instead, pour boiling water into your drain. Before bed, close off your drains with clear packing tape. Each morning, you should see some fruit flies stuck to it.

Here are other traps you can also attempt, all utilizing a jar:

• Wine—Add an ounce of wine into the jar. Make a hole in the lid so the fruit flies can enter. You can also use a funnel or paper cone in the place of a lid.
• Old fruit—Same as above, but use rotten fruit in place of wine.
• Apple cider vinegar—Same as above but using apple cider vinegar.
• Apple cider vinegar and dish soap—Same as above with dish liquid added, which makes it much harder for flies to get away.
• Yeast—Put in two or three ounces of water, one packet of activated dry yeast along with a teaspoon of sugar.

To minimize encouraging fruit flies:

• Clean your produce as soon as you take it home. Occasionally, they can contain fruit fly eggs or larvae.
• Refrigerate whenever you can.
• Try not to keep overripe produce in your home. Buy only what you’re most likely to eat.
• Empty your kitchen trash often, and keep it closed.
• Keep your surfaces clean and disinfected.
• If you want to keep windows up, install well-fitted screens.

If the listed methods haven’t taken care of your fruit fly problem, there may be an issue with your p-trap. That’s the part of your drain pipe bent in a U shape to trap 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 problem. Run the water and search below for a leak. If you notice one, get it fixed promptly. Leaky pipes can cause mold and structural damage to your home.

You should also contact a plumber if your kitchen sink or garbage disposal is draining slower than usual. This problem not only helps attract fruit flies, but over time the sink drain can fully clog and become inoperable. The Service Experts plumbing team has the tools, experience and know-how to determine the problem and resolve it quickly. We employ a video drain inspector to obviously see what’s occurring within the pipes, and multiple methods to clean them, depending on the type and extent of the blockage. If the problem is a garbage disposal, we can repair or replace it at a price you can afford. We also fix leaky pipes.

If you are looking for any sort of plumbing service at all, get in touch with the professionals at Service Experts. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water run, we take great pride in keeping our customers satisfied. 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.