Why Are There Fruit Flies in My Kitchen Sink Drain?

Has this ever happened to you? You’re cleaning a dish in the kitchen sink and see a tiny creature buzz up out of the drain. Was that a gnat? Then you notice more of them flying around the kitchen. These annoying little guys are actually fruit flies. And if you’re wanting to know how they got in there and what you can do about them, you’re in the right place. 

Why Are They Here? 

Fruit flies exist all over the U.S., and spread 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 attracted to moisture and rotting food, they’ll head for your trash can, your rotten fruit and the kitchen drain, which is packed with moisture and tiny bits of food. Occasionally you’ll watch them come up out of the drain. This can be especially bad if you have a somewhat clogged sink or disposal that drains slowly. This preserves more moisture and food waste that draws these insects and lets them thrive and reproduce. 

How Bad Are They? 

When fruit flies transfer from a dirty surface to a clean one, they bring germs with them. This might include listeria, salmonella and even E. coli. All of these bacteria can lead to severe cases of food poisoning. 

What Can I Do About Them? 

Owing to this bacterial risk, keep high-traffic surfaces clean at all times. Use a kitchen surface cleaner that destroys bacteria. Don’t reuse sponges that can soak up, retain and transfer germs. It’s cleaner to use paper towels and dispose of them. 

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

Here are other ideas you can also attempt, all with a jar: 

• Wine—Pour an ounce of wine inside the jar. Put a hole in the lid so the fruit flies can enter. You can also have a funnel or paper cone rather than a lid. 

• Old fruit—Same as above, but use rotten fruit rather than wine. 
• Apple cider vinegar—Same as above but using apple cider vinegar. 
• Apple cider vinegar and dish soap—Same as above with dish liquid as well, which makes it much harder for flies to get away. 
• Yeast—Pour in two or three ounces of water, one packet of activated dry yeast along with a teaspoon of sugar. 

To prevent attracting fruit flies: 

• Wash your produce as soon you bring it home. Sometimes they can contain fruit fly eggs or larvae. 
• Refrigerate as soon as you can. 
• Don’t keep overripe produce in your home. 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 prefer to keep windows raised, make sure they have well-fitted screens. 

If the above methods haven’t eliminated your fruit fly infestation, there might be an issue with your p-trap. That’s the area of your drain pipe bent in a u shape to trap water and stop foul air from drifting up into your home. It also stops flies from living in your pipes and flying up from 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 right away. Leaky pipes can lead to mold and structural problems with 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 unusable. The Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing plumbing team has the tools, experience and knowledge to determine the problem and resolve it right away. We use a video drain inspector to obviously see what’s happening inside the pipes, and a number of 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 fix leaky pipes. 

If you need any sort of plumbing service at all, call the professionals at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. 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.