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 notice a small creature shoot up out of the drain. Is that a gnat? Then you notice more of them zooming around your 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 live 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 lured by moisture and rotting food, they’ll frequently appear in your trash can, your old fruit and the kitchen drain, which is full of moisture and tiny chunks of food. Occasionally you’ll watch them appear up out of the drain. This can be especially likely if you have a partly clogged sink or disposal that empties slowly. This retains more moisture and food waste that appeals to these insects and allows them to thrive and reproduce. 

How Bad Are They? 

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

What Can I Do About Them? 

Due to this bacterial risk, keep high-traffic surfaces clean at all times. Use a kitchen surface cleaner that eliminates bacteria. Don’t reuse sponges that can absorb, retain and transport germs. It’s cleaner to use paper towels and throw them out. 

Bug sprays can kill off the adult fruit flies but won’t destroy the eggs. And you probably don’t want to spray insecticide all throughout your kitchen. Instead, run boiling water in your drain. Before bed, block off your drains with clear packing tape. In the morning, you can see some fruit flies stuck to it. 

Here are other barriers you can also use, all utilizing a jar: 

• Wine—Pour an ounce of wine into the jar. Add a hole in the lid so the fruit flies can access the wine. You can also utilize a funnel or paper cone instead of a lid. 

• Rotten fruit—Same as above, but with rotten fruit instead of wine. 
• Apple cider vinegar—Same as above but you’ll use apple cider vinegar. 
• Apple cider vinegar and dish soap—Same as above with dish liquid added, which makes it much harder for flies to break free. 
• Yeast—Pour in two or three ounces of water, one packet of activated dry yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. 

To minimize encouraging fruit flies: 

• Rinse your produce immediately after bringing it home. In some cases they can have fruit fly eggs or larvae. 
• Refrigerate whatever you can. 
• Avoid keeping old produce in your kitchen. 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 want to keep windows up, make sure they have well-fitted screens. 

If the above methods haven’t taken care of your fruit fly issue, there may be something wrong with your p-trap. That’s the part of your drain pipe bent in a u shape to capture water and prevent foul air from moving up into your home. It also prevents flies from surviving 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 see one, get it fixed quickly. Leaky pipes can encourage mold and structural problems with your home. 

You should also contact a plumber if your kitchen sink or garbage disposal is draining slowly. This problem not only helps encourage fruit flies, but over time the sink drain can fully clog and become useless. The Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing plumbing team has the equipment, experience and expertise to determine the problem and fix it right away. We use a video drain inspector to plainly see what’s going on within the pipes, and a variety of methods to clean them, depending on the type and severity of the blockage. If the problem is your garbage disposal, we can repair or replace it at a price you can afford. We also clear 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 happy. 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.