How To Get Rid of Pipe Flies: Preventing the Flies Away Forever

Pipe flies are irritating; they create the buzz of stagnant water on the drain, pipes, etc. You better remove them as soon as you can. Otherwise, they are the last things you can expect to ruin your peace at home.

But how to get rid of pipe flies? You can use a mixture of baking soda, vinegar, salt, etc., and pour it into the pipe. That will destroy the tiny fuzzies out there. On the other hand, an apple cider vinegar mixture can entrap the flies in the solution and reduce the number in the pipes and drains.

Besides, you can get various cleaners and sprayers in the market that can serve the same purpose. We’ll discuss them in detail throughout the guide.

Where Do Pipe Flies Come From?

All the sources and links of stagnant water from your house and surrounding areas are pipe flies’ favorite places to dwell and hatch eggs.

Some familiar places where you’ll see the flies mainly buzzing are:

  • Sewers
  • Drain line
  • Kitchen sinks
  • Shower sink and bathtub line
  • Septic tanks
  • Sandy sewerage path

How to Know If You Have Pipe Flies or Not?

You can only tell if there are pipe flies in your surroundings by observing them closely. Because sometimes, the flies just sit and stay idle on the water’s surface; they might even hatch over there.

Don’t worry; you have two ways by which you can quickly know your desired result. These two methods are standard and feasible to know the existence of the flies on the drain. Let’s see.

1. Duct Tape Test

Usually, the test is performed on the drain or sewerage line. All you have to do is to place some duct tape over the open space of the line and keep it intact for a whole night.

The next day, open up the tape. Pipe moths are restless and always keep buzzing. If flies were on the line, they would’ve undoubtedly gotten stuck on the sticky side of the tape on the way out.

This is a test of identifying the flies’ existence and knowing about their infestation. And accordingly, you can take steps to remove or prevent them.

2. Examining Drain Sides for Eggs

You already know that pipe flies lay eggs in their favorite places. But where do they lay the egg? The side of the drain is their choice of hatching, the slime area especially. You’ll see the region once you open the drain and check the side walls.

You can usually take up some slime from the line’s side and observe it. If you don’t find any eggs, they are laid deep inside the line, producing more flies.

How To Get Rid of Pipe Flies?

You can adapt both natural and chemical implementations to eliminate pipe flies. Natural ways are cheap and time-consuming, whereas the chemical ones might cost you a bit and are super-efficient.

No worries; we got both implementations for you here. Pick whichever you feel like.

Natural Ways to Remove Pipe Flies

The first thing you can consider hearing the way is to flush out the drain and remove the flies forever.  But that doesn’t happen; they still stay on the pipe. To remove them permanently, you must apply other natural techniques step-by-step.

  • Using Baking Soda, Salt, and Vinegar
  1. Take 1 cup of vinegar, ½ cup of salt, and ½ cup of baking soda.
  2. Give the solution a good mixture and pour it into the pipeline. The baking soda tends to expand and reach the maximum area over the line.
  3. Keeping the solution for a whole night will be pretty much active in removing all the flies in the drain.
  4. The very next morning, you can just flush them out and get a clear path of the line free of pipe flies.

❖    Using Apple Cider Vinegar Mix

  1. Take a water bowl and mix ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar with a bit of dishwashing detergent.
  2. Keep it beside the drain and see the flies jamming over the solution. Once they go deep into the solution, they won’t be able to come back and remain trapped over there.
  3. Later, you can throw the water away, eventually removing the flies.

❖    Using Soap, Water, Vinegar, and Sugar

Apple cider vinegar might be expensive or unavailable sometimes. So, you can use the alternatives.

  1. The alternative technique could be mixing ½ cup of vinegar and two tablespoons of sugar in a bowl of soapy water. You can use dishwashing soap to make the water soapy.
  2. Now, keep the mixture beside the pipeline, and the same result; watch the flies coming into the mixture and getting trapped.
  3. Keep it for half a day and flush them away later on.

❖    Using Hot Boiling Water

This is the most common way to remove flies.

All you have to do is to pour hot water down the lane of the pipe twice or thrice every week. As the water remains hot, this will restrain the flies from returning.

Adapting is a formidable technique because you’ll be doing it yourself, causing some labor. Yet, it is hassle-free, costing you nothing to lose.

Chemical Implementation to Remove Pipe Flies

You should be done and dusted with the flies using chemical adaptations properly. Let’s see how you can imply them.

❖    Using Drain Cleaner

  1. First, you have to flush the drain thoroughly. Then, you can clean the remaining stuff with the usual water.
  2. Pour drain cleaner into the source of new water and let the drain and pipeline fill with the new solution.
  3. Keep the solution still for 30 minutes. Then flush the solution and empty the drain again to make it neat and clean and free from pipe flies.

These cleaners have a proper chemical mix that prevents further buzzing of pipe flies. So, using them well through the path will ensure you are drain-fly-free in the future.

❖    Chemical Sprays

Chemical sprays used for fruit flies and other pest control can be effective here. Use the spray over the path to get rid of the flies and their eggs, flushing the drain or pipeline completely.

These sprays contain caustic chemicals, so you can be assured of the removal. But be careful handling them because it’s dangerous for ordinary people.

Preventing Pipe Flies Forever

You can remove the flies from the pipe or drain them eventually. But without prevention, they’ll be coming back, and you have to take the stress and labor. You must maintain a proper cycle to remove them entirely from your dwelling.

  • Implementing a proper lifestyle to get aloof from those flies is not so hard. You only have to maintain a bit of hygiene.
  • Keeping your bathtub, toilet sink, and shower floor clean will not form any clogging or stagnant water through the pipeline.
  • Also, restraining from throwing rotten foods and dirt beside the drain can significantly help. Remember, the flies love to dwell on nasty stuff, so these are their favorite places to live.

In short, remaining clean and tidy and maintaining a hygienic lifestyle is enough to prevent flies from the pipelines.

Conclusion

There is no need to ponder how to get rid of pipe flies because we have cracked them convincingly. Also, it will require little time as well. Just some proper recipe of some solution, and there you have them disappear after implementing them.

Keep in mind you are well aware of the condition of the sewerage. While dealing with the flies, you might have to go through some unexpected phases, which are not likely in daily life. Also, dealing with sewers is only some people’s cup of tea. The adequately equipped manners would do the task convincingly.

Michael is the owner of Michael's Plumbing. He has experience over 15 years solved thousands of plumbing issues. 100% customer satisfaction made him best in this sector. Finally he decided to share his skills, experience and techniques through this PipesYard blog. Hopefully each and every post of this blog will be helpful for people seeking piping help.

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