fruit flys

[vaacutabove]

This is for my house I only do t and o. I have fruit flys in the kitchen and one bathroom. As soon as i think I have killed them all they come back a week later. Any hints or ideas and yes my house is clean. I do have a 14 mo old so keep that in mind she is into everything and it all goes to he mouth.
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[rlitman]

Could they be drain flies? I would run some hot water down each drain every night before you go to bed, and then pour in a shot of enzyme drain cleaner.
If they are fruit flies, you just need to clean up any food particles, but I don't know about fruit flies in a bathroom. Sounds kinda not right to me.

[Ric]

Originally Posted by rlitman

Could they be drain flies? I would run some hot water down each drain every night before you go to bed, and then pour in a shot of enzyme drain cleaner.
If they are fruit flies, you just need to clean up any food particles, but I don't know about fruit flies in a bathroom. Sounds kinda not right to me.

Because it is both the Kitchen and Bathroom at the same time Drain Flies sounds very likely. I like to use a Aerosol Spray can of Fly Spray. That way I can also hit the Overflow pipe located in the front of most bathroom sinks. I find that works the quickest. But certainly Boiling water or Bleach etc can also be used. The name of the game is understanding the problem and diagnose it.

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[vaacutabove]

We use all our drains daily w hot water i meanhave aftet all I live inabout a houseways with thteeit other females. didnt think about over flow what. Today they were in the garage as well with no plumbing not even a floor drain still kicking my self building it without one
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[rlitman]

Nah, you don't want a floor drain in a garage. Too many issues with that.

Hot water won't stop all buildup of grease in drains that they live on, even with daily use.
I wouldn't bother with an insecticide, and you really don't want to be exposing yourself or children to unnecessary pesticides, right?
Remove the food source, and they will be gone very fast. An enzyme drain cleaner is perfectly safe to use, and a quart size container will last you years for this purpose.

[Ric]

Originally Posted by rlitman

Nah, you don't want a floor drain in a garage. Too many issues with that.

Hot water won't stop all buildup of grease in drains that they live on, even with daily use.
I wouldn't bother with an insecticide, and you really don't want to be exposing yourself or children to unnecessary pesticides, right?Remove the food source, and they will be gone very fast. An enzyme drain cleaner is perfectly safe to use, and a quart size container will last you years for this purpose.

OGM No way would you want to use a Aersol can of Pyrethroids Fly spray. After all we really do not have a track record with Pyrethroids. They were only invented in the late 1930's and have only been on the world Market since the Early 1940's. No telling what long term effects might show up from a Pesticide the local Mosquito partol is fogging the neighborhood with since the 1950's.

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[vaacutabove]

Where can i get some from im going to do all the above stated im done messing around w these things.
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[rlitman]

I'm not saying pyrethroids are evil. I grow chrysanthemums around my house.
As for " No telling what long term effects might show up from a Pesticide the local Mosquito partol is fogging the neighborhood with since the 1950's", you do understand that DDT was in commercial use in 1939, and it took until 1972 to be banned?
And I'm not saying that pyrethroids are on track to being banned, but the latest EPA guidelines have essentially banned their use in drains, because they are very destructive to aquatic life downstream of the sewer system.
That, and they have only a very short residual effect, so several treatments would be necessary, and with the food source (slime mold) still in the traps, there's nothing preventing their return.

I'm not advocating any particular product, but this should give you the general idea:
http://www.rid-x.com/septic-tank-system-products.shtml
Any hardware/home store should have something like this.

[Ric]

Originally Posted by rlitman

I'm not saying pyrethroids are evil. I grow chrysanthemums around my house.
As for " No telling what long term effects might show up from a Pesticide the local Mosquito partol is fogging the neighborhood with since the 1950's", you do understand that DDT was in commercial use in 1939, and it took until 1972 to be banned?
And I'm not saying that pyrethroids are on track to being banned, but the latest EPA guidelines have essentially banned their use in drains, because they are very destructive to aquatic life downstream of the sewer system.
That, and they have only a very short residual effect, so several treatments would be necessary, and with the food source (slime mold) still in the traps, there's nothing preventing their return.

I'm not advocating any particular product, but this should give you the general idea:
http://www.rid-x.com/septic-tank-system-products.shtml
Any hardware/home store should have something like this.

I won't discount the value of Rid-X as a long term solution and I don't want to get into a Pissing match over Organic Pest Control. Fact is I use some organic products. (the ones that actually work) But the Title of this section of the Lawnsite Forum is PESTICIDE & Herbicide Application.

OK let us talk about DDT for a second. It was taken off the market because it was suppose to cause softening of Eagle Egg shells. It's mode of action is as a Sodium Blocker which Stops Nerve impulses from reaching their destination. the same as Pyrethriods. However current research has proved DDT doesn't effect Bird Eggs of any kinds. DDT is currently being used in most all 3rd world countries as a Vector Disease Control saving Billions of Lives each Year. FYI Union Carbide (owned by Dow Chemical) has NEVER stopped making Chlordane in there Texas Plant. They just mark it Export only. Yes if you know the right people there is a black market for it.

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[rlitman]

Funny, I've actually read about pushes to bring DDT back to the market for indoor use.
My take on the stuff, is that it's saved more lives globally from malaria than any harm it could possibly have done, but that's getting way off topic.

Anyway, you are right. Using a product to get a squeaky clean drain will work -eventually-, and I still think it is the best long term solution, but when SWMBO is complaining about flies, sometimes the best solution is the immediate one.