Attack of the Drain Flies -

Q. Since the day we moved into our house two years ago, we have had problems with drain flies - identified as such by our exterminator - in the master bathroom.

[Here is what I do]

I keep a fly swatter in the kitchen and one in the bedroom and when I see the drain flies, they get swatted. One thing I've noticed is the drain flies can't fly real well, they are very clumsy fliers. So clumsy in fact, they have flown directly onto my fly swatter....go figure. I also bought some fly stickum sticks which are absolutely loaded with dead drain flies. This helps keep them to a minimum as we just had our drain cleaned professionally and it's helped cut down on the volume of flies, now I believe the incubation is coming from a cracked pipe outside our house. The larvae are still developing and thus...the flies in the house. Cute little buggers, but who needs them?

[Shannon]

I have had a drain fly infestation for over a year and have spent a ton of time researching on forums such as this. I tried everything and NOTHING worked, no matter how much it cost. I tried vacuuming them up twice a day as soon as I could see them come out, bleaching repeatedly, sprays, the baking soda mixture, etc. BUT NOW I FINALLY GOT RID OF THEM! I was desperate and tried something so simple I don't know how I, or the many pest control experts online, didn't suggest this sooner. All I did was put fly sticks on top of each affected drain. My kitchen sink was the worst and there are 2 drains, so you would either have to put a trap on each drain, or plug one side and put the trap on the other. These are the sticks: http://www.hardwarestore.com/pop-print/larger... . If I had to use the sink, I moved the trap to use and then put the trap back right over the drain immediately. The fly sticks are good because they will lay flat over the drain like a balance beam and won't get sticky stuff everywhere if you handle them carefully because of the wide ends. When I put them out one evening, the first morning I counted 52 flies on the first trap in the most affected drain. The next day there were 45. There were about 10 the next day, and the number dwindled down to 5, then 2, then 0. I thought they can't be gone, that was too easy. I read online that there is a 9 day incubation period so I left the traps for another 10 days to be sure unhatched eggs would not get the best of me. Sure enough, about a week later, a new batch of flies were on the trap (I replaced the traps as they got full). I left the trap for an additional 3 weeks on the drain just to be sure, and have not had one fly in 2 weeks as of today. It was like a miracle. Just wanted to give the advice since it's only about a $2 each at Wal-mart, so you have nothing to lose if you are suffering with these horrible annoying pests like I was and won't waste money on all those expensive products you find online that don't work. Good luck!