How to get rid of small flies in my home.

Fungus Gnats make up about 40% of pest control calls we receive for suspicious small flies. Instead of calling an exterminator to locate and eliminate a fungus gnat problem first check your self. Its super simple! Just gather all your plants into a well lit room. With a spoon, simply dig through the soil to search for small crawling insects or to see if any small flies emerge. If you do see an infestation of fungus gnats in your potted soil, there are a few solutions. Compacted soil can cause root rot of plants which promotes fungus gnat infestations. One fix is to purchase a soil moisture reader and try to let the soil dry out in-between waterings. Another solution is to purchase an over the counter spray at a local hardware store. Look for product containing “Neem oil” as this is a natural essential oil and if you follow label directions this spray will only eliminate the fungus gnats and not hurt the plants.

Many types of moisture flies and bugs live in clumps of hair and food that wash into our sinks and shower drains. Using a product like Draino may seem like a good solution but all you may be doing by using that product is harming your drains and the environment. Instead, try to open up all drains and clean out any hair and scum out with an old tooth brush. There are also plastic drain snakes you can use to go a few feet into the pipes to remove hair where the small flies may be laying eggs. Then after cleaning any visible debris out of pipes you can use a foaming drain cleaner to clean the scum that surround the drain pipes. You should do this cleaning annually to keep moisture flies and roaches out of your drains.

Similar to drain flies, Moisture flies also love standing water. Locating standing water in your home or business can be tricky, but its not impossible. The most common areas where we find standing water on pest control inspections is under the refrigerator area, under or around dish washers or leaky windows. If you notice water around your refrigerator it may be condensation from the cold air compressor in the refrigerator which is common in the summer. Try to keep your eye on the drip pan behind the fridge and make sure to use a turkey baster every day to empty out the drip pan if it is over filling. If you notice standing water around your dishwasher please make sure there are no loose pipes or drain lines. After running your dishwasher keep it open so the inside can fully dry before closing it for the day. When looking for standing water, use your brightest flashlight, a clean gloved hand and get on your hands and knees!

The cleanest of home sometimes aren’t perfect and on occasion there will be some spoiled food sitting around. Whether it is leftovers left out too long, spoiled or over ripe fruit, or spike the dogs dinner left out overnight. Do a good search of the house using your eyes and more importantly your sense of smell, see if you can find any funky smells. Sometimes it may be as simple as the garbage in the kitchen was not taken out everyday. If you do find the food, be sure to place it in a zip lock bag then put it in the freezer before throwing it away so that you won’t cause the problem to grow. Try to throw out your garbage every night before bed! This won’t only keep flies away but it will also keep away rodents and roaches.