Indoor Pest Control - drain flies
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dgharris
10-15-09, 07:17 PM
I have put the pop bottles with vinegar, bread and soap in every room and it seems we have more of the stupid bugs. I have thouroughly cleaned every drain. how long does this take to rid of the flies?
motheroftwo
10-16-09, 12:11 PM
What a coincidence that you posted. I just discovered the drain larvae in my shower last night and nearly fainted with disgust. I sprayed with Tilex and the larvae were not phased a bit.
Then I thought of two things: 1) the larvae must be feeding on mildew/mold (so needed to kill that first); 2) I recalled my neighbor suggesting a small bowl of vinegar mixed with dish washing soap as a way to kill live fruit flies around my fruit in my kitchen. I was not sure if #2 would kill the worms, but I was willing to try anything, and it seems to have worked.
Step 1: I always have one of those HUGE containers of white vinegar in my house to remove rug stains. I knew that vinegar can kill molds, so I grabbed the bottle and SLOWLY poured it over the entire length of my shower frame (which is where I found the larvae were living). Every time I would pour, the larvae would slide out. *so don't pour it all at once.* I repeated this several times until my two gallon container of vinegar was empty. I rinsed them all down the drain. But I was not confident I had exterminated all of them. Then I remembered the dish soap suggestion and ...
Step 2: I used Lemon Joy to pour over the same area. I know is sounds silly, but I was desperate. A few more of those guys slid out. Ugh! But I DID notice they were curled up and not moving much in the dish soap. I was not sure if they were dead, but I knew the thick soap would not allow them to escape. I let the dish soap sit for a while, then rinsed. Before I went to bed, I poured more dish soap again over that same area. Because I was so paranoid, I woke up in the middle of the night to check and there were several that had come out, but were obviously dead. They looked dry and stiff.
This morning, I checked the same amount that were there last night remained. The soap dried and all the larvae dried with it. No one in my family is allowed to turn on that shower for at least a week until I am sure the tile and drain is dry.
I am also purchasing several more containers of white vinegar and extra dish washing soap just in case they return.
Please let me know if you try this and it works. Good luck!
Then I thought of two things: 1) the larvae must be feeding on mildew/mold (so needed to kill that first); 2) I recalled my neighbor suggesting a small bowl of vinegar mixed with dish washing soap as a way to kill live fruit flies around my fruit in my kitchen. I was not sure if #2 would kill the worms, but I was willing to try anything, and it seems to have worked.
Step 1: I always have one of those HUGE containers of white vinegar in my house to remove rug stains. I knew that vinegar can kill molds, so I grabbed the bottle and SLOWLY poured it over the entire length of my shower frame (which is where I found the larvae were living). Every time I would pour, the larvae would slide out. *so don't pour it all at once.* I repeated this several times until my two gallon container of vinegar was empty. I rinsed them all down the drain. But I was not confident I had exterminated all of them. Then I remembered the dish soap suggestion and ...
Step 2: I used Lemon Joy to pour over the same area. I know is sounds silly, but I was desperate. A few more of those guys slid out. Ugh! But I DID notice they were curled up and not moving much in the dish soap. I was not sure if they were dead, but I knew the thick soap would not allow them to escape. I let the dish soap sit for a while, then rinsed. Before I went to bed, I poured more dish soap again over that same area. Because I was so paranoid, I woke up in the middle of the night to check and there were several that had come out, but were obviously dead. They looked dry and stiff.
This morning, I checked the same amount that were there last night remained. The soap dried and all the larvae dried with it. No one in my family is allowed to turn on that shower for at least a week until I am sure the tile and drain is dry.
I am also purchasing several more containers of white vinegar and extra dish washing soap just in case they return.
Please let me know if you try this and it works. Good luck!