Ack! Drain Flies

[cdub]

I have these tiny, black, moth-type insects flying in my home. They are actually flies, and many people call them Drain Flies, because they breed and the larvae grow and feed on moist organic matter commonly found in drain traps, stagnant water, and compost piles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drain_fly

Ever have these in your home? Well, for weeks, I have been treating what I thought was the larval food source, the muck in my bathroom drains. But, I still keep seeing the dern flies all over the place. The cat gets a kick out of chasing these slow-moving flies around the house. Once she gets them on the carpet, she eats them! I was convinced that my drain treatments would shut down the breeding and get rid of these things. Well, I was watering my paphs this morning and I saw a single fly on the wall near the grow shelves. It suddenly came to me, could they be living and breeding in my paph media, or humidity trays? DAMN!! So, I think I will leave fly strips at the bathroom and orchid locations so evaluate if indeed the orchid area is problem source. If so, I am left searching for a solution to this problem. I'm not a bug freak, but these little flies can be annoying. Anyone ever have this issue with their grow areas?

 

[dave b]

My parents battled these last year in their home. They found the source to be in a wall of the house behind the bathroom shower plumbing. There is an access panel in the wall at this location, and when they removed the panel, a swarm emerged. This was next to an outside wall, that had water damage from Euonymus (ground cover) growing up thru the vinyl siding. I believe there was also a leaky pipe found. Repeated spraying, and drying / fixing the sources of water eventually eliminated the problem.

 

[MissMorbus]

I found one of those stuck to my butterwort (Pinguicula) in my kitchen window. So, I guess I have them in my house too. Since my butterwort caught one, you could try getting a couple of them to help keep them out of your grow area. They are cute little carnivorous plants that have pretty flowers. I recommend the Mexican/Tropical ones for indoor growing. I'm sure they won't be enough to completely erradicate the flys, but they are definately prettier than fly paper.

Here's a good source: California Carnivores

 

[cdub]

Oooh! and a good excuse to try some Pings!

 

[Heather]

Drosera will catch 'em too.

 

[practicallyostensible]

My friend had a problem with these a little while ago. It turns out that they need a fair amount of organic material in the drains to breed (unlike fruit flies –the bane of my apartment life). We try and stay away from the toxic stuff and ended up finding products that use bacterial and/or enzymes to actually consume the organic buildup. Hope this helps.

 

[MissMorbus]

Oooh! and a good excuse to try some Pings!

Be careful...Pings are very addicting!! :evil:

I agree with Heather, Drosera work great too.

 

[NYEric]

Leave them alone and let the cat have fun!