Mary Contrary
Inactive
Oh yeah the huge ones are real nice. In the summer i have flies in the house cuz lots of horses around me.
…… Is there a modern equivalent to the old “No Pest Strip”?
- Thread starter Dennis Olson
- Start date
Meemur
Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
I get a bug problem in the fall. I fill several sauce dipping cups half-way with apple cider vinegar and a drop of Dawn detergent to break the surface tension. I place the cups high up in the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. I then dump a tea kettle full of boiling water into all of the drains, followed up with 1/2 cup of bleach. I do that before bed so the bleach can sit in the sink traps overnight. Then I make sure the waste baskets are empty and any food scraps are picked up.
I change the vinegar once a day for four days. Usually, the cup is full of bugs: horse flies, fruit flies, gnats, stink bugs, lady bird beetles . . . it's nasty. I stop when there aren't any bugs, usually about 4 days, but sometimes it has taken a week.
Then, for the next 3 weeks or so, I follow up every 7 days with boiling water and then bleach in the drains. Usually after about a month, the bugs are gone. It generally happens around Labor Day.
I change the vinegar once a day for four days. Usually, the cup is full of bugs: horse flies, fruit flies, gnats, stink bugs, lady bird beetles . . . it's nasty. I stop when there aren't any bugs, usually about 4 days, but sometimes it has taken a week.
Then, for the next 3 weeks or so, I follow up every 7 days with boiling water and then bleach in the drains. Usually after about a month, the bugs are gone. It generally happens around Labor Day.
FaithfulSkeptic
Carrying the mantle of doubt
Fly paper
Too bad about the No Pest Strips. Those things worked great. You could hang one by a paper wasp bag and it would be completely vacated in a couple of days. Kinda makes you wonder where the eye twitch you've had all your life comes from.
Too bad about the No Pest Strips. Those things worked great. You could hang one by a paper wasp bag and it would be completely vacated in a couple of days. Kinda makes you wonder where the eye twitch you've had all your life comes from.
Doomer Doug
TB Fanatic
The entire concept of 24 hour open exposure inside your house to toxic insecticide is verbotten.
You might be allowed a stick with pyretheum, or rotonone, or some ither natural type non toxic. Hell, I used to spray DDT the last year of 1972.
You might be allowed a stick with pyretheum, or rotonone, or some ither natural type non toxic. Hell, I used to spray DDT the last year of 1972.
Daytonabill0001
Wheat or Tare, which are you?
DDT was responsible for the eradication of our lovely bedbugs, now that DDT is verboten, the bedbugs came back...
Sorry, back to our scheduled programming...
Sorry, back to our scheduled programming...
I have some kinda crawling critter
usually around the kitchen sink and waste basket beneath
]
every tin can into the garbage is in a sealed sandwich bag
unfortunately i dont do dishes every day
so i think thats an attractant
i use the sticky boards but cut them into strips
it makes them last longer
and can go in multiple places
no point tossing a board with only a few critters
usually around the kitchen sink and waste basket beneath
]
every tin can into the garbage is in a sealed sandwich bag
unfortunately i dont do dishes every day
so i think thats an attractant
i use the sticky boards but cut them into strips
it makes them last longer
and can go in multiple places
no point tossing a board with only a few critters
I said in my OP that flypaper/strips didn’t work. I tried that first.
I thought DPG's until you mentioned areas with drains/moisture.
Coffin flies. Phorid flies.
www.doyourownpestcontrol.com
ETA: Killing them before they start flying is ideal.
Coffin flies. Phorid flies.
Get Rid of Phorid Flies
Get rid of Phorid Flies, Phorid Fly and Humpback Fly Identification, Phorid Fly control,Phorid Fly Inspection, Do It Yourself Pest Control provides the products and expertise you need for residential and commercial control of the Phorid Fly
www.doyourownpestcontrol.com
ETA: Killing them before they start flying is ideal.
Last edited:
Terriannie
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Think like a fruit fly and go for what you want. Fruit.
Clean every little drop of food from counters, trash can, etc. Put a brown banana peel or apple in various jars and cover with plastic with a few holes. They get in but can't get out.
I read they like light so at night in total darkness it said to place a candle near water and they will either fly at the flame and burn their wings or see their reflection in the water and drown. (This would take time) I personally wouldn't do this but using the same premise, stand an electric/battery candle near the jar trap at night.
Clean every little drop of food from counters, trash can, etc. Put a brown banana peel or apple in various jars and cover with plastic with a few holes. They get in but can't get out.
I read they like light so at night in total darkness it said to place a candle near water and they will either fly at the flame and burn their wings or see their reflection in the water and drown. (This would take time) I personally wouldn't do this but using the same premise, stand an electric/battery candle near the jar trap at night.
Esto Perpetua
Veteran Member
Google Mormon Crickets and get back to meThe joys of the South.
THESE ARE *NOT* FRUIT FLIES. THEY ARE NOT ATTRACTED TO FRUIT.
Terriannie
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I hear you Dennis, but they sound just like them so, whatever you think they are, see what they are attracted to, land on or swarm around and make a trap with that.
If it's something damp, place a wet sponge in a trap jar. If it's juice, place juice.
Or, maybe you can go this route.....
To get rid of them and ALL your other insect pests, take the dogs out for a few hours after you bomb the heck out of the house with insect bombs.
They don’t appear to be attracted to anything in particular.
I’ve been using bug spray around the drains. They come back in hours. Bombing the house isn’t going to get into the drains. I’ve been fighting these things for years. This year, they’re the worst I’ve ever seen. There are clouds of them over the sinks and in the toilet bowls.
I’ve been using bug spray around the drains. They come back in hours. Bombing the house isn’t going to get into the drains. I’ve been fighting these things for years. This year, they’re the worst I’ve ever seen. There are clouds of them over the sinks and in the toilet bowls.
TxGal
Day by day
I was going to guess they're horn flies. Usually they torment livestock, but they'll go for just about anything moving. Heaven knows there are plenty of the them in Texas. Miserable darn things. They'll hang around the house, too, waiting for someone to open a door. On cooler days, they'll be on the sunny side of the house warming up. We're seeing a lot of them on the cattle now. The last few weeks have been really bad.
They don't tend to go for sink drains (unless they're thirsty, I guess). More often than not they'll buzz from window to window trying to get back out. In the meantime, they'll constantly go after dogs and people in the house. I usually wait for them to land on the windows then spray them with Windex. Knocks them right down, they die pretty quickly.
They don't tend to go for sink drains (unless they're thirsty, I guess). More often than not they'll buzz from window to window trying to get back out. In the meantime, they'll constantly go after dogs and people in the house. I usually wait for them to land on the windows then spray them with Windex. Knocks them right down, they die pretty quickly.
Terriannie
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I saw this article of what I "think" you're talking about....
4 Amazingly Simply Ways to Get Rid of Drain Gnats
Learn how to get rid of drain gnats at home with these simple methods. Use everyday ingredients like vinegar, baking soda, and bleach to effectively kill these tiny, flying pests. These simple pest control methods will effectively eliminate drain gnats. #drainflies #getridofdrainflies #drainfly
www.tipsbulletin.com
How to Get Rid of Drain Gnats
By Joan Clark
Whether you call them drain flies, sewer gnats, or sink flies, these small flies can quickly become a huge pain. While they are harmless, they can get quite annoying when they buzz around your face. Unlike fungus gnats, which like to breed in the soggy soil in potted plants, drain gnats like to feed on the sewage and organic matter that is found in most drains. Here’s how to get rid of drain gnats with simple, everyday ingredients.
Fortunately, tiny flies and other gnats can be controlled and removed by incorporating several effective removal methods. Female drain gnats, or often called drain flies, can lay up to 100 eggs at once, and in just two days the eggs will hatch into drain worms.
Within a few days, the population can get out of control and leave you with a considerable gnat infestation. To effectively get rid of drain flies so you can start enjoying your kitchen and bathroom again, you first have to determine that you have drain flies.
How to Identify Drain Flies
Measuring at just around 1.5 to 5 millimeters in length, sewer and drain gnats are extremely small. They have gray or light brown bodies, and their wings are light-colored.
Both their bodies and their wings are covered in long hairs, which gives them the appearance of being fuzzy. This fuzziness is what has earned them the nickname moth flies.
Thankfully, other than being a nuisance for homeowners, drain flies don’t bite or sting and won’t transmit diseases like other gnats and flying insects.
Getting Rid of Drain Gnats
Since drain gnats are attracted to moist areas that are rich in nutrient-rich organic material, septic tanks, sewers, and the drains in your home make the perfect habitat and breeding grounds for these types of gnats, making it necessary to find ways to scare flies away by eliminating their food and breeding sources.
The most common sign that you have a drain gnat problem is by the presence of adult flies hanging out near your drains or other breeding sites.
One guaranteed way to determine whether you have a drain fly problem is to cover your sink drain with sticky tape. When the flies try to fly out of the pipe, they’ll get stuck to the tape. If you discover any flies on the tape, it’s a sure sign that you are dealing with drain flies.
In some ways, however, drain fly larvae can be beneficial because they eat the organic material that may be clogging your drain. Unfortunately, the population can get out of control quickly, which is why you will want to eliminate the drain flies as soon as possible.
Get Rid of the Organic Material
The reason you have a problem with sewer flies is that there is a build-up of organic material in your home’s pipes. This is a common problem for homes with older pipes. If you can get rid of the organic material, then you will take away the fly’s food source and effectively rid your home of these pests.
To get rid of the organic material build-up in your pipes, you’ll need to push a metal pipe brush through the pipes. Move the brush back and forth as far as you can go to ensure that you dislodge as much of the build-up as you can.
Then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain to send the displaced material down the pipes to remove the root cause of your drain fly problem.
Kill them with Vinegar
Vinegar has a million uses around the home, and killing drain flies is one of them. The best kind to use for this method is apple cider vinegar, which will help rid your house of drain flies without using harsh chemicals. Here is an effective recipe for how to kill drain flies easily.
Pour vinegar into the glass and cover it with plastic wrap. Poke small holes in the plastic wrap and set the trap near the drain. The vinegar will attract the gnats to the vinegar.
The drain flies will then fly into the glass and dive down toward the vinegar, and drown. These kinds of fly traps will also work to eliminate fungus gnats and fruit flies in your home.
Add the apple cider vinegar to a spray bottle to get rid of pantry moths that may have made their home near your food or to eliminate spider mites in your houseplants. It’s a simple yet effective pest control solution.
Use Baking Soda, Vinegar, and Boiling Water
Not only will this method take care of the drain flies in your sink, but it will leave your drains and pipes squeaky clean.
Baking Soda and Vinegar Recipe for Drain Flies
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1 cup vinegar
Begin by pouring the baking soda into the drain, then slowly add the vinegar. The ingredients should start to bubble and fizz and may come up out of the pipe. Allow the solution to sit in the drain for about an hour. Then, pour a pot of boiling water down the drain.
The fizzing and bubbling of the vinegar and baking soda kills any flies, eggs, and larvae that may be hiding inside the drain while loosening any organic material that may build-up in your drain and pipes. The boiling water works to wash all the stuff down the drain.
You can also combine these ingredients in a spray bottle to use for attacking other insects in the house. This solution will kill moths, ants, roaches, and assorted other creepy crawlies so that you don’t have to worry about them anymore.
Use Bleach
If you don’t have any vinegar in your pantry, or you want to use a stronger pest control method to get rid of the flies in your drains, you might consider using bleach for how to get rid of drain gnats. To utilize this method, mix one cup of bleach with ten cups of water and pour it down the drain.
Allow the mixture to sit for a couple of hours before flushing the pipes with cold water. The only drawback of this method is that it doesn’t scour the pipes like the baking soda and vinegar.
These three natural methods are not only great for getting rid of the drain flies that you already have but if you use them regularly, you can keep your pipes and drains clean and prevent any future infestations. The best part is that these methods are simple to do and don’t require you to purchase any expensive products or ingredients.
I know what they are. Hideous beasts.
A caution on using boiling water in sinks to clean drains. This summer I was using baking soda and hot vinegar to clean out the pipes in a bathroom sink, followed by boiling water, something I've done a million times.
I forgot that this is 2020, until I heard the sickening sound of a ceramic sink cracking. Spent the rest of the day running to Home Depot and doing plumbing. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate plumbing.
I forgot that this is 2020, until I heard the sickening sound of a ceramic sink cracking. Spent the rest of the day running to Home Depot and doing plumbing. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate plumbing.
20Gauge
TB Fanatic
Have you used them and are they effective?Found these on ebay.
Better prices on there too.
Hot Shot No-Pest Strip, Kills Flying And Crawling Insects, Penetrating Vapor, Pa | eBay
Find great deals for Hot Shot No-Pest Strip, Kills Flying And Crawling Insects, Penetrating Vapor, Pa. Shop with confidence on eBay!www.ebay.com
Terriannie nailed it. That’s them (the bastards)
bw
Fringe Ranger
Profit of Doom
Dismember
...or time flies...?
Matters what you use as attractant.
Shouldn't be the kitchen or bathroom sink drains unless you have something wrong with your p-traps. Unless they are breeding in the gunk on the walls of your train line before it gets to the p-trap. If that is the case, then get the drain cleaner specifically designed, not for clogs but for slow drains or for cleaning the drain line walls. You can pour that stuff down tub and shower drains as well. No gunk for them to grow their maggots in then not maggots and then no gnats.
hunybee
Veteran Member
The vinegar needs to be like an unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. It is the fermenting aroma and chemicals that attracts the flies. Same as wine. They sense it and are attracted like moths to a flame. To them, it means something is rotting and fermenting and they have to get to it. They go into the bottle or whatever trap one makes, and if one puts a few stops if dish soap in the liquid, it breaks the surface tension and they sink and drown.
It doesn't work for every single fly, but it works for many different kinds.
The bleach in the drains at night works also to not only kill the flies, but any eggs they have laid.
I disagree. Here’s why. Anything you pour into a drain immediately drains out to the level of the trap. The walls of the pipes above the trap are untreated. I’d think that’s where the eggs are. You’d have to block the drains at the trap and fill the pipe to the sink with bleach in order to be effective.
hunybee
Veteran Member
It has worked for us for many types, but that doesn't mean it will work for all. Some of those pests are like a plague! I'm sorry, man!
You know, now that I think about it, maybe doing all the things suggested in terms of the daily cleaning/control actions, and then at night before you go to bed, you put some foaming pipe cleaner down all the drains! That way, it foams up the chemicals up to the top of the drain. It stays there for a good while, and kills anything in the trap too. Maybe try that for a few days?
That might work! I have to get some.
hunybee
Veteran Member
The bugs have to contact both screens on those. These gnats are too small.
They do make UV lights with stick-um boards tho. I see them in commercial kitchens.
If that is the stuff you use to clean garbage disposals, the one I used has a nice lemony scent, too!. I should remember to get some of that before we close the house up for the winter. Thanks for the idea!
Esto Perpetua
Veteran Member
Thanks for posting that! I do the boiling water thing too. Maybe just use hot tap water from now on...A caution on using boiling water in sinks to clean drains. This summer I was using baking soda and hot vinegar to clean out the pipes in a bathroom sink, followed by boiling water, something I've done a million times.
I forgot that this is 2020, until I heard the sickening sound of a ceramic sink cracking. Spent the rest of the day running to Home Depot and doing plumbing. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate plumbing.
The sink evidently had cracked before and was repaired, but it was on the bottom where no one could see it. Could have been from the manufacturer or who ever installed it.
I certainly won't be taking a chance with older sinks or the new one we put in either!