Doreen from 02180 writes
I tried taping over drains and had no success. Also, we have an unused toilet that we keep clean. We also taped this up but found no drain flies on tape. Can they live in water? If so, how do I go about killing them inside a toilet?
It is possible to have drain flies develop in places other than drains. It is also possible that you are dealing with fungus gnats which do favor places where there has been a water leak or other moisture issue that could cause fungus to grow providing them with a proper food source. We recommend that you use glueboards in areas where the insects are active so that you may get a sample of the insect. You should then get a professional identification of the insect. You can do this by contacting your local cooperative extension office and requesting to speak to the entomologist or by taking the sample to a well respected pest control operator in your area or by taking a well focused picture and emailing it to us. Once you have the insects identified you can follow the treatment directions in our article How to Get Rid of Fungus Gnats or How to Get Rid of Drainflies.
Answer last updated on: 09/16/2011
