Pests don't wait. Protect your home today.
Fruit Flies or Drain Flies in the Kitchen? A 10-Minute Test
Family-run, licensed and insured pest control in South Florida.
$50 OFF your first service + FREE inspectionNew customers · No code needed · No expirationFruit flies or drain flies in the kitchen? Here's the quick test. Before bed, put clear tape over the kitchen sink drain and the disposal, sticky side down, leaving a small gap. If flies are stuck to it in the morning, something is breeding in that drain, most often drain flies. If the tape is clean, spend ten minutes on the fruit bowl, the bottom of the trash can under the liner, the recycling and the potato and onion bin, which is where fruit flies breed. Either way, the source has to go. Sprays alone don't fix it.
Fruit flies vs. drain flies: how to tell which one you have
Both are tiny, about 1/8 inch, so look at how they act.
| Fruit fly | Drain fly | |
|---|---|---|
| Looks like | Tan to light brown, usually bright red eyes | Gray to tan and fuzzy, like a tiny moth |
| How it moves | Hovers around the counter in a loose cloud | Sits flat on the wall with wings folded like a little tent, hops short distances |
| Where you see it | Fruit bowl, trash, recycling, open drinks | Backsplash and wall near the sink, after you run water |
| If you swipe one | A small fly | It smears into a powdery smudge |
Small dark gnats hanging around wet houseplant soil are a third thing. They come from the pots, not the kitchen, and we don't treat plants.
The 10-minute kitchen test
Part one, before bed. Put clear tape over the sink drain and the disposal opening, sticky side down, with a small gap so air can move. If you have a second sink or a bar sink, tape that one too. Leave it until morning.
Part two, the next morning. Check the tape, then walk the kitchen:
- The fruit bowl, and anything that's gone soft at the bottom of it.
- The trash can, under the bag liner, where juice collects.
- The recycling: cans, bottles and juice cartons that weren't rinsed.
- The potato and onion bin, or wherever those are kept.
- Under the refrigerator, where spills collect.
- Under the sink, around the disposal and the cabinet floor.
Reading the result, and the fix
Flies on the tape: drain flies in the kitchen sink. The larvae live in the slimy film that coats the inside of the drain, so pouring water or bleach down the pipe runs right past them. Scrub the drain with a stiff, long-handled drain brush, then flush with hot water. For the disposal, turn the power off first and never put your hand inside. Do it again over the next few days.
Clean tape, flies around the fruit and the trash: fruit flies. Refrigerate ripe fruit or eat it, don't leave peels on the counter, toss the soft potato or onion, wash out the bottom of the trash can and rinse cans and bottles before they go in the recycling. Wipe up sticky spots and empty and dry mop buckets and rags.
How to find the source of fruit flies when you can't
If you've removed the ripe produce, cleaned the drains and the flies are still there after a week or two, there's probably a hidden source. Common ones are a potato that rolled behind the pantry bin, juice under the fridge or a drain nobody uses. Small humpbacked flies that run in quick, jerky bursts instead of hovering can point to phorid flies and a plumbing issue, which is worth having inspected. A broken pipe is a plumber's job. We don't do plumbing repairs.
What we do about kitchen flies
For drain flies, we find which drains are producing them, then use drain treatments made to break down the film where the larvae live, plus targeted treatment for resting adults. If you're on our $125 quarterly plan, drain treatments for drain flies are included as needed, at no extra cost. For fruit flies, we inspect the kitchen, drains and storage areas to find the breeding material, show you what to clean out and use baits labeled for flies where they help.
Nothing we use goes on the counters, the fruit bowl or anywhere food is prepared or stored. Those get cleaned, not treated. Keep kids and pets off treated areas until dry, and follow your technician's instructions.
Flies in the bathroom instead? See tiny bugs in the bathroom. Bigger flies at the back door and the bins? See flies around the trash and back door. And if it's roaches coming up the sink, read roaches coming up the drain. The library pages have more on the fruit fly and the drain fly.
Our general pest control plan is $125 per quarter, about $42 a month; see plans and pricing. For plan customers: "If pests come back between visits, so do we, at no extra cost." There are no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees, just a simple service agreement. We're family-run and licensed, with 30+ years in the business, and hablamos español. Browse more guides.
Kitchen fly questions
How do I know if I have drain flies or fruit flies?
Will pouring vinegar down the drain get rid of fruit flies?
Is my house dirty if I have fruit flies?
Why am I suddenly getting drain flies?
How do I get rid of fruit flies if I can't find the source?
Taped the drain and still not sure?
Get $50 OFF your first service plus a FREE inspection. No code, no expiration. Call or text anytime: 833-845-9284.
Prefer to text or email? Text us · info@prospraypest.com