Fruit flies in the bathroom are attracted to damp towels, mats, and moisture constantly produced from the bathroom drains.
After taking a shower, in most cases, the bathroom is always left to dry on its own. This accumulates moisture in the air that keeps the bathroom warm, damp, and moist.
6 Ways to get rid of fruit flies in the bathroom
To get rid of fruit flies in the bathroom, Mix 2 liters of hot water with 1 cup of white vinegar and pour it down the drain. Avoid keeping wet clothes, mats, and towels in the bathroom. Keep the walls dry after taking a shower.
1. Remove damp clothes from the bathroom
Wet mops, rags, pants, and crumpled towels attract fruit flies to your bathroom. After taking a shower, hang your towels and pants outside. Let them dry completely before you keep them away.
Old bathroom rags and mops should be replaced because they accumulate dirt and particles that ferment to attract fruit flies.
Avoid using dirty water and rags when cleaning the bathroom tiles and bath tab. If this is done, you will notice that the bathroom is clean and dry, yet fruit flies are hanging in there.
This is because dirty rugs and mops used in the kitchen will always smell of food particles that were whipped earlier. The bathroom will stink if those floor mops and rags are used without proper cleaning.
If possible, have a dedicated mop and rag for cleaning the bathroom, and always let them dry completely before keeping them.
2. Clean the bathroom drains and sinks
Bathroom sinks and drains can also serve as breeding grounds for fruit flies. Those should be cleaned and dried out because they lay their eggs in there. Here is how to get rid of fruit flies from your sink and bathroom drain:
- Take one liter of hot water in a bucket
- Add 1 cup of bleach and mix
- Pour this down the drain
Flashing a mixture of bleach and hot water down the drain will kill the fruit flies and their eggs. This will also help remove other pests and rusty, loose chips stuck in your drainage.
They are just a few flying around the bathroom sink or drainage; you can use a vinegar fruit fly trap to remove and get rid of them permanently.
3. Cover your drainage
We learned that those tiny flies could crawl into the bathroom from the drainage. If you had a fruit fly infestation in your bathroom, don’t leave the drainage open after cleaning and getting rid of them.
Get the best shower drain covers for your bathroom drain. Those are designed to keep bugs from crawling out the drainage.
However, get a drainage cover after removing things that attract fruit flies in your house. If you do not do that, you will keep seeing them even if you cover the drains.
If you have a bath tab, get a nice cover for its drainage. Consider pouring some hot water mixed with white vinegar to eliminate fruit flies in the bath tab.
4. Toothbrush in the bathroom
Keep any toothbrush in the bathroom covered and ensure the sink is clean. Leaving wet toothbrushes after use is a common practice in households.
An uncleaned toothbrush in the bathroom can be moist, and if not washed properly, it may have food particles from your mouth that can attract fruit flies.
Remember, those tiny flies have a very strong smell to any decaying matter because of their sensitive antennas.
Toothbrush and their holders attract fruit flies, especially if they are not properly cleaned after use.
If you keep yours in there, consider cleaning them with hot water and get a toothbrush cover for each and every one of them.
This will also keep other pests from landing on them, and fruit flies will have nothing to keep them busy.
5. Stop peeing in the shower
Naturally, people tend to pee in the shower because the body will have a cooling effect, especially if you take a hot shower when it is cold.
It has been observed that human urine can attract fruit flies. If you pee on the bathroom floor and it is left uncleaned, you will have flies in your bathroom.
If a toilet is in the shower area, it is advisable to use it properly while urinating since spilling on the floor can attract bugs. Flush the toilet after peeing and keep the toilet seat free from urine droplets. The toilet seat should always be clean and well maintained, especially if you have to sit on it.
6. Dirty bathroom mats
Bathroom mats around the toilet seat can be stained by urine, especially if you have male users in the house. This is because some adults tend to pee on them by mistake.
The urine stains on those mats will begin to stink with time, attracting fruit flies to the bathroom. They will return after you clean because of the warmth and damp mats.
This is why you need to go for bright bathroom mats. It is easy to notice stains on a bright mat than on a dark one. If you see fruit lies landing on those mats, just know that they are not clean even if there are no stains on them.
Where do fruit flies come from in the bathroom?
Causes of fruit flies in the bathroom include dirty drains, sink, and damp materials that are kept in there. The warm extra moist bathroom environment will make them lay eggs and reproduce.
If someone was throwing up in the bathroom, it is very easy for the puke to spill on the floor and mats. This will also stain the toilet seat, and the decaying smell will attract fruit flies into the bathroom very fast.
Moisture is the major reason there will be fruit flies in the bathroom. At times it can be hard to get rid of these insects. This is made worse by the fact that they reproduce at a very high rate despite having a very short life cycle.
They easily infest different parts of the house, the bathroom included. The fruit flies will make their way to the bathroom from the kitchen.
In most cases, fruit fly infestations start in the kitchen. The insects get attracted by the rot and micro-organisms that come with fruits and vegetables instead of the fruits themselves. Other than the food, they survive in moist areas.
They are attracted to wet and dump walls, pants hung in there, and moist drains. They get the perfect breeding grounds, especially around towels, rags, and other pieces of damp clothes.
References:
- CABI: Potential use of human urine as an attractant to tephritid fruit flies in Sudan.
- Michigan State University: Fruit Fly – Research at MSU