I posted a message asking about drain flies in my house about two years ago. At the time I thought I had gotten rid of them by capping an unused shower drain in the basement and cleaning out my drains as best as I could with a bottle brush. Well the next spring they were back and I just spayed from time to time and made sure that drains were not clogged with hair and such. Around this time I also had my septic system cleaned out and when the guy opened a cleanout just outside the house I noticed there were hundreds of drain flies in there. I asked the guy and he said that this was a good thing.
This year the flies are the worst I've seen and one thing new is that we moved the bathroom in our basement. This invloved digging a trench in the basement floor and laying about 20 feet of pipe to service the bathtub, sink and toilet. A vent line was also extended into this new bathroom. I have been seeing a lot of flies in this new bathroom and I know the drains are clean, they have been used very little. I have made sure to pour water in the drains so the traps are full and I don't smell any sewer gas in this room.
Can these flies swim through the water in the traps somehow and make there way into the house or could they maybe be comming in from the vent somehow? I have read that this is often a sign of a broken or leaking drain. In my case the drain is all underslab and heads out to the septic tank still below grade through the basement wall.
At this point I'm just not sure who to call? Should I get a plumber in here to check the traps and such 1st? Should I call an exterminator 1st. I simply can not find a breeding location for these flies other than the septic tank and the line leading from the house the house. Also is this normal to have these in my septic system?
Thanks in advance
Rob
This year the flies are the worst I've seen and one thing new is that we moved the bathroom in our basement. This invloved digging a trench in the basement floor and laying about 20 feet of pipe to service the bathtub, sink and toilet. A vent line was also extended into this new bathroom. I have been seeing a lot of flies in this new bathroom and I know the drains are clean, they have been used very little. I have made sure to pour water in the drains so the traps are full and I don't smell any sewer gas in this room.
Can these flies swim through the water in the traps somehow and make there way into the house or could they maybe be comming in from the vent somehow? I have read that this is often a sign of a broken or leaking drain. In my case the drain is all underslab and heads out to the septic tank still below grade through the basement wall.
At this point I'm just not sure who to call? Should I get a plumber in here to check the traps and such 1st? Should I call an exterminator 1st. I simply can not find a breeding location for these flies other than the septic tank and the line leading from the house the house. Also is this normal to have these in my septic system?
Thanks in advance
Rob