These Gross Sink Bugs Are Back—Here’s How to Stop Them

With warmer weather comes a common kitchen nuisance. This is the time of year when gnats, sometimes called drain flies or sink flies, take up residence in your kitchen drain or garbage disposal. The moist environment and food residue creates an attractive place for these pests to congregate and lay their eggs. While their appearance can be annoying and downright revolting, there are some easy ways to get rid of them that don't involve the expense of a plumber or pest control service. 

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What are Drain Gnats?

Gnats are small winged insects that breed in areas with water and high moisture, which is why they love hanging out in your kitchen drain. Food scraps washed down the drain produce a film that covers the drain's interior parts, which creates the perfect environment for gnats to breed. That food slime serves as food for the gnat’s larvae. While gnats don’t pose any threat or bites or stings, nor do they carry disease, you still don’t want them living in your drain. 

Signs you have gnat in your drains

The most obvious sign that you have a gnat issue are gnats hovering around your drain, particularly when you’re running water. A closer look into the drain might reveal tiny worms, which are the gnat larvae. Since gnats like to breed in food slime, you might also detect the foul odor of rotting food coming from your drain. 

How to Get Rid of Gnats in Drains

To get rid of the gnats in your drain, you need to eliminate their breeding source by killing off the existing gnats and removing all of that food build up in the pipes. 

Step 1: Kill the Larvae and eggs

Dump a pot full of boiling water down the pipes several times to kill the larvae and gnat eggs.  

Step 2: Clean the Drain

Gnats are drawn to your drain because of the food residue that’s coating the pipes or inside of your garbage disposal. 

• Drain gnats can sometimes be attracted by a particle clog that’s causing water and sludge to accumulate inside the drain. If you have a slow drain, clear it using a drain snake first. 
• Pour a 1/2 cup of baking soda and a 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the drain and allow it to bubble for about 20 minutes. Flush the drain with boiling water. The homemade cleaner should remove the food slime while the boiling water will take care of any adults gnats and larvae. 
• You can also pour 1 cup of vinegar and a half cup of salt and baking soda down the drain. Let it sit for a few hours then rinse it with boiling water. 
• If this doesn’t do the trick, you can use an enzyme drain cleaner to take out the gnats and eggs. Enzyme drain cleaners will break down the food slime that is serving as a food source for gnats. 

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Step 3: Monitor the Drain

Monitor the drain for any additional gnat activity, and pour a pot of boiling water down the drain once a week to prevent the gnats from coming back. 

When It’s Time to Call A Plumber

While most of the time you can get rid of drain giants on your own by using the above methods, sometimes the presence of drain gnats is the sign of a larger problem in your drain, such as a deeper clog in your plumbing or even a break somewhere in the drain. If this is the case, you’ll need to call in a plumber for help.