Community Forums

gator67 · 08-10-2007, 10:44 AM

It's summer and we are in Michigan. We are getting overrun with little black flying things inside the coach. They are about 1/16" long and have clear wings. We talked to some pest control folks and they said they are "drain flies" and live on the edges of the drain down to the gray tank. We bought some stuff to pour in the drain, covered all the drains, and left for a few hours. When we returned, there were lots of them. In the past we have poured bleach down the drains and that was ineffective, too. We cannot figure out where they are coming from. They seem to congregate in the skylight over the shower. We stood and watched for a long time. They just seem to appear and we can't tell where they are coming from. They also seem to be attracted to food in the kitchen. They are more prevalent during the day than the nighttime. We only seem to have these in the summer, although we don't know if it's the temperature or the location. We want to get rid of them but short of having an exterminator come in we don't know what to do. One good sidelight is that with all the fly swatting we're doing it creates a draft such that the A/C doesn't have to work so hard.

Anyone else experiencing these, and more importantly, has anyone come up with a solution?

gator67 · 08-10-2007, 10:44 AM

It's summer and we are in Michigan. We are getting overrun with little black flying things inside the coach. They are about 1/16" long and have clear wings. We talked to some pest control folks and they said they are "drain flies" and live on the edges of the drain down to the gray tank. We bought some stuff to pour in the drain, covered all the drains, and left for a few hours. When we returned, there were lots of them. In the past we have poured bleach down the drains and that was ineffective, too. We cannot figure out where they are coming from. They seem to congregate in the skylight over the shower. We stood and watched for a long time. They just seem to appear and we can't tell where they are coming from. They also seem to be attracted to food in the kitchen. They are more prevalent during the day than the nighttime. We only seem to have these in the summer, although we don't know if it's the temperature or the location. We want to get rid of them but short of having an exterminator come in we don't know what to do. One good sidelight is that with all the fly swatting we're doing it creates a draft such that the A/C doesn't have to work so hard.

Anyone else experiencing these, and more importantly, has anyone come up with a solution?

Paul Heuvelhorst · 08-10-2007, 05:05 PM

We have similar "flies" during the summer in the Northeast Sierras. They are small enough that even the finest screen material can't keep them out... they are attracted to lights in the house and swarm the lights. Obviously, one way to reduce the annoyance is to keep the lights off in rooms where windows are open.

We found them during our recent trip to the mid-west... not sure is was in MI, but somewhere back there. They don't bite, but they do tend to fly around and annoy you when reading, watching TV, etc. Once we turn off the lights and retire, the annoyance stops. In the morning we find them dead on lamp shades, etc.

We've never found a way to "exterminate" them, and we haven't used pest sprays to try. We don't find them that annoying.

Danny Gayhart · 08-10-2007, 08:17 PM

I would be willing to bet they are coming thru the screens.

I heard years ago about a very fine screen used in the south to keep No-see-ums out. It seemed to be silk like. Do a search and see what you come up with.

Danny

Lorna · 08-11-2007, 06:16 AM

You forgot the VENT STACK!!!! I have a few of the little flies hanging around the vent stack. I use a non areosol bug spray (Hot Shot Home Insect Control clear formula/9 month control) to spray the vent pipe. Don't forget these are flies and they hatch out every few weeks so you might want to keep an eye out for them. Make sure you keep water in all your p traps. Start with a "bug bomb" in the RV and make sure you spray the vent pipe as well... you will probably have to do it more than once to catch the second wave of hatching. I'll bet if you opened the clean out plug on your septic system, you would find the same flies.

takepride · 08-14-2007, 09:14 PM

Yep, sounds like No-see-ums, if they move constantly. If they hover, they are drain or sewer flies. With No-see-ums they'll just keep getting in without a finer screen (almost like a cloth). Don't bother to spray, they'll just come back.

If they are sewer flies, fumigate, then air it out. Remember to turn off the LP and any electrical ignition sources first (!). They will collect in the vent and sewer lines if they can access them. Flushing the tanks and keeping the traps filled with water ought to keep them out of the coach.

Boy, now that reminds me why I'm glad I moved from Michigan to So Cal!

Paul "Sully" Sullivan · 08-24-2007, 09:27 PM

We experienced 10 days of small bugs flying out when the toilet was flushed, it appeares that they were living in the bottom of the vent pipe. Tried spraying from the top in to the vent pipe with no luck, same results when flooding the tank. Finally I bought a spray bug bomb for outdoor use and sprayed a large volume in through the toilet and after the second application we were bug free.

Sully