Drain fly
Clogmia albipunctata
- Identification
- Small, fuzzy, moth-like flies (⅛ inch) that rest on walls near drains and sinks.
- Lifecycle & behavior
- Larvae develop in the organic film inside drains, traps, and sewage areas.
- When it's active in Central NY
- Year-round indoors where drains stay moist; noticed in bathrooms, basements, and commercial kitchens.
- Risk & damage
- A nuisance and a sign of a drain or plumbing issue; not major disease vectors but unwelcome in food settings.
- Why DIY falls short
- Surface sprays kill adults but not the larvae in the drain biofilm; pouring bleach rarely clears it fully.
- How we treat it
- Identifying and treating the breeding drains and biofilm, with guidance on cleaning and moisture.
Drain fly or fruit fly?
Drain flies look nothing like fruit flies once you look closely: they are fuzzy and moth-like, with broad rounded wings held roof-like over the body, and they sit motionless on walls and ceilings near drains rather than hovering. Fruit flies are smooth, red-eyed, and hover around food.
Their flight is weak and fluttering, and they tend to be found in bathrooms, basements, and near floor drains rather than in food-prep areas.
Drain flies in Central New York
Drain flies breed in the gelatinous organic film that accumulates inside drains, traps, and sewer lines, and in the region's older buildings — rarely-used basement floor drains, aging plumbing in century-old housing, and seasonal properties that sit unused — that film has plenty of time to build up.
The test is simple: tape a clear cup or plastic over the suspect drain overnight and see what is caught in the morning. The fix is mechanical cleaning of the drain film with a brush and an enzyme or bacterial drain product. Pouring bleach down the drain does not work, because it runs straight through without removing the film they are breeding in.
Dealing with drain fly?
Our general pest preventative service handles it — guaranteed, family-owned, and local.
Drain fly — common questions
How do I find which drain they are breeding in?
Cover each suspect drain with a clear cup or a piece of tape sticky-side down overnight. Whichever one catches flies by morning is the source. It is a reliable test and it saves treating the whole building.
Will bleach kill drain flies?
Not effectively. Bleach runs straight through and does not remove the organic film lining the pipe, which is what they actually breed in. The film has to be broken up mechanically with a drain brush, then maintained with an enzyme or bacterial product.