Why Are There Fruit Flies in My Bathroom? 4 Possible Reasons
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Shea Cummings
- Last updated:
Fruit flies may not be big and annoying like a standard housefly, but they are unpleasant, nonetheless. It’s common to find them around fresh fruit and vegetables in the kitchen, especially if you often leave them out on the counter.
One place that you may not expect to find a fruit fly is in the bathroom. Typically, we don’t eat or bring much food into the bathroom. However, food is not the only thing that a fruit fly enjoys. They generally enjoy moist or unkempt environments as well.
This article explores four possible reasons you’re finding fruit flies in your bathroom and gives you some helpful tips on getting rid of them—and things you can try to prevent them from coming back.
The 4 Possible Reasons Why There Are Fruit Flies in Your Bathroom
It’s easy enough to solve these four reasons for finding fruit flies in your bathroom. However, it may take a bit of diligence to prevent them from coming back, especially if they’ve had time to establish themselves by laying eggs.
1. Messy Bathroom
We’re all guilty of it at some point, leaving a wet towel crumpled on the floor or some clothes lying around for a few days. These things won’t automatically call in the fruit flies. But over time, the moisture and untidiness will bring them.
In addition to fruit, these pesky flies love warm, damp environments. Nothing is more perfect than a wet towel sitting on the floor for a couple of days.
Typically, we don’t bring food to the bathroom. But if there was an apple core or something in the garbage, this would certainly attract some unwanted bathroom guests.
- Cleaning the bathroom is the best solution here. Get rid of any clothes or towels on the floor and change the garbage. This may not immediately solve the problem if the flies have already laid eggs, but keeping up on the tidiness is important for preventing future infestation.
2. Leaks
Even if you’re careful to clean up towels and clothes and dry wet areas after bathing, there are other causes of moisture in the bathroom. A leaking drain under the vanity is common, and fruit flies love the damp environment it creates under the sink.
A leaking faucet out in the open is still a cause for concern, but at least the puddles it creates get cleaned up regularly. If you have standing water under the sink, not only will it damage the cabinet, but it’ll bring in unwanted pests.
- Fixing the leak is the only real solution here. Preventing fruit flies is one benefit of the fix. But preventing damage is just as much a benefit, if not more of one.
3. Clogged Drains
Maybe the drain isn’t leaking, but if you’ve got clogged drains, the problem is the same when it comes to the pesky flies. Even if the drain isn’t 100% clogged, it will still create a certain amount of standing water in the drain, which attracts the flies.
This could be the sink drain, but it will often be the tub drain because of the amount of hair that washes down the drain.
- Clean out the drain. Depending on what drain you’re cleaning, you can do this a couple of ways. For the tub drain, your best bet is some Drano or another drain cleaner (there are even some effective homemade drain cleaners). If it’s the bathroom sink, you could also pull the trap out and clean it. The trap is the U-shaped pipe under the sink, and it often has a quick connect coupler that is pretty easy to take on and off
4. Coming From The Kitchen
If your bathroom is spotless and you’ve got no leaks or clogs, the fruit flies may be making their way from the kitchen or another area of the house. Even without leaks and mess, the bathroom is still typically a humid room in your home.
- Reduce the humidity in the bathroom as much as possible by ensuring the exhaust fan is powerful enough and being used. Also, discovering where the fruit flies are coming from to get rid of them at the source is your best chance at preventing them in the bathroom.
Getting Rid of Fruit Flies
Aside from cleaning up whatever is attracting the fruit flies in your bathroom, there are a few ways you can get rid of the flies that are already there.
Homemade Fly Trap
There are fly traps you can buy that do a good job. But if you’d rather make one with stuff you have laying around the house, they are easy to make.
You only need three things:
- A small bowl, glass, or a jar
- Plastic wrap
- A sweet attractant—apple cider vinegar, fruit, honey, juice, etc.
Place the attractant into the container and seal the top with the plastic cling wrap. Poke several tiny holes in the wrap and place it out of the way in the bathroom. The fruit flies will be attracted and find their way through the holes. But they can rarely find their way back out.
Keep in mind that this won’t fix the problem at the root. So make sure you’ve cleaned out the drains and fixed any leaks. Then this will help kill the existing flies in the area.
Preventing Fruit Flies from Coming Back
The thing about fruit flies is they will come back quickly. So, once you’ve solved the initial problem, there are several things to keep in mind when thinking about future prevention.
Humidity
Because fruit flies love humidity, reducing it is a good preventative measure—especially in high humidity areas like the bathroom and kitchen. You can do this by running exhaust fans when cooking or showering.
No Food or Drink Left Out
If you have fruit fly problems and you’ve typically left fruit or vegetables out, consider keeping them in the fridge or at least sealing them in a container on the counter.
Also, food scraps or half-full drinks should not be left out because that is a fast way to fruit fly infestation. Also, spilled drinks on the floor should be cleaned up thoroughly, even the little bit that made it under the stove or the couch.
Homemade Repellent
You can make a homemade fruit fly and insect repellant pretty easily by mixing water and various essential oils. Peppermint and eucalyptus are two common essential oils that insects and bugs don’t like.
Keep in mind when making a homemade repellent, though, that many essential oils are not safe for consumption, and some are harmful with skin contact—especially to children or pets. So, be aware of what you’re spraying with them, and do a little research on the particular oil you want to use before you use it.
In Summary
Fruit flies are annoying, and they seem to be never-ending at times during the summer. Luckily, there are things we can do to get rid of them. And once you find out where they’re coming from and fix the issue, it’s not super hard to get rid of them permanently.
Featured Image Credit: chakapong, Shutterstock
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