What workarounds did people try for "How to get rid of tiny flying bugs coming out of wooden furniture"?

Community members documented 122 workarounds: 1. pouring boiling water down the drain 2. Pouring boiling water down kitchen drains 3. Taking the trash out every day 4. Apple cider vinegar traps 5. tidying up the place more 6. apple cider vinegar dish soap trap 7. Setting apple cider vinegar and dish soap traps 8. Cleaning with bleach spray and mopping kitchen floors 9. Taking out garbage frequently and using lidded trash cans 10. Pouring boiling water down the kitchen drain every day 11. Leaving out an apple cider vinegar and dish soap trap 12. Looking up plants like citronella grass or lavender online to see if they repel mosquitoes 13. Making a trap with apple cider vinegar and dish soap 14. Using big yellow sticky bands 15. Putting a bug zapper in the kitchen and leaving it on 24/7 16. Using Zevo light traps and homemade apple cider vinegar traps 17. Spraying peppermint oil and pouring fly killer down the drains 18. Cleaning up regularly, doing dishes, and putting food away 19. Using plug-in sticky traps near sinks 20. Pouring bleach into sinks and drains at bedtime 21. Throwing out potential sources like live basil plants 22. Throwing away unsealed food or items stored in paper 23. Vacuuming all cabinets 24. Cleaning repeatedly with soapy water and alcohol 25. Using small silica bags, closet desiccant bags, and passive dehumidifiers 26. Storing glass jars in the fridge while away 27. Using Zevo traps 28. Setting apple cider vinegar traps 29. Putting duct tape over drains 30. Using an enzyme drain cleaner nightly 31. Spraying pet-friendly insecticides around the perimeter 32. Changing cat food multiple times daily and cleaning litter boxes 33. Spraying general insect killer products 34. Using moth balls 35. Using pheromone traps 36. Vacuuming and mopping regularly 37. Relying on natural predators like spiders or lizards 38. Searching online for sealable trash cans 39. Trying to eliminate the insects over a two-week period 40. Setting traps using apple cider vinegar with dish soap, wine, or bourbon 41. Flushing drains with vinegar, hot water, or bleach 42. Wrapping glasses or bottles with plastic wrap or funnel tops to trap flies 43. Trimming banana stems and taking out garbage more frequently 44. Using electric fly swatters or checking for fungus gnats in houseplants 45. apple cider vinegar + sugar + dawn 46. wine or beer with wrapped mouth and poked holes 47. bleach down drains followed by hot water 48. drain cleaner 49. ceiling fly ribbons 50. cylindrical silver sticky traps 51. terro fruit fly trap 52. yellow sticky plant traps 53. bait with fruit peels and sweet juices 54. Using yellow sticky traps 55. Making apple cider vinegar, sugar, and dish soap traps 56. Setting out wine or beer with poked holes 57. Pouring bleach and drain cleaner down all drains 58. Using hanging fly ribbons and commercial fruit fly traps 59. Eliminating wet and organic breeding areas 60. Improving drainage 61. Keeping vegetation trimmed around the house 62. Installing finer mesh window screening 63. Using a strong fan on patios to blow them away 64. Using DIY vinegar and dish soap traps 65. Pouring boiling water, white vinegar, salt, or bleach down the drains 66. Using commercial drain treatments like Green Gobbler 67. Plugging or covering kitchen drains overnight 68. Setting up blue light sticky traps like Zevo 69. Storing all fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer 70. Considering using a CO2 trap 71. Looking for alternative methods to eliminate or control the pests 72. cleaning up and getting rid of garbage 73. hiring a team to deep clean 74. using products down the drain to wipe out breeding areas 75. Using sticky traps on radiators and walls 76. Checking for dead animals or pests in walls, attics, or crawlspaces 77. Killing them manually 78. Sucking them up in a vacuum 79. Using a plugged-in fly trap 80. Cleaning all drains with bleach, vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water 81. Scouring the kitchen and disposing of garbage cans 82. Using blue light or UV zapper traps 83. Plugging drains after dark 84. Checking houseplants for soil infestations 85. Using sticky tape ribbons 86. Setting up vinegar and soap traps with added sugar or wine 87. Pouring drain cleaner or baking soda and vinegar down drains 88. Spraying trash cans with surface cleaners like Dawn Power Wash 89. Using commercial traps like Zevo 90. Vacuuming fruit flies directly with a vacuum cleaner 91. Searching thoroughly for hidden food sources like rotting fruit, produce stems, or forgotten garbage 92. Setting out fruit fly traps 93. Putting all food away and cleaning dirty dishes 94. Pouring drain gel down all sinks daily for a week or more 95. Using window sticky traps attracted to light 96. Plugging drain pipes with stoppers when not in use 97. Pouring bleach down the drain 98. Trying apple cider vinegar traps (though noted as ineffective for phorid flies) 99. Vacuuming them up 100. Spraying bug spray 101. Covering drains with jars overnight to check if flies emerge from them 102. Using alternative local biological drain cleaners and gels 103. using plug-in insect traps 104. putting up sticky traps 105. deep cleaning trash bins and vacuuming 106. removing exposed food sources 107. Pouring boiling water, bleach, or drain crystals down drains to destroy eggs and larvae 108. Setting DIY traps using vinegar, water, and dish soap in a bottle with a paper funnel 109. Cleaning under and behind the refrigerator and clearing the condenser drip pan 110. Closing room doors after setting traps to isolate and clear individual spaces 111. Letting topsoil dry out, repotting, or baking plant soil to eliminate fungus gnats 112. Running a fan in kitchen areas so weak-flying insects cannot land and reproduce 113. Using apple cider vinegar and dish soap traps covered with punctured cling film 114. Adding hot sauce and sugar to vinegar traps 115. Growing carnivorous plants like pinguiculas to catch them 116. Sanitizing sinks and pipes with bleach and boiling water 117. Vacuuming the flies directly 118. killing them manually as they appear 119. spraying PT Alpine on window frames and cracks 120. checking the attic and light fixtures for breeding sources 121. swatting the flies every day 122. sealing the gap where they enter

How to get rid of tiny flying bugs coming out of wooden furniture

These tiny, sub-1-millimeter insects emerge from wooden furniture in massive swarms and ignore standard remedies like apple cider vinegar traps or boiling water down drains. Because they are not attracted to sweet lures, conventional DIY methods fail to catch them, leaving people overwhelmed by hundreds of bugs flying near their faces with no clear way to eliminate them.

Overview

Last updated Oct 30, 2026

People affected44 accounts across 6 forums

Workarounds found122 items attempted

Community agreement389 total upvotes

What the numbers show

Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count

The most recent one is from October 2026.
This comes up 24.0× more often in r/Pestcontrol than across the site as a whole.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

122 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

1
pouring boiling water down the drain
2 people mentioned
Did this help you?
2
Pouring boiling water down kitchen drains
2 people mentioned
Did this help you?
3
Taking the trash out every day
2 people mentioned
Did this help you?
4
Apple cider vinegar traps
2 people mentioned
Did this help you?
5
tidying up the place more
Did this help you?
6
apple cider vinegar dish soap trap
Did this help you?
7
Setting apple cider vinegar and dish soap traps
Did this help you?
8
Cleaning with bleach spray and mopping kitchen floors
Did this help you?
9
Taking out garbage frequently and using lidded trash cans
Did this help you?
10
Pouring boiling water down the kitchen drain every day
Did this help you?
11
Leaving out an apple cider vinegar and dish soap trap
Did this help you?
12
Looking up plants like citronella grass or lavender online to see if they repel mosquitoes
Did this help you?
13
Making a trap with apple cider vinegar and dish soap
Did this help you?
14
Using big yellow sticky bands
Did this help you?
15
Putting a bug zapper in the kitchen and leaving it on 24/7
Did this help you?
16
Using Zevo light traps and homemade apple cider vinegar traps
Did this help you?
17
Spraying peppermint oil and pouring fly killer down the drains
Did this help you?
18
Cleaning up regularly, doing dishes, and putting food away
Did this help you?
19
Using plug-in sticky traps near sinks
Did this help you?
20
Pouring bleach into sinks and drains at bedtime
Did this help you?
21
Throwing out potential sources like live basil plants
Did this help you?
22
Throwing away unsealed food or items stored in paper
Did this help you?
23
Vacuuming all cabinets
Did this help you?
24
Cleaning repeatedly with soapy water and alcohol
Did this help you?
25
Using small silica bags, closet desiccant bags, and passive dehumidifiers
Did this help you?
26
Storing glass jars in the fridge while away
Did this help you?
27
Using Zevo traps
Did this help you?
28
Setting apple cider vinegar traps
Did this help you?
29
Putting duct tape over drains
Did this help you?
30
Using an enzyme drain cleaner nightly
Did this help you?
31
Spraying pet-friendly insecticides around the perimeter
Did this help you?
32
Changing cat food multiple times daily and cleaning litter boxes
Did this help you?
33
Spraying general insect killer products
Did this help you?
34
Using moth balls
Did this help you?
35
Using pheromone traps
Did this help you?
36
Vacuuming and mopping regularly
Did this help you?
37
Relying on natural predators like spiders or lizards
Did this help you?
38
Searching online for sealable trash cans
Did this help you?
39
Trying to eliminate the insects over a two-week period
Did this help you?
40
Setting traps using apple cider vinegar with dish soap, wine, or bourbon
Did this help you?
41
Flushing drains with vinegar, hot water, or bleach
Did this help you?
42
Wrapping glasses or bottles with plastic wrap or funnel tops to trap flies
Did this help you?
43
Trimming banana stems and taking out garbage more frequently
Did this help you?
44
Using electric fly swatters or checking for fungus gnats in houseplants
Did this help you?
45
apple cider vinegar + sugar + dawn
Did this help you?
46
wine or beer with wrapped mouth and poked holes
Did this help you?
47
bleach down drains followed by hot water
Did this help you?
48
drain cleaner
Did this help you?
49
ceiling fly ribbons
Did this help you?
50
cylindrical silver sticky traps
Did this help you?
51
terro fruit fly trap
Did this help you?
52
yellow sticky plant traps
Did this help you?
53
bait with fruit peels and sweet juices
Did this help you?
54
Using yellow sticky traps
Did this help you?
55
Making apple cider vinegar, sugar, and dish soap traps
Did this help you?
56
Setting out wine or beer with poked holes
Did this help you?
57
Pouring bleach and drain cleaner down all drains
Did this help you?
58
Using hanging fly ribbons and commercial fruit fly traps
Did this help you?
59
Eliminating wet and organic breeding areas
Did this help you?
60
Improving drainage
Did this help you?
61
Keeping vegetation trimmed around the house
Did this help you?
62
Installing finer mesh window screening
Did this help you?
63
Using a strong fan on patios to blow them away
Did this help you?
64
Using DIY vinegar and dish soap traps
Did this help you?
65
Pouring boiling water, white vinegar, salt, or bleach down the drains
Did this help you?
66
Using commercial drain treatments like Green Gobbler
Did this help you?
67
Plugging or covering kitchen drains overnight
Did this help you?
68
Setting up blue light sticky traps like Zevo
Did this help you?
69
Storing all fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer
Did this help you?
70
Considering using a CO2 trap
Did this help you?
71
Looking for alternative methods to eliminate or control the pests
Did this help you?
72
cleaning up and getting rid of garbage
Did this help you?
73
hiring a team to deep clean
Did this help you?
74
using products down the drain to wipe out breeding areas
Did this help you?
75
Using sticky traps on radiators and walls
Did this help you?
76
Checking for dead animals or pests in walls, attics, or crawlspaces
Did this help you?
77
Killing them manually
Did this help you?
78
Sucking them up in a vacuum
Did this help you?
79
Using a plugged-in fly trap
Did this help you?
80
Cleaning all drains with bleach, vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water
Did this help you?
81
Scouring the kitchen and disposing of garbage cans
Did this help you?
82
Using blue light or UV zapper traps
Did this help you?
83
Plugging drains after dark
Did this help you?
84
Checking houseplants for soil infestations
Did this help you?
85
Using sticky tape ribbons
Did this help you?
86
Setting up vinegar and soap traps with added sugar or wine
Did this help you?
87
Pouring drain cleaner or baking soda and vinegar down drains
Did this help you?
88
Spraying trash cans with surface cleaners like Dawn Power Wash
Did this help you?
89
Using commercial traps like Zevo
Did this help you?
90
Vacuuming fruit flies directly with a vacuum cleaner
Did this help you?
91
Searching thoroughly for hidden food sources like rotting fruit, produce stems, or forgotten garbage
Did this help you?
92
Setting out fruit fly traps
Did this help you?
93
Putting all food away and cleaning dirty dishes
Did this help you?
94
Pouring drain gel down all sinks daily for a week or more
Did this help you?
95
Using window sticky traps attracted to light
Did this help you?
96
Plugging drain pipes with stoppers when not in use
Did this help you?
97
Pouring bleach down the drain
Did this help you?
98
Trying apple cider vinegar traps (though noted as ineffective for phorid flies)
Did this help you?
99
Vacuuming them up
Did this help you?
100
Spraying bug spray
Did this help you?
101
Covering drains with jars overnight to check if flies emerge from them
Did this help you?
102
Using alternative local biological drain cleaners and gels
Did this help you?
103
using plug-in insect traps
Did this help you?
104
putting up sticky traps
Did this help you?
105
deep cleaning trash bins and vacuuming
Did this help you?
106
removing exposed food sources
Did this help you?
107
Pouring boiling water, bleach, or drain crystals down drains to destroy eggs and larvae
Did this help you?
108
Setting DIY traps using vinegar, water, and dish soap in a bottle with a paper funnel
Did this help you?
109
Cleaning under and behind the refrigerator and clearing the condenser drip pan
Did this help you?
110
Closing room doors after setting traps to isolate and clear individual spaces
Did this help you?
111
Letting topsoil dry out, repotting, or baking plant soil to eliminate fungus gnats
Did this help you?
112
Running a fan in kitchen areas so weak-flying insects cannot land and reproduce
Did this help you?
113
Using apple cider vinegar and dish soap traps covered with punctured cling film
Did this help you?
114
Adding hot sauce and sugar to vinegar traps
Did this help you?
115
Growing carnivorous plants like pinguiculas to catch them
Did this help you?
116
Sanitizing sinks and pipes with bleach and boiling water
Did this help you?
117
Vacuuming the flies directly
Did this help you?
118
killing them manually as they appear
Did this help you?
119
spraying PT Alpine on window frames and cracks
Did this help you?
120
checking the attic and light fixtures for breeding sources
Did this help you?
121
swatting the flies every day
Did this help you?
122
sealing the gap where they enter
Did this help you?

Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/Pestcontrol22 people · September 2026 – October 2026

“My girlfriend and I moved into an apartment in southern usa in May. We are on the first floor. The place came with these little flies.”source ↗

“Treatments we have tried are peppermint oil spray, fly killer down the drains, zevo traps, and home made apple cider vinegar traps.”source ↗

“This is genuinely putting stress on my life and my relationship. I feel dirty and disgusting in my own home. I can’t relax knowing there’s bugs breeding maggots somewhere.”source ↗

bbolive · r/Pestcontrol · 185 upvotes

“They invaded our apartment and fridge. I have no idea what kind of flies these are, where they are coming from, and how to get rid of them.”source ↗

Egyptian-god3 · r/Pestcontrol · 6 upvotes

“Phorid flies! I'm dealing with them for the first time ever this summer in my new apartment too and I have done absolutely EVERYTHING in my power to find the cause of them.”source ↗

rockinem192 · r/Pestcontrol · 3 upvotes

“I keep finding house moths in my room, im rlly depressed and my room is gross.”source ↗

“Spraying insect killer where i see em and think they hide but i keep finding more:(( it’s making me anxious and idek what to do? I can never find eggs only these guys?”source ↗

Potential-Spare6464 · r/Pestcontrol · 2 upvotes

“There’s like an overwhelming amount of house flies in my living room and I have no idea where they came from.”source ↗

“I’m so confused.”source ↗

llehnievili · r/Pestcontrol · 2 upvotes

“For the biodrain just make sure you’re doing it for an extended period of time! I do it for like a week at least every day even though it says every other day. if you just do it for a day or two they’ll come back. Sorry you have to deal with them! those things drive me crazy.”source ↗

Repulsive-Rhubarb609 · r/Pestcontrol · 2 upvotes

“Sorry I could not get any closer. It is smaller than bluebottle and I suspect it is lesser house fly or moisture fly”source ↗

Particular-Gold9362 · r/Pestcontrol · 2 upvotes

“I desperately need to get rid of these. IDK what they even are. They keep flying into my face, in my eyes, up my nose and there are SO. MANY. OF THEM.”source ↗

“I have tried tidying up the place a bit more, and I've tried the apple cider vinegar dish soap trap, and I've tried pouring boiling water down the drain but in the words of Smashmouth, they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming”source ↗

“They don't seem to be attracted to sugary things at all, which is weird because in previous years the apple cider vinegar thing worked. so I have no idea what I can use to lure them.”source ↗

ratsmacker500 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“I’ve suddenly found hundreds of extremely tiny insects (less than 1 mm) around my room.”source ↗

“The weirdest part is that they seem to be coming out of my wooden furniture.”source ↗

“Does anyone know what species/group these are and why so many are coming out of my furniture? And, most importantly, how do I get rid of them?”source ↗

icomebackstrongerr · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“I’ve had this continuous issue for weeks now and I can’t seem to get rid of fruit flies.”source ↗

“Please help and advise what I can do? I’m losing my mind!!!!!”source ↗

Deepy97 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“Today when I came back home from work, there were about 50 black house flies (not fruit flies) in my apartment. This morning when I left for work, there were no flies. I am so confused as to how this happened and am asking for help to find out why!”source ↗

Wide_Avocado_9228 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“Around a month ago I found super small insects crawling around in my kitchen cabinets, where I stored foods.”source ↗

“After a few days, I still found the same amount in each cabinet, but not it seemed it only appeared in the food cabinets.”source ↗

“I came back yesterday, and I still found a couple crawling on the shelves, even empty ones. This morning, I still found a couple. I kill them with alcohol and wipe them, but I am honestly lost at what else I can possibly do.”source ↗

ManagementReal6391 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“I am a relatively clean person, but these flies are everywhere.”source ↗

QuietFrustrationRam · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“I think I have gnats. And I don't know what to do to get them away.”source ↗

“They are constantly there.. no matter how many I kill or trap.”source ↗

“PLEASE HELP. ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP!”source ↗

dark_knight_rayleigh · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“Every single time I open my door past 6pm, about 20 mosquitoes make it inside.”source ↗

“They all congregate in one corner of the house. I’m worried for myself and my pets.”source ↗

sillybilly423 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“The bathroom at work has quite a few of these. They fly about making whiny noises but don't actually appear to bite.”source ↗

“It's still very annoying if you have to sit for a few minutes.”source ↗

“If they are not actually feeding, would a CO2 strap still catch them? Anything else I can do?”source ↗

“I have no idea how they are getting in. But we are close to a marshy area.”source ↗

Michael_of_Derry · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“The more I kill the more pop up.”source ↗

“I can’t stand it anymore they keep flying into me I’ve started sucking them up in a vacuum but more pop up.”source ↗

“I have to leave for a week and I’m worried leaving my room empty with all these bugs here seemingly multiplying exponentially.”source ↗

wooswast · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“We have fruit fly traps all around the house that these guys seem to ignore.”source ↗

“They don’t seem to be coming from the sink, but hang out in kitchen cabinets by the sink (no food in these cabinets, just clean dishes and cleaning supplies).”source ↗

“We’ve poured hot water down the drain multiple times, don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink, and put all food away but they just keep coming!”source ↗

naejnair1 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“I was thinking they were phorbid flies but I just wanted to double check before I bought everything. These are so annoying 😭 they keep flying at you”source ↗

Egyptian-god3 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“These have been appearing around my house in the hundreds.”source ↗

“No matter how many I vacuum up and how much I spray, they keep coming back every morning.”source ↗

Questionably_Chungly · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“Thank you for identification, I observed that they are not so much attracted to light as bluebottle flies, difficult to catch, when try to catch immediately fly off the wall. Prefer to stay on the walls if visible. Usually hide and not easy to spot.”source ↗

Particular-Gold9362 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“Have a lot of them in my bedroom, have removed all the things they could get into except for my cats' food.”source ↗

“Put a Zevo plugin in the wall a week ago but its barely gotten any of them.”source ↗

“Anything else I can potentially do to help get rid of them quickly?”source ↗

“Any suggestions have to be pet-safe as my cats are in my room often”source ↗

Negative-Check-672 · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“For the past 2 weeks I’ve been having an issue with flies randomly appearing and buzzing around my apartment windows in my living room and dining room.”source ↗

“Now today I get home from work and have to kill like 4 of them.”source ↗

“Idk how they’re getting in or if there’s anything I can do to get rid of them?”source ↗

Mortymoto · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“Will it work cluster flies? After doing some more research I think that’s what I’m dealing with”source ↗

Mortymoto · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

“Been dealing with about 2-5 cluster flies per day hanging out on our bedroom window.”source ↗

“today we have confirmed that the little annoying bastards are crawling out through a gap in the access door.”source ↗

“We don’t really want to keep swatting the flies every day, even though they’re technically one of the least harmful pests out there.”source ↗

“Should we just seal the gap and hope they don’t find another exit point? If we do that will we expect a bunch of dead flies next spring?”source ↗

jetheist · r/Pestcontrol · 1 upvotes

r/CleaningTips16 people · September 2026 – October 2026

“I am catching a ton.of them but there is always more!”source ↗

“They are in my kitchen around my sink and stove and my master bathroom on the mirror.”source ↗

johnph2001 · r/CleaningTips · 88 upvotes

“We are clean people. We keep our house clean. We empty the garbage every other day. We rinse out bottles and cans before they go in the recycling.”source ↗

“We got traps. They're not working. We've scrubbed out the garbage and recycling cans. We removed everything from the counters and bleached them.”source ↗

“If that doesn't work, I'm gonna lose my mind. Please someone help and give us suggestions.”source ↗

LifeWithEloise · r/CleaningTips · 31 upvotes

“I have moved the fruit to the fridge. I have cleaned both the kitchen and the bathroom the sink drains with boiling water, salt, baking soda and vinegar. I have cleaned out the kitchen trash can and have been changing the trash out more frequently. I keep moist trash, such as banana peels and coffee grounds, in a separate bag and seal them off. I keep the dishes washed. Is there anything else?”source ↗

Tardburgers · r/CleaningTips · 3 upvotes

“Anyway, now I have these tiny flies EVERYWHERE.”source ↗

“I have done a full clean (clean the bins, sink, bathroom, work tops, mopped etc), yet they are still hanging around.”source ↗

TinyTangents · r/CleaningTips · 3 upvotes

“I’ve had this continuous issue for weeks now and I can’t seem to get rid of fruit flies.”source ↗

“I put boiling water down my kitchen drain everyday and I also leave out the apple cider vinegar and dish soap remedy”source ↗

Deepy97 · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“i genuinely dont know where these fruit flies are coming from. they even lay eggs and cause maggots to be in the trash can. i have tried apple cinder vinegar traps, pouring hot water down my drains, but NOTHING WORKS.”source ↗

“i just want to get rid of them!!! they are everywhere!!!!”source ↗

melancho_lia · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“I let things get out of hand and I thought it was a simple matter, clean up, get rid of the garbage.”source ↗

“Even being cleaner is not helping.”source ↗

AllDualSigns1949 · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“I need help. I've tried everything from the vinegar and soap trap (with holes) to cleaning everything.. even putting drain cleaner down all my drains + covering them at night. Genuinely I have no idea where they are coming from!! I need some help anyone?? It's been like a month and they're not going away!”source ↗

Deepy850 · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“There are more and more of them each day. I've hidden all the fruit, set up vinegar traps everywhere, and even tried vacuuming them up, I take my trash out every single day, replace towels and sponges daily, I've sanitized my sink with bleach and pipes with sodium hydroxide and boiling water, but they're still everywhere.”source ↗

“Lately, they've been gathering on things like moist dish sponges, towels, and the trash bin even when it doesn't contain anything edible. Vinegar traps only caught about 5% of them over the course of weeks. I'm at my wit's end and don't know what else to do.”source ↗

m_d5314 · r/CleaningTips · 2 upvotes

“I genuinely am going mad cleaning every day and I get nowhere. It’s so taxing”source ↗

Deepy97 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“Me, too. I have tried everything that you have mentioned. I don’t remember ever having this much of an issue.”source ↗

mmjnjn2 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“i have a fly problem and it's driving me crazy!!”source ↗

“the house gets cleaned everyday, dishes are washed immediately after being put in the sink, rubbish gets thrown out everyday, no open food, etc. i dont have the slighest idea what invites these bastards inside the house when they cant even get anything, it's like their only goal to torture me by flying around the house in every room (bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and corridor) all day.”source ↗

vynilia · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“I thought I had fruit flies and couldn't understand why it was so hard to get rid of them. Turns out they were phorid flies. Much more difficult to remove.”source ↗

PossibleAmbition9767 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“No more fruit in the house. I have poured about 7 giant pots of boiling water down the drains as well as used bleach.”source ↗

johnph2001 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“I use those sticky tape ribbons but more keep making their way in. Worst part about this time of year lol I was feeling harassed yesterday”source ↗

maygon · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“This happened to me last summer. It took months to get rid of them and despite being diligent about taking the trash out, not leaving food out etc they were always showing up once we thought we got rid of them.”source ↗

Sublime_Rose2 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“I've checked and cleaned everywhere, my only other places are behind my cooker and washing machine”source ↗

Deepy850 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“I was REALLY surprised to find that sometimes flies would hang out in my bathroom away from the kitchen, no matter how clean it was.”source ↗

the_blue_haired_girl · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

“Yes I used drain crystals to properly eliminate them when I had this issue last week.”source ↗

Odd_Subject_152 · r/CleaningTips · 1 upvotes

r/HomeImprovement2 people · September 2026

“My kitchen and basement are filled with fruit flies and IDK where they are coming from.”source ↗

“I’ve tried apple cider vinegar with dawn dish soap but nothing seems to be working.”source ↗

Dependent_Put8289 · r/HomeImprovement · 9 upvotes

“Anyone have experience dealing with Noseeums? How did you get rid of them?”source ↗

anaari11 · r/HomeImprovement · 1 upvotes

r/homeowners1 person · September 2026

“I made the mistake of leaving food trash in the kitchen can overnight. In the morning, I have fruit flies.”source ↗

“That was like two weeks ago. I'm still working to get those assholes out of my house lol.”source ↗

“I don't know what they are finding but they keep breeding.”source ↗

“I Googled for sealable trash cans, but several I looked at the customer service folk wouldn't commit to it being fruit fly proof.”source ↗

Spirited-Pop7467 · r/homeowners · 4 upvotes

r/hvacadvice3 people · September 2026

“They come out the sink they thrive there”source ↗

Outside_Squirrel_839 · r/hvacadvice · 3 upvotes

“I have a issue in a place I work where fruit flies and house flies are multiplying in a food cafe.”source ↗

“The local hvac and pest control seems clueless at the moment.”source ↗

I_hav_aQuestnio · r/hvacadvice · 2 upvotes

“I have this problem in my home. I am curious to a solution also”source ↗

somefriendlyturtle · r/hvacadvice · 1 upvotes

r/Landscaping1 person · September 2026

“I live in Victoria Australia and am looking to plant some plants that I’m hoping can deter mosquitos, we live quite regionally so there’s a huge amount of mozzies and I’m re doing our back and front yards so thought there might be some plants that specifically deter mosquitos or other flying insects better.”source ↗

“I just don’t know the first thing about horticulture or landscaping so looking for some advice from trusted sources.”source ↗

bigyellowbin · r/Landscaping · 1 upvotes