Pests We Treat - Drain flies in dirty Long Branch commercial kitchen

While servicing one of my commercial accounts, the manager of the facility asked me to inspect a seldom used banquet kitchen.  He had been getting reports of small flies. I began by inspecting the floor drains.

After pulling the drain grate off, I noticed some small "hairy" flies about 1/16 to 1/4 inch long. They are Yellow, brownish gray, or black. The body and wings are covered with long dense hairs.

Drain flies, also called moth flies, become an annoyance in some structures when they breed in the liquids found in drains, dirty garbage containers,  and septic tanks. They tend to breed in decaying organic matter that sits on the rim of floor drains, undersides of floor drains grates,  and build up in drain pipes. Adult flies are more active at night and can be seen  hovering near the breeding site.

Cowleys technicians are trained and equipped to handle these nasty flies.  Sometimes we have to get a little "dirty" to get to the root of certain insect problems. This situation called for a thorough drain cleaning service.  I brought out my foamer, wire brush to tackle the build-up on the grate and drain.  The foamer let's me apply a microbial foam cleaner that breaks down any decaying organic matter that builds up to the drain baskets, grate, and pipe areas.  Then with a drain brush or wire brush I am able to scrub the affected area,  removing and debris, and eliminating breeding sites for these flies.  When I was finished, I applied a liquid drain gel around the top of the drain,  letting it coat the entire drain, further protecting the drain from build-up of decaying organic matter.

One of the employees showed me another drain that was not accessible, it was covered with rolling racks of glasses.  I repeated the same procedure with this drain.  I explained to the manager what I had done and assured him that these drains would be cleaned on a regular basis.  He was very happy and thanked me for such thorough service.