Flies in the kitchen

edellc

Okay so i have posted before regarding this house grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
moved in march and problems started house from hell really cant wait for lease to be up latest issue is as follows
the pipe under the kitchen sink broke i say broke it fell off and it took landlord a whole month and phone call from threshold and prtb to come and fix it would have done it myself but was 7mths pregnant at time and really didnt know how to fix it
anyway its fixed however it still drips and with this hot weather there are lots of flies emerging from a hole in the back of the cupboard underneath the sink
they are little flies like fruit flies i think and they dive bomb you when ever your in the kitchen think it has something to do with the amount of water that may have gone down back of press when pipe was gone

so if i buy lots of bleach and pour this down the back of the press should it get rid of the flies do you think or should i go ringing the landlord demanding he come and sort it out bare in mind i have 5wks to go with pregnancy and dont need or want anymore hassle than is necessary but kitchen is now a nightmare to go into

Blackjack

edellc wrote: »

Okay so i have posted before regarding this house grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
moved in march and problems started house from hell really cant wait for lease to be up latest issue is as follows
the pipe under the kitchen sink broke i say broke it fell off and it took landlord a whole month and phone call from threshold and prtb to come and fix it would have done it myself but was 7mths pregnant at time and really didnt know how to fix it
anyway its fixed however it still drips and with this hot weather there are lots of flies emerging from a hole in the back of the cupboard underneath the sink
they are little flies like fruit flies i think and they dive bomb you when ever your in the kitchen think it has something to do with the amount of water that may have gone down back of press when pipe was gone

so if i buy lots of bleach and pour this down the back of the press should it get rid of the flies do you think or should i go ringing the landlord demanding he come and sort it out bare in mind i have 5wks to go with pregnancy and dont need or want anymore hassle than is necessary but kitchen is now a nightmare to go into

If its fruit flies, then a bottle with either vinegar or wine in it will help to get rid.

astrofool

Is there anyone you know who is handy around the house who can help you with this. Sounds like the landlord is a bit of a b*stard

edellc

he is a complete ejit tbh no one that can help at minute OH is away going to ring LL tomorrow and demand he do something as im so heavily pregnant have nothing better to do all day but keep ringing him and wrecking his head only way i get him to do anything really depressing as now cant cook in kitchen

gurramok

They're probably not fruit flies, they're drain flies. Do they cling to ceilings and end up at your windows?
They multiply in their hundreds, most end up dead everywhere and they feed on the gunk/crap on either inside the pipe or outside the pipe. They do not go away until action is taken.

Basically whether they are fruit flies or drain flies, what you need is the breeding grounds to be nuked. Its your LL responsibilty to remove the problem as your home is unliveable. Pest control can do the nuking, a plumber will have to fix that leak.

You can pour a cleaning solution like bread soda&vinegar down a few times to clean the gunk from inside the pipe. Also boiling hot water can kill them as well as a bleach solution.

edellc

gurramok wrote: »

They're probably not fruit flies, they're drain flies. Do they cling to ceilings and end up at your windows?
They multiply in their hundreds, most end up dead everywhere and they feed on the gunk/crap on either inside the pipe or outside the pipe. They do not go away until action is taken.

Basically whether they are fruit flies or drain flies, what you need is the breeding grounds to be nuked. Its your LL responsibilty to remove the problem as your home is unliveable. Pest control can do the nuking, a plumber will have to fix that leak.

You can pour a cleaning solution like bread soda&vinegar down a few times to clean the gunk from inside the pipe. Also boiling hot water can kill them as well as a bleach solution.

OMG i feel sick
that sounds right to me yes they do cling to the ceiling and end up at the window i did the whole fly killer and poured some bleach down the drain but they are still there
now i know what they are i am going to ring LL and demand he sort it out wish me luck as he is a lazy b*****d but did just receive my letter from PRTB so if he wont do anything hopefully they will intervene
thank you so much for the info now i have correct terminology to tackle the LL
i so cant bring a baby into this house

gurramok

Be careful using fly spray alot as its chemicals can be harmful when literally using a few cans hundreds of times.

Do try to clean the drain using the bread soda & vinegar solution, it can kill the breeding ground within the pipe by flushing it away. But, it sounds like the breeding grounds might be attached to the pipe on the outside where there is a leak so cleaning the inside might not shift them.

You are better off also contacting a health inspector especially if no action is taken, maybe the HSE or the council? I'm not sure which. Do take pictures of the dead flies, it can further your case.

edellc

gurramok wrote: »

Be careful using fly spray alot as its chemicals can be harmful when literally using a few cans hundreds of times.

Do try to clean the drain using the bread soda & vinegar solution, it can kill the breeding ground within the pipe by flushing it away. But, it sounds like the breeding grounds might be attached to the pipe on the outside where there is a leak so cleaning the inside might not shift them.

You are better off also contacting a health inspector especially if no action is taken, maybe the HSE or the council? I'm not sure which. Do take pictures of the dead flies, it can further your case.

will get the bread soda and vinegar tomorrow but i think they are on outside of pipe also only saving grace is i can see outside of it and where leak is my sister is down tomorrow will get her to do it for me as im terrified of stressing out the baby with my OH away dont want premature labour
will ring the LL first thing and also put on my list of things that are wrong with this house so i can forward again to prtb
oh and picture below is what i have in the kitchen

http://www.aacutepestcontrol.com/images/new/misc/drain_fly083006_047.jpg

edellc

so i rang the landlord last nite and told him about the flies and asked for him to come today to see them he kept trying asking stupid questions even though i told him i had googled the flies and they are due to the the pipe under the kitchen sink being broken for so long due to him not doing anything so he said he would come today

he didnt

i rang him to ask what time he would be here are he shouted down the phone at me that he was busy...thats fine but dont shout and sound pissed off cause im asking what time to expect you at

told him i had to go out for a bit he said that meant nothing to him he had a key and could let himself in was so angry at him i got off the phone
then i texted him reminding him that he has no right to enter a tenants home without prior permission and he didnt have that and he needed to arrange a time and date when he would be here to look at the situation

i dont trust him to let himself in and lock up correctly when he is gone he once wanted to leave a trades man here on his own or for me to leave a key under the mat at the front door for trades man to come fix heating???? what decade he thinks we are in i dont know and also dont fancy my two most expensive things tv and laptop going for a walk and him claiming its not his fault

so poured more bleach and boiling water down drain over and over again and will keep doing it see how it goes did also say in text that if it hadnt improved by monday then a professional will have to be called and it will be paid for out of his rent

gurramok

This LL, he has to realise that when you do leave the place this fly problem is going to be there when he tries to rent out the place. They will not go away until the problem is eradicated. See here http://www.thepropertypin.com/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=31000

Don't take any crap from the LL. Come to think of it, will the handyman be more trustworthy than your LL?

Sounds like your problem of flies maybe from outside the leaking pipe. I assume you have blocked all access getaways for the flies if they were coming from inside the pipe? (block exits from the sinks, sinkholes)

Has your sis taken a look at it? At the end of the day, if your infected area is accessible, its just a matter of a physical clean up of the crap(yuck) that gathers around a leaking pipe as that maybe their breeding grounds. Still, that leaking pipe needs to be fixed to stop those flies from feeding.

edellc

oh he has a cowboy of a handyman jack of all trades master of none,
ive cleaned the outside of under the sink as much as i can sister couldnt make it down to me tried to gaffa tape up hole under sink where pipe goes to outside but its an awkward one sprayed loads of flykiller in press where underneath of sink is and gaffa taped it closed also kitchen is now a no go area with the fumes of fly killer and bleach also did bread soda and vinegar only got attacked my a few flies today and there are none on the walls so hopefully killing their larva with all the toxins
the leaking pipe drips onto the shelf in the cupboard under the sink so its easy enough to clean just have to stop myself puking

gurramok

Sounds a mad situation alright. If a professional does come out, they should lay some Ficam W toxin killer, its mixed with water for the desired affect.

edellc

gurramok wrote: »

Sounds a mad situation alright. If a professional does come out, they should lay some Ficam W toxin killer, its mixed with water for the desired affect.

thank you so much for all the advice going to give it a few days and see how it goes think i may have to move in with sister until monday as i cant cook in there but will make daily trips back to top up on toxins will keep you posted

gurramok

No probs. I understand with regard the cooking, its impossible as dead flies end up in the pots and all over the kitchen counter!

Keep all doors closed so as they won't spread!

Victor

Be careful with using bleach or any other harsh chemical in a confined space.