There is only one problem though. We don't have any fruit lying around. We freeze all of ours. Sheri uses it to make me 100% fruit smoothies - more on that later - I'll post her recipe. I actually feel better when I drink them.
So they aren't fruit flies.
Clues :
* They are about the size of fruit flies.
* They seem to be congregating in the bathroom.
* They even seem to emanate from the bathroom.
Oh oh.
So before I go further, I have to digress. People have to live. They eat, drink, and breath at a minimum. As a direct result of those items, we pee, we poo, we sweat, and we exhale. Yet, we are so hung up on stuff we fail to really talk openly about a couple of the things that are about 1/3 of the major operations of our bodies. The rest of this article has to discuss things on the poo/pee side. You've been warned.
Back to those flies.
I did a little research on the web and I've found that there exists such a thing as 'drain flies'. They don't seem that uncommon. Here is what I've learned.
* People don't think you should leave your gray water valves open (black should always be closed) even when connected to a septic or sewer. It seems some people think you can.
* I saw mention that if you put a trap (a loop in your drain hose) such that there is no direct AIR path that will keep drain flies out. However, I saw one place that said that the drain fly larvae think traps are ridiculous and can swim.
* I saw mention of insecticides, but nothing very conclusive.
* Someone said drain flies are dirty and carry germs although they probably don't know. However, knowing where they have been, I really don't want them flying around my face.
* People in many places spoke about RV toilets with overflow returns having them live in those areas.
* Drain flies can get in your RV if your black tank is vented. Ours is not. Honestly I wished it was. Send me an email if you wonder why it matters.
Here are some links to articles on the subject:
* Seemingly well linked reference on several types of flies.
* Two conversations (one and two) that are representative of the issue.
Here is what I did...
* I drained the black tank immediately. I then filled it up and had a modest amount of bleach in it ( I do not use this often as I think it is bad to put in the septic/sewers ).
* We allowed this to sit for two or three days and filled up the tank even more.
* I now keep the gray water valves closed as well as much as possible.
Here is what I've noticed.
* Flies are gone.
* Flies have been gone for 3 weeks now.
Here are my conclusions.
* Bleach is bad for flies (although I can't say this was the primary thing that took care of them)
* Draining the black tank often is good (although I can't rule out that bleach killed the flies - but you SHOULD drain the tank often).
* Keeping the gray valves closed is a good idea. (Again, it might be better black tank management that is doing it.)
Here is one belief I have which I cannot prove : You can get drain flies from the RV park septic. This makes sense to me and I can't help think it is true. I should ask around... Do you have an opinion? Do you have FACT?
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