The short version
Record every fly inspection on one page with the same fields each time: date, species identified, count on each monitor or fly light, the exact locations checked, the conditions found there, photos, and the corrective action assigned to a named person with a due date. That record is what lets you see whether counts are falling, prove to a health inspector that a program exists, and hold a provider to what they said they would check.
- Use the same fields on every inspection record so results can be compared week to week.
- Count flies on monitors and lights; impressions like "a lot" cannot be compared.
- Record the condition at each site, not only whether flies were present.
- Every finding needs a corrective action, an owner and a date, or it will not happen.
- Photos with a location label are worth more than a paragraph of description.
For restaurant and food-service managers, property and facilities managers, and homeowners who want a fly problem documented rather than guessed at. It works for self-inspections and for reviewing a provider's service reports, especially where health inspections or tenant complaints require evidence.
What to look for
The usual failures are predictable. Findings are described vaguely, monitor counts are not taken, locations are named inconsistently, and the corrective action is agreed verbally and forgotten. A provider's service report may list a product applied and nothing else. Without a consistent record, the second inspection cannot tell whether the situation improved, and disputes over what was found become arguments about memory. Fly problems are diagnosed by pattern. Drain flies emerging from one floor sink, house flies clustered near a back door, cluster flies at south-facing windows in October, phorid flies along a slab crack: each pattern is only visible when observations from several days or weeks sit side by side. A single inspection rarely settles anything.
- 1Glue board counts rising from one week to the next.
- 2Small flies resting on walls near floor drains or sinks.
- 3Larvae visible when drain film is scraped with a putty knife.
- 4House flies landing on food prep surfaces or dining tables.
- 5Sluggish large flies gathering at upper-floor windows in fall.
- 6Fly light catch trays filling faster than usual.
Why it’s worth acting soon
- Without counts, a real increase is easy to dismiss as a bad day.
- Unrecorded corrective actions rarely get done, so the same finding repeats.
- Health inspectors ask for documentation, and a blank binder reads as no program.
- Provider disputes over what was checked cannot be settled without a record.
can carry pathogens from waste to food surfacesHouse fliesUS CDC Treatment options and typical costs
Inspection findings template
No cost: DIY step
One page with fixed fields: date, inspector, species, monitor counts by location, sites checked with conditions, photos, corrective actions with owner and due date.
- Time
- Ten minutes to set up, five minutes per inspection
- Best for
- Anyone inspecting more than once
Sticky monitor count stations
$10–$40 per pack of glue boards
Numbered glue boards at fixed locations such as behind the dish machine, near the back door and beside the dumpster entrance. Count and replace on the same day each week.
- Time
- Placed once, counted weekly
- Best for
- Turning impressions into numbers
Professional inspection with written report
$75–$200
A technician inspects drains, equipment, waste areas and entry points and provides a report. Ask that it list each site checked and the condition found, not only products applied.
- Time
- One to two hours
- Best for
- Commercial kitchens and buildings with many sites
Fly light with catch tray
$100–$300 per unit
A wall-mounted ultraviolet light with a glue board records what enters an area. Counts by species on the board become part of the inspection record.
- Time
- Installed once, tray checked weekly
- Best for
- Continuous counting in kitchens and receiving areas
Follow-up verification visit
$75–$150
A short return visit one to two weeks after a correction to recount monitors and re-check the site. The result closes the finding or reopens it.
- Time
- Thirty to sixty minutes
- Best for
- Confirming a corrective action worked
Prices are typical published ranges. Ask what’s included before you compare quotes.
Drain flies breed in the slime inside drains. A stiff brush and an enzyme cleaner clear it.Building the one-page inspection record.
Across the top: date, time, inspector's name, weather if doors and docks are involved, and the species observed with a photo reference. Under that, a monitor table with one row per numbered station, columns for count, species and whether the board was replaced. The main body is the site list. For a kitchen, it should include every floor drain and floor sink, the mop sink, under and behind each piece of equipment, the dish area, the bar, the dry storage room, the back door and its sweep, the dumpster and grease bin area, and any fly lights. For an apartment building, add trash chutes, compactor rooms, vacant units, laundry drains and upper-floor windows. For a house, list kitchen drains, bathroom drains, the garbage area, pet areas, the attic access and the sunniest windows. Beside each site, record the condition in a few words: "film present," "standing water," "lid open," "gap under door," "clean." Do not skip the clean ones. At the bottom, the corrective action table: finding, action, owner, due date, date closed. Attach photos with a label card in the frame. Draw the page once and copy it.
Writing findings that someone else can act on.
"Flies in kitchen" fails that test. "Twelve small moth-like flies resting on the wall above floor sink 2 under the dish machine; heavy black film in the drain; larvae seen on the putty knife" passes it. A useful finding has four parts: the location by its number or a fixed name, what was observed with a count, the condition that explains it, and the correction. Use the same location names on every page. If a provider uses different names, agree on one set and write it on the floor plan. Be careful with species. If you are not sure, write what you saw, such as "small fuzzy flies, wings held flat" and attach the photo, rather than guessing. A wrong species label sends the next inspection to the wrong sites. separate observations from opinions. "Flies probably coming from the dumpster" is a hypothesis; put it in a notes line, not in the finding. The next inspection tests it. The test of a finding is whether a person who was not there could walk to the spot and fix it.
Trash bins are the top source in summer. Keep lids closed and rinse bins every week or two.Reading the records as a series.
Once a month, lay the pages side by side or copy the monitor counts into a simple table with weeks across the top and stations down the side. Look for three patterns. A station whose count rises while others stay flat points to a source near that station. Counts that rise everywhere at once usually mean an entry problem, such as a door propped open in warm weather, or a seasonal event such as cluster flies arriving in fall. Counts that fall after a corrective action and then rise again a few weeks later suggest the correction was temporary, for example a drain that was cleaned once but has no cleaning schedule. Write the monthly interpretation in one or two sentences at the top of the month's records. Then check the corrective action table: any item without a closed date is either not done or not verified, and it becomes the first stop on the next inspection. When a provider visits, hand them the table. A technician who sees that station 3 has climbed for three weeks knows where to start. One page tells you what happened on a day; a stack tells you what is happening.
What affects the price
- Number of monitor stations and fly lights to count.
- Size of the property and number of drains and waste areas.
- Whether the provider includes a written site-by-site report.
- Frequency of inspections, weekly or monthly.
- Photo documentation and trend reporting as an add-on.
- Commercial food-service premises versus a home.
When to call for help
Call a provider when your own records show counts rising over two or three weeks, when the species is one you cannot place, or when a finding points to a site you cannot access such as a wall void, a ceiling space or a sewer line. Give them your inspection pages so they start from the pattern rather than from zero. A good report from a provider reads like your own template: "Floor sink under dish machine: heavy film, drain fly larvae present, scrubbed and foamed. Back door: sweep gap about a quarter inch, flies observed entering, recommend new sweep. Glue board 3: 14 house flies, up from 6 last visit."
What you can do yourself
If a provider's report says only "treated for flies," ask for the sites checked and the conditions found; that detail is what you are paying for. A provider brings identification skill, drain scopes and access to treatments, and a good one will happily fill in your template or attach their report to it. What it requires is discipline: the same fields, the same monitor locations, the same day each week. Recording findings is your job whether or not a provider is involved, and it does not require training.
Fly tips from the experts
Where are the flies coming from?
The kind of fly tells you where to look. Around your home, note its size, where it gathers and when it shows up. Then go after the source.
Small flies near drains
Tiny, fuzzy flies near a sink or shower usually breed in the slimy film inside the drain. Scrub the drain with a stiff brush. Spraying the adults won’t stop them.
UC IPM: drain fliesHouse flies around doors and trash
House flies breed in garbage, pet waste and rotting plants. Clear those out first, then add screens and keep doors closed. Traps help, but they don’t fix the source.
EPA: managing fliesWarm weather speeds things up
In warm weather, flies go from egg to adult faster. Take trash out often, rinse bins, and keep screens in good repair. Sprays are a last resort, not a fix.
UC IPM: nuisance fliesBased on guidance from university extension services and the EPA.
How we check our sourcesSimple ways to keep flies away
- Number every monitor location on a floor plan and keep the numbering fixed.
- Inspect on the same weekday so counts reflect equal intervals.
- Photograph each finding with a label card showing date and location.
- Close every corrective action in writing with the date it was completed.
- Keep a one-line trend summary at the top of each month's records.
Commercial kitchens need a steady routine: floor drains, dumpsters and doors all matter.Did you know?
Drain flies rest with wings held flat, giving them a moth-like outline.
House flies taste with their feet, which is why they walk on food.
Cluster flies often gather on the sunniest wall of a building in autumn.
Questions people ask
What should a fly inspection record include?
The date and inspector, the species observed with a photo, counts from each numbered monitor or fly light, every site checked with the condition found, and a corrective action for each finding with an owner and due date. Keep the same fields on every page so results can be compared.
How do I count flies for an inspection?
Use numbered glue boards or fly light trays at fixed locations. Once a week, count the flies on each by species as best you can, write the number beside the location, and replace the board. Counting the same locations at the same interval is what makes the numbers meaningful.
What does a good provider service report look like?
It names each site checked and the condition found, states what was treated and with what, lists what was ruled out, and recommends specific corrections such as a new door sweep or a drain cleaning schedule. A report that lists only a product and a date is a receipt, not a finding.
How long should I keep fly inspection records?
For food-service operations, keep at least a year so seasonal patterns and inspector visits are covered; some jurisdictions expect records available on request. For rental property, keep them through the tenancy plus any dispute window. Homeowners can keep a simple log until the problem has been gone for a season.
Can inspection records help with a health inspection?
Yes. Inspectors look for evidence of an active program, and dated records with counts, findings and completed corrective actions show one. They also help you answer questions about a specific drain or door without relying on memory. Keep them with the provider's reports and product documentation.
What if my inspection finds no flies?
Record it anyway, with the counts at zero and the conditions at each site. A clean inspection is a baseline, and a series of clean pages followed by a rise is exactly the pattern that catches a new source early. Clean records are also part of what an inspector or tenant wants to see.
How much does it cost to get rid of fruit flies professionally?
Roughly $100 to $175, according to Local quotes vary; ask for a written estimate. Before booking, remove overripe produce, clean recycling bins and check drains, since fruit flies often disappear once the breeding material is gone. It's a published estimate, not a local quote.
Are drain flies common in houses?
Yes. Moth flies, usually called drain flies, were found in 74% of the 50 North Carolina homes that Bertone and colleagues inspected in 2012. That is a small regional sample and measures presence, alive or dead, rather than an active infestation. It is not a national rate. Drain flies breed in the organic film inside drains, overflow pipes and rarely used traps. Scrubbing the drain and clearing the biofilm, not pouring bleach, is the practical fix.
Sources (7)
The facts in this article come from the public sources listed above. Every home is different, so ask the company you talk to about pricing and what’s included. Published by Fly Exterminator · Updated September 11, 2026 · How we write these guides