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Sewer Bugs
I can not find the post now, but after fighting these pests for weeks,and ready to try a shotgun, I read in one of the many posts about using WD-40.
Thank you Lord!!
IT WORKS,
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42 Replies
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Chp,
Carolyn does not like the bugs anymore than you do. She puts two or more cups of vinegar into the tank which slows them down. So, not an absolute kill but effective for us.
All the best.
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thanks Rudy. I’ll try the vinegar method.
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Probably a dumb question Chip,
But how did you determine you had bugs in your black tank to begin with? Where did you see them? Do you have a clear sewer hose which allows you to look at some of the waster emptying out of your black or grey tank?
On a separate note, I have left both my grey and black tanks closed until I’m full enough to dump. But I’m now leaving my grey valve open and keeping my black tank valve closed until I’m over 80%. I’m not sure if “bugs” are more prolific if you leave your valves open vs. closed.
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I too like Tim wonder how anything in the holding tanks, bug or odors, can ever get into the living area of the coach.
Assuming the coach is being used and the traps are full as intended there is no path whatsoever from the holding tank to the coach interior. On the other hand, sink drains or other exposed drain openings can be breeding grounds for small flying insects such as gnats that enter the coach from outside and which breed in those drains. The solution to that is to keep stoppers in place.
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I wouldn’t leave the grey open Tim, I’ve had those sewer bugs and they’re a bitch to get rid of.
I have no no clue as to how they get past the P-Traps, but it happened. Just have the honey truck pump you out once, it sucks all the water from the P-Traps and if you have bugs, here they come.
Jon can’t ever have sewer bugs, Liberty coats their single tank with a special poison that lasts for 15 years designed to kill sewer bugs and odor.
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Interesting …
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I need you guys that think bugs are coming from the sewer into your holding tank to help me understand exactly how that is happening. If you have a colony of them in the holding tank which I consider unlikely you will get odors from the holding tank into the house long before you get any bugs.
Unless of course the bugs you are talking about have miniature SCUBA gear to help them swim through the P traps.
I’ll give you time to formulate your theories.
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Jon,
You might want to Google drain flys. They are very robust, can live underwater for 24 hours or more, can stay dormant for months, reproduce at a rate greater than rabbits, their life cycle is about 21 days. And yes they can and do travel thru filled pipes, like traps.
Once they are there they are difficult to get rifd of. There are several emzyme products that claim to eat the debris they live on. Restrauants, etc have constant issues with them.
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Never heard of bugs in the tanks. I never hook mine up to dump until I’m 3/4 full and then dump and close. Raise a few head of cattle and spray them for flys and other parasites during the spring and summer months and wonder if you boys could put a few ounces of Permrtthrin or Prolate/Lintox down tank. Some have a odor worse than others but it would kill the bugs and probably wouldn’t smell any worse than the poo. Now if there is a chemical reaction and blows up the tanks, call 911. LOL. Shouldn’t be , as we use them in tanks and around cow poo all the time and so far so good. I wouldn’t hesitate to drop some down if I seen bugs a running around.
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Tom, our bus was built so long ago that Liberty used a higher quality special poison coating in our single tank as we have not had any bugs – yet. Animal rights activists probably poopood that stuff.
Re a path for the bugs to enter the living area, I once forgot to drain the tank causing it to back up through the shower floor drain. Maybe that is the bug path, don’t know if there is a P trap there.
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If you have a Microphor toilet, there is no P-trap. It’s a gravity system, and if you shine a light down the discharge, you can see the sewage in the tank. Anytime you flush, anything in the tank has a clear path to the interior.
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I did Google and cannot find any source that cliams they reside in holding tanks or septic tanks and then swim upstream through P traps to get into the house. But all information suggests they get in the house and then breed in the drains.
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If you have ever had to deal with them, you would know they do travel thru traps and can live for extended periods of time underwater, in excess of 24 hours. They also go dormant in lower temps. They were probably in the campground sewer system and migrated up thru the sewer hose into the coach tanks.
They also trave lby the winds as they are not good at flying.
Trust me they are very capable of this.
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So the only way to know if they are in your drains is either to see them crawl or fly up thru your drain stopper or shower or toilet … I guess.
But again, those who had these bugs, how did you get ride of them?
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I don’t think the bugs like the smell of rose petals.
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