Flying Bugs in my Blackwater tank

[Brantlaker]

Need to know what I should do to my tank to get rid of the Bugs? Every time we flush bugs come flying out. Any Ideas.The roof vents are clear.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by Brantlaker

Need to know what I should do to my tank to get rid of the Bugs? Every time we flush bugs come flying out. Any Ideas.The roof vents are clear.

Well, if you keep your tank vents closed until you dump them, then that isn't the issue. If they are open; they come out of the sewer pipe. Close the vents and use some bug bomb for flying insects down the toilet while you keep it open (of course) in the bathroom. You might spray some down your sink drains as well. Suggest you use a trash can that can be sealed with a lid. I left my galley tank dump valve open as you need to crawl under my camper's rear wheel and when the slide is out this isn't fun. Had gnats and used some bug bomb I found a True Value and keep the valve closed except for dumping.

[bobbecky]

You might get a concentrate flying insect chemical that mixes with water, add some to the toilet, fill with water a ways and then flush, but don't add any additional water. That will take care of the ones hanging out in the pipe. It might take a couple of doses but it should solve the problem. Something like this might work. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Flag-Ex...%2C251&sr=8-40

[notanlines]

Along the same idea as Bob, but mix it in the sprayer and then pump the dickens out of it into the black tank through the commode. Triple the directions, and remember: Don’t flush while sitting on the commode!

[JRTJH]

"Winged bugs" can get in through an open sewer dump valve if there is a connection to the campground dump fitting and no "water trap" in the sewer hose. They can also get in through the roof vent stack if the cover is missing or if the screen is damaged or has been knocked out of position.

Crawl up on your roof, look for the black tank vent stack, pull the cover and see if there is a "plastic molded in insect screen" or possibly, like in this photo, a stainless screen to keep bugs out....

As for using an insecticide in the tank, if it's an oil based product, it will float on the surface of the water in your tank, prevent insects from laying eggs and if they "stop to rest" for a moment, will be in contact with the floating insecticide on the water's surface. If they can't "dive through the insecticide to lay eggs, then they will become a "one generation infestation"...

But my initial thought would be that they are flying in through the vent stack which has a missing or dislodged screen.

[LHaven]

DW, the naturalist, advised me of the existence of "sewer gnats," which resemble the common drosophila fruit flies but roughly twice as massive (still small, however). They do actually come up out of house drains during certain seasons (I suppose here they could enter our system via the outdoor shower drain, possibly even roof stacks). And yes, they do exist in CG sewer systems and will happily fly "up" your hose if it's open.