Besieged by flies

[Freakuk]

Is it just me, or is anyone in the same boat currently.

It probably doesn't help living rurally and surrounded by farmland.

But in the last few weeks our home is constantly full of flies, we've been through an extensive exercise of closing doors, windows, skylights, covering extractor vents and even putting the plugs in the sinks, bath tubs etc, but we seem to still have lots of flies somehow in the house.

I'm probably killing 30+ on a very busy day, using my trusty electric tennis bat/swatter and it never ends, kill one and another two, three suddenly appear.

We do have cats and one is a bit of a hunter and I keep thinking the bugger has brought a mouse in and killed it and it's become a fly nesting ground, but I've hunted high and low through the house and found nothing.

Any thoughts or experience with this.

[S100HP]

Are you in a detached property?

Dead bodies usually result in many flies.

[Doofus]

What sort of flies?

[Freakuk]

S100HP said:

Are you in a detached property?

Dead bodies usually result in many flies.

Yes, detached

[Freakuk]

Doofus said:

What sort of flies?

No idea, I'm no fly expert.

Some small, some bigger.

[Doofus]

Freakuk said:

Doofus said:

What sort of flies?

No idea, I'm no fly expert.

Some small, some bigger.

There's a difference between bluebottles, houseflies and drain flies. Causes for having them in your house vary.

[Atlas 12v]

Yes, particularly bad this year.

These help a lot though:

https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/cleaning-and-hygiene/e...

[Richard-390a0]

I'm the opposite this year, with far less flies than usual but seem to have tiny spiders everywhere spinning almost invisible sheet like webs which they're catching nothing in that I can see. (Also a detached rural property).

[netherfield]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aspectek-Attract-Insects-...

Mrs bought one one of these, it's forever going 'crack' takes out wasps as well.

[river_rat]

Sounds like you've got a dead rat somewhere?

[shtu]

https://www.redtop-flytraps.com/ superb things.

Don't waste money on any of the copies, they either dont work nearly as well, or don't work at all.

[zb]

I had this once, came in from work and the kitchen was like a scene from Amityville.

What I suspect happened, was we had starlings nesting in the eaves, and a chick must've either fell or been pushed out, and it dropped between the cavity wall. I discovered there was an air vent, that had been covered over by units when a previous owner put in a new fitted kitchen.

I say covered over but not blocked off, and the flies were swarming in from a small gap at the sink kick board.

I went out, bought cans of this from morrisons:




Emptied the lot into the kitchen, paying attention to gaps under the sink, closed the door over and left it for 24hrs.

Job done.

[stevemiller]

We had a similar issue and with the removal of our neighbours compost pile the fly infestation dropped back to the normal levels. Is there something new close by?

[geeks]

We had this, turned out to be a dead mouse behind the kick plates in the kitchen. Assumption being cat had bought one in that managed to escape there and then promptly died. They can squeeze through the smallest of gaps especially in a panic and are then trapped. I'd be checking behind kick plates, sofas, appliances etc etc

[glenrobbo]

I have found that there's an easy way to keep flies out of the kitchen.
Simply stand a bucket of st in the middle of the lounge.


Works a treat.
You're welcome.




/ "Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana."

[Quattr04.]

There’s certainly more than normal, same with wasps

I blame it being a actual summer with long sunny dry periods, I’ve bought a fly screen for the kitchen patio doors and that seems to work a treat, we would have maybe 5/6 fly I though the doors and now it’s maybe one a day

I take great pleasure in sucking them up the Dyson and watching them spin round in the vortex of death

The drive is south facing, the car has a fabric black roof and sometimes there’s can be 20 flies sitting on it it in the sun,

I’ve heard lavender scented stuff works for keeping them at bay

[Paul_B]

We've had this in our new place since we moved in a couple of months ago. Rural detached as well, surrounded by fields occupied by lovely cows most of the time. We just put it down to that and the fact the weather has actually been decent this year, figured it was kind of normal really. Quite enjoyable using the electric bats to fry them, me and the mrs keep a running score. Not quite so enjoyable washing off the st marks they leave all over the car though! They've definitely been less prevelant the last week or so though now the temperatures have gone down.

[Wacky Racer]

If you had a dead rat you would know about it with a rancid distinctive smell.

[JJ55]

I saw a thing on tv showing you cut lemons in half & stick cloves in them, then dot them about the house. Meant to keep flies away.