General Chat

We seem to have had an infestation of house flies starting last night and going through today. In the kitchen I must have killed and disposed of at least 30 of them. I have thoughtly cleaned all round the sink, windows, windowsill. got rid of the dead ones, turned my back looked agin and four more, this went on a while then it seemed as if they'd all gone. Sprayed with fly spray shut all the doors, left it half an hour, went back and five more dead. The strange and creepy thing is we can't see where theya re coming from, looked everywhere. I thought it was the orchids so moved them into the conservatory and there were still more flies. Hirchcock comes to mind. Hoping we will eventually get them all. Strange thing is that we rarely get many flies here. Just the odd one or two. Still I suppose that is all it takes! :-( :-(

How horrible Ann.
I do so hate having a fly in the house, especially in the kitchen.

It sounds as if you have the upper hand now, but it is a mystery where they are coming from and in such huge numbers.

One got in an open upper window here this week and made it's way downstairs with much buzzing. Eventually I saw it on the lower level of a kitchen window. and was just about to deal with it when a large spider darted out from behind a pot plant and grabbed it. I didn't watch the resulting meal, but it solved the problem for me.

Ann you haven't been up in loft have you? I often find when we have had the loft hatch open we get loads of flies.

It sounds as though you might have had one fly that got in and laid eggs somewhere, and they all hatched out at the same time.

Try watering your plants with a gentle insecticide that washes through the soil.

Just the same as you Amokavid. We never had any problem when the field at the back of us was meadow hay. Now they have young cattle in there every year we get them all the time!

Well, we thought they had all gone Saturday evening, none there Sunday morning. However, we went out for the day and when we got home there were 8 lying dead on the kitchen floor. We sprayed and shut the kitchen doors before we went out., we then had a few more. I stood and watched for ages and couldn't believe it when I was looking straight at the windowsill and window and suddenly there were two crawling up the window and I still had not seen where theyw ere coming from. It is not the orchids as they have been in the conservatory over the weekend. They definitely originated somewhere in the kitchen so yes, a fly had laid its eggs somewhere. But where we haven't a clue, we have searched everywhere, pulled everything, except the washing machine, out (sprayed over and round that). Since those last two have not seen any more, none there this morning. At least the outside area has been saved from about 40 flies this summer, none escaped. And, until then we had remarked how few flies there were around. And I have the cleanest kichen! :-) :-)

You should have bought a Venus flytrap plant at the nursery Ann!

Maybe look online for natural repellents in the form of a herb or plant you can keep in the kitchen that will repel any late arrivals or newcomers who sneak in

I hate flies but o.h. has a thing about not allowing spiders to stay in the house because they crawl across the burglar alatms when we are away and set them off. He brushes away every little cobweb (he can spot them well now his cataracts are gone) but I keep telling him spiders keep flies down lol

He went out to get stuff to kill off a rampant bamboo in the garden and came back with numerous spider repellent sprays as well.

Lizx

I haven't got flies - but ants.
I know exactly where they are - in the skirting board.
Usually, once a year they come up behind the sink, some 'normal' and some with wings.
I put 'Nippon' down, they die, and they're gone.
This year, however, they'd disappear for a day, then come back.
It happened about quite a few times, over a fortnight, and every time, the winged ants got bigger!! :-S

Re the flies - can you still buy Fly-paper? It may not look particularly decorative, but help dispatch any stragglers.

Although it may not help with under the floorboards ants, if you can wash away their trail, interlopers from outside can't follow the explorers.

No flies today, fingers crossed they have all gone.

maggie ...............

I can buy a liquid ant killer, apparently it tastes of honey to them. You put a few drops on one of their trails, they take it back to the nest and it kills everything there from queen to larvae.

I'm always amazed at how quickly they find it, and how quickly the message gets back to other ants!

It contains Borax, so I think it is relatively safe for animals.

I saw on a shopping estate milk bottles hanging on string tied to the wheelie bins...
out side a fish n chip shop.
they put some fishy water in the bottles, this attracts the flies into the bottles and are unable to get out...........bottle fly traps.....

Sylvia, that's what I use - 'Nippon'. - have used it for at least the past 10 years.
The first lot I used this year was probably out of date.
I bought some more - and it still took 3 'doses' to get rid of them - and they will still appear every year :-(
I think the paint is the only thing holding part of my skirting board together :-|

Borax with a bit of sugar and they take it back to the nest.used this all the time in .Spain .it works and believe me they were big ants there!

Also had termites that rotted the wood of door frames as house built on pine forest.
Only noticed when I saw a little hole ,poked it and was hollow,cost a fortune .had to have a company drill holes every metre around the house and in wood ,wardrobes etc inside.
Was Maggie who reminded me when she said the paint holding it together ..that's exactly what happened!
Just be glad we don't get cockroaches here much..hate all these insects!

The skirting board is one side of the kitchen, goes behind the cupboards - the ants appear the other side :-| Oh joys!
I've done what I can do, told the landlord many times, but it's 'not important' :-D

At least it's not cockroaches - or flies, like Ann has to contend with!!

Borax mixed with icing sugar, that's what my Mum used and it seemed to work. Its 'dustier' than sugar so clings to the ants more


Lizx

Ann,,flies are such unwanted creatures aren't they?? I'm sure,,like wasps,,they were only created to upset we humans...When I was young we were convinced the baker used the dead ones in his eccles cakes..Hahahahaha....I love eccles cakes,,especially when made with real butter....
Purple has a "rampant " bamboo--My kids have just dug mine out for me...Takes too long to control with weed killer...
Pouring down with rain here in Oxfordshire..No gardening today so best do housework instead...B O R I N G....
Going to make another coffee and drown me sorrows...Byeeeeeeee... <3 <3 LES...

I do hate flies in large numbers Les, single ones don't bother me. I did get some fly papre yesterday, on a reel that you pull out, three reels in a pack. Well the first rell is in the bin having sprung off the lead paper that you hang by and wrapped itself round my arm and across the work surface. Gosh that stuff is sticky. However I got the other one hung up and watched a fly go round it and above it and later found it dead on the window sill so I think there must still be fly spray fumes around. I didn't actually need the fly paper. OH is complaining that it is not very decorative in the kitchen window so I am not sure how long it will last there. :-D

We keep our bamboos in containers, find it easier that way. Yes raining here too.