Gross! Anyone here ever have any trouble with houseflies? I guess it's that time of year or something... We're not sure what's going on around here but since we started our winter thaw a few days ago it seems like we're having to catch up to two dozen flies per day in our home.

We live in a newer home & everything seems seeled up fine but for some reason we have been getting LOTS & LOTS of flies. We didn't have this trouble last year. We have been really careful not to let them in the doors or through the garage yet they still appear from out of nowhere. Is our home evil or something? There's no babies or larvae, just adults that mysteriously appear. There are probably 30-40 sitting between the screen & window of our bedroom right now just itchin' to get in. How the heck do they get through the screen to get stuck there? And can they actually crawl through the window itself when it's sealed? However, when they do appear inside they seem quite dumb - they just stay at the window & try to get back outside until we catch them - duh. Come back an hour later & there's more - it's crazy! To top it off, they scare our 2 1/2 year old Princess as well.

Other than sort of living near the Country, part of the problem may have been the dog's "business" that was in our back yard so I made sure I cleaned that up completely but even today there are like 100 flies on our backyard wooden fence just lazing around in the sun - there must be a fly orgy going on or something... ( :whistle: Bad 70's disco music playing in the background - bam, chicka chicka, bam... ). They also seem to be hovering around the exterior of our home near the roof...

Anyone ever have this trouble that could offer some advice?



Thanks,

D&G

:( Welcome to cluster flie season.

Moving to the East Coast (I'm from colorado, so this wasn't a problem there) I too faced this problem.

The answer is, they are cluster flies (you can google that) - they're relatively stupid flies - they hatch their eggs in the soil outside the house - they're not hatching or breeding in your house, so you don't have to worry about that. In the fall, the flies squeeze in through every crack in your house, attic, everything. They basically hybernate for the winter, then come spring they're all OVER the place -usually in the windows. They generally just want OUT. So if you can let them out, do - otherwise - we vaccuum them up. They totally disgust me.

There are some fly traps (usually made out of powdered eggshell that the flies basically drown in) that you can put in your windows - but I find it'sjust easier and less gross to vaccuum them when they start accumulating - usually in the early morning on the sunny side of the house, or the evening, on the opposite side. it's awful - and the only way to stop it is to seal up any cracks in the exterior or your house before the autumn weather starts setting in.

We had a HORRIBLE time this past fall, because my husband was late in getting the A/C taken out of the window, and I literally had about 2,000 (I'm not kidding) in my bedroom. Makes me gag to even think of it - they were in my curtains along the curtain rod, inside the seams. UGH... it was horrible.

So just take a good look at your house and any possible entrace they have (windows, doors, garages, fans, vents... everything...siding too....)

Good luck!

This won't help with those big flies (though i've never tried it), but if anybody has a problem with fruit flies (the really little ones) just pour some heinz brand apple cider vinegar into a jar and add a few drops of dish soap to break the surface tension. The flies love the smell and they'll drown in it.

/used to work in a fruit fly lab.

Thanks so much for your advice - sounds like you really had a go with them - incredible!

:D I like the vacuum idea but since our vacuum is one of those bagless, transparent ones & I don't want to end up with a living "fly aquarium" I think we'll let them out when possible, or just swat & squish the other remaining ones when we find them.

The fly madness seems to have slowed down for now but the first week of warm weather was bad. I think part of the problem was our particular builder was still finishing up parts of the exterior into the cooler fall weather last year - those dumb asses.

We'll try to make sure things are sealed better this year...

Thanks a bunch,

D&G :tu:

P.S. Thanks for the tip rubberbandman - it might work on those big guys when they're stuck in an area too.

This won't help with those big flies (though i've never tried it), but if anybody has a problem with fruit flies (the really little ones) just pour some heinz brand apple cider vinegar into a jar and add a few drops of dish soap to break the surface tension. The flies love the smell and they'll drown in it.

/used to work in a fruit fly lab.

anything to attract normal flies? ..one just got into my room and they bug me (pun intended)