Help! I'm in an Air BnB and.....

[Denimcutoffs]

There are flies everywhere!!! As in, loads. Like a horror film. There's a very nice kitchen extension, with a glass gabled window and sliding bifold doors to one side. The gable is full of them. Bluebottles, buzzing things, even a massive bumble bee. We came home to about 60 dead flies on the window sill today. We've changed the bin everyday since we arrived and kept the surfaces spotless but they keep coming. We lit a citronella candle but they just loved it. The owner left a can of fly killer on the side so it looks like this is normal? What do I do??!!!

I'm supposed to be relaxing with my glass of Prosecco in the garden but instead all I can hear is buzzing.

This is kind of to be expected if you’re close to farmland. You can’t have the lovely views without the critters unfortunately. We lived in a barn conversion with cows in the adjoining field and this used to happen throughout the summer months. Each evening we’d fly spray the house then spend an hour outside until the smell dissipated, then returned to piles of dead bugs

This!!!

Our last house was surrounded by farmland, cows, trees. Beautiful to look at but a nightmare for flies. Is there a vacuum cleaner anywhere? Other than that it’s a good spray and keep the windows shut.

The reality of living in the countryside is that it’s a constant battle to keep the wildlife out!

Eww disgusting, contact the owner, and mention it in your review.

Not normal even for rural living, i've sheep directly under my bedroom window in one direction and cows in another.. even when our neighbour sprays sillage, we get maybe 3 flies in the whole house at any one time in the Summer.

Sounds like they've poisoned rats to me, we had this after pest control and spent Christmas Day hoovering them - I m a pro now at hoovering live bluebottles

Fill some see through polythene bags with water. Add a few copper coins and seal. Place them on the floor where the bifold doors are and if you can hang a couple there too. It will keep flies out.

We lived in a very rural, cow grazing area (imagine flies, then more flies). If we wanted a window open, we actually opened windows in each room which meant that many of the flies simply passed through rather than getting trapped in the house.
Its bloody grim though and you have my sympathies

I'm afraid it's the farm animals, you'll have to keep the doors shut.

Our fly ridden house was near pigs and sheep - not smelly at all, just lots of flies. You hardly noticed them outside, but for some reason they were determined to get indoors any way they could. Literally hundreds of the bloody things. It was worst if the open window/door was in full sun for some reason. It definitely wasn't dirt/food that attracted them as they were stable flies that feed on blood. Horrid bitey little bastards....

I'd suggest to the owners to get mesh for the windows.

We had this with a holiday let in Wales about five years ago. We got used to it but it did piss me off. Id go around spraying the buzzing little shits continuously.

Clear Dettol spray. The lime & mint one smells lovely. Kills the blighters but doesn't choke you while you do it.

@30degreesandmeltinghere

Have you checked in the wardrobe for a body?

that was my thought too

Is it just in your accommodation? We once turned up for a holiday in Bude and found the whole town seemed to be besieged with little black flies. Two hours later they'd gone.

It sounds though like the owners need to invest in some mesh.
@Denimcutoffs please don't put it in your review as a pp suggested until you've given the owners a chance to sort it.

When I experienced this horror, it was down to dead birds in the roof space attracting the flies.

Had this twice .

Once 15 years ago- enormous dead rat under floor in the downstairs bathroom- it had chewed it’s way in through brick. Died on top of a hot water pipe. That was a delight when the flies came up through the plug hole (not envy)

Second time came home after a holiday to find the house swarming with flies. No obvious source. Hoovered them all up dead and alive (bloody hundreds of them) and they never came back.

It’s grim though.

Cut some lemons and put in a bowl with some water and leave by the door
It works in our house 😀

We live in the countryside and yes, there are a lot of flies, but big piles of dead ones is beyond normal levels IME. We've had this a couple of times and I'm pretty sure that it was a dead thing in the floorboards, although never actually found the source. I think you should contact the owners and ask them to investigate.

When we've had cluster flies they've been pretty sleepy and I've been able to hoover them up still alive and buzzing where they congregate. It's absolutely horrible, you have my sympathy.

We had this in a barn conversion Airbnb a few years ago - the owner was immensely apologetic and provided us with various fly removal devices and gave us a partial refund. She also came in to get rid of the dead flies a couple of times. I would definitely say something to the owner.

They might well be cluster flies which often gather in lofts and window frames. If so call the owners to get rid of them/clean and spray the window frames etc.

Also live in the countryside, and have similar issues at specific times of the year....however, your Airbnb host should have warned you of this!

What do the recent reviews on Airbnb say? Do they report similar issues?

Could it have bats? I stayed somewhere with bats and the flies in the room below were horrific. My lovely colleague had to swap rooms.