Where are all these flies coming from?

[VioletPetals]

Got home last night to find over a dozen flies in my kitchen,
(Just normal black flies.)
They were mostly to sat on the window so I was able to swat/spray them and get rid of them all fairly easily. How weird I thought.

An hour later I went back into the kitchen and there were 7 more flies.
I killed them all but was a little freaked out.

This morning there were 14 flies.
A few hours later there were at least half a dozen more.
And I’ve just been back into the kitchen and killed 4 more.

Each time I’ve done a through search and thought I got them all.

Where the hell are they coming from?
has anyone else had this?
Any tips on what to do?
I hate flies they make my stomach turn.

Sorry to be so morbid but I immediately thought of a dead body nearby….do you have neighbors?

I had the same, I was like a mad woman counting them, hoovering them up and emptying the bag. I have no idea where they were coming from but we have now discovered mice in the house so wondering if the two are related.

Most likely a dead rat/pigeon/fox somewhere within the fabric of your house.

Sorry.

Sounds like cluster flies, they tend to appear at this time of year...they come in from the fields to spend the winter in places like lofts...but they wake up and move about when the heating comes on. They don't sit on food, are fairly small and sluggish and easy to kill.

Check your loft...

Yup, cluster flies by the sounds of it.

We had this, there was a dead bird in our chimney, only lasted about 48 hours

Black banana somewhere ? Or some sort of fruit ?

Yes, had some at the window a few days in a row, like bluebottles but black. Quite sluggish, easy to swat. Fruit flies rampant too.

At this time of year probably cluster flies x

My first thought was something dead, but I can’t smell anything grim anywhere in the kitchen and I can’t see anywhere obvious where the flies would be coming from.

I live in a semi, NDN is an elderly lady with caters coming in and out all day, so unlikely to be a dead body thankfully.

I’ve checked every other room and they are only in the kitchen,
I literally sat there for an hour watching and waiting to try to see where they came from, but I couldn’t figure it out.

They are gross,
I’ve just found two more.

They are quite slow, so easy to kill, but I wasn’t sure if that was due to the cold weather.

Drain flies?

Not fruit flies, big full size black flies.

I can’t get up into the loft, the hatch it awkwardly up high above the stairs, so you’d need a long ladder placed on the stairs to get into it, I’ve never bothered.

I wouldn’t think they are in the loft, when they only seem to be appearing in the kitchen, I’ve checked all the upstairs rooms and found none.

How do you get rid of cluster flies?
How long did they last for?

If they're living in the loft they'll be finding their way though tiny gaps within the walls and/light fittings...they head towards warmth and light.

Getting rid is easy once you find where they're living, search for cluster fly fogger on Amazon and put it in, push the button - and it eradicates them. (Possibly only until the next year though, more tend to turn up in the same place year after year.)

I wish I didn't know so much about the bloody things

Cluster flies. I found out that term in MN. Gross. Like the warmth of windows and somehow they get in though the shut windows and live in the seal area especially in our velux window and one above the garage but not the other.

Get a smoke bomb from Amazon and fog them out (search cluster fly bomb). I've not done it yet. I don't think you can prevent them. They will die off from cold soon

Ha @gumbo cross post!

Amityville Horror!

We once came back from holiday to find a couple of hundred flies buzzing round our dining room. Turned out a something had fallen down the chimney and died and they were all coming out the fireplace. Couldn't get the dead animal up so we blocked up the fireplace with some cardboard. You could hear the flies buzzing against it for about 3 weeks afterwards.

Was not the nicest experience to come home from holiday to, was like something out of a horror movie!

We had this in the basement area of our old home. Hundreds of them. It had to be a rat or mouse that died in the area outside under our front porch. Maybe even a skunk or raccoon there were so many.

It took hours to clean them all up.

Thanks @Gumbo,

Is there a way to prevent them coming back?

Urgh @fdgdfgdfgdfg that makes my skin crawl.

I’ve just killed a load more, i hate it so much.

I’ve ordered some of the smoke bombs on Amazon, they aren’t coming until Wednesday though.

The bastards come back annually where I live...but I'm well prepared now! I always have a fogger ready and as soon as a few are found I turn off the heating Abd wait until it's dark (so they're asleep), open the loft hatch, shove a fogger in, close the hatch and leave them to it

On the bright side, they are gradually getting less each year, which bodes well that I might eventually eradicate the fuckers before I die!

If it helps, they don't sit on food or anything, they're just annoying

We found that the dog had been eating his dog treats on the rug, flies had laid maggots there and they were all hatching underneath it!
Needless to say rug when straight in the bin.

@Gumbo

The bastards come back annually where I live...but I'm well prepared now! I always have a fogger ready and as soon as a few are found I turn off the heating Abd wait until it's dark (so they're asleep), open the loft hatch, shove a fogger in, close the hatch and leave them to it

On the bright side, they are gradually getting less each year, which bodes well that I might eventually eradicate the fuckers before I die!

If it helps, they don't sit on food or anything, they're just annoying

Can you stay in the house when you put the smoke bomb in the loft?

I always thought you had to leave the house so that you don’t get gassed too.

They are disgusting, im glad you’ve got some light at the end of the tunnel.
At least because they are slow they are easy to kill.

[quote boomboomshakalakalakaboom]We found that the dog had been eating his dog treats on the rug, flies had laid maggots there and they were all hatching underneath it!
Needless to say rug when straight in the bin.

Had this years ago, my son's cat had brought a mouse in and it hid under some really low furniture. Then died. Gross. Had to cut out the carpet.

Can you stay in the house when you put the smoke bomb in the loft?
I use a fogger which is less intrusive. But I live in a townhouse so the loft is right at the top, I close the loft while it's 'fogging' and also close the bedroom door (the loft hatch is in the bedroom) and retreat down 2 flights of stairs.