House is riddled with flies - at my wits end!

[Guacamole2506]

Not really an a AIBU. But my house is COVERED in flies from this hot weather. How can I get rid of them? Everything on google seems to tell me how to stop them coming in to the house, when they’re actually already in here

I have hundreds of the buggers. It seems to be pretty bad this year because of the heat - all my neighbours are complaining about them as well.

If I open windows then I burn a citronella tea light next to it which seems to put most of them off. The young dog clearly has some monitor lizard in her genetic history as she's been very efficiently dispatching them! If I get desperate I spray the room with Raid, but I try and avoid using it because of the dogs.

They’re not even fruit flies, they’re bloody HUGE things that fly so fast you can’t swat them I’ve threw out the bunch of bananas we had too because I thought that might be attracting them. Fly spray and fly tape is getting used tomorrow!

This has been my absolute lifesaver this year!! Been able to have the door open all evening with no uninvited guests!

We got 2 stray flies in today as the kitten left the screen open she dispatched them pretty quick though! Yak!

I find that if I have my ceiling fan on it chases them away. They always hang around the light, but as soon as the fan comes on they all disappear! I also use a Bug zapper - great little thing .

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I bleached all the bins inside and outside and every surface in the house and no more flies. The outside bin had huge puddle of wet gunk in it that they were swarming on. I was gagging at the smell & furious that the other flat chuck half full drinks in it unbagged. I had to re bleach the outside of it again as even tho the inside was clean/not smelling, the smell outside was like something died until I did. .

We have a beaded curtain on the door and had the door open every day with very few flys coming in.

Also I clear the dog mess as it happens and there's no wet dog food let lying around either.

@CSIblonde my bin was the exact same! Hopefully I see a difference in flies tomorrow

Just a few weeks ago I was on a thread which said that the insect population was on the decline, how bad that would be, and gave suggestions on how to reverse it. Well, bloody bluebottles/flies haven't heard the news! They are swarming over the outside/wheelie bin, which gets a professional clean, and coming in the flats. I only had Dettol in so was spraying them liberally with that, it worked a little. Got some proper fly killer in a can yesterday. Sprayed in the centre of the room a few times then went out and shut the door. It worked! Only thing is it set my asthma off and my eyes watering. Have one stray fly in here today too. Don't like using to much either because of the cat (She goes running under the bed when she sees the can, in another room.).

Roll up a newspaper or two and go on a safari hunt 🧐

Keep a close eye on your bunnies too while flies are about - any droppings stuck on their fur can attract flies and cause horrendous problems.

Red top fly traps are bloody ace!!!

We joke that we have fly of the day, dogs normally eat it. However, it was like the Amityville house in here the other day, dozens on the kitchen windowsill. We opened windows and shooed them out, I could have opened a bloody circus with them!

Someone told me to get one of those magnetic fly curtains for over the door, so you get the breeze/air but not the flies.

@Brigante9 yes our magnetic fly screen is fantastic. Honestly B&M should have me on commission for the number of times I've recommended them on her and FB

Don’t do what I did and shove a leftover piece of chicken in an empty oven and then forget about it for three days. Eventually found it again but not before a fly had. The chicken was moving. 🤢

I leave the end of my fly tape dipped in a glass of apple cider vinegar. Works wonders on fruit flies.

@HuggedTheRedwoods aw I know, I’m terrified of them getting fly strike

MarshaBradyo omg that happened to us too! A few weeks ago I put chicken on the hob (lid on), set the timer for 10mins, closed the kitchen door and went into the living room. When the timer went off I went back in the kitchen and it was Flypocalypse. It was like one of those hoarder documentaries. The windows were covered, they were even on the boiling hot pot lid. It was horrifying, and the noise was unbelievable.

I ran straight through out to the garden, and told dh, who came in and discovered the full horror of it and we chased them out with tea towels. Bleurgh, I can't bear smashing them, and my dinner was there boiling away on the cooker so I didn't want to spray fly spray on everything.

It never happened before and never since, and I cook a lot of chicken!

(And my chicken was completely normal and edible, so I think they may just have a taste for chicken.)

Ha mrsdewinter

I rang Ocado to say wth but they had no sympathy. A few flies came in they said - no way! And we’d only do something if they came out of the chicken boak

I said That’s a pretty low bar!

All in all was gross as hell and threw the lot out triple bagging it

Maybe they are chicken fiends yuk yuk