To not scrub everything down and throw things away anytime I see a fly in my house?

[BertiesMangos]

Fly roaming around my downstairs last night - I hate the things and never know where they've been, how long they've been around, or what they've touched - but even so I just think they're inevitable. Sister immediately 1) chucked all of my utensils that usually sit in a pot on the kitchen side, in the dishwasher, even though we didn't actually see the fly on the utensils, 2) put her jumper in the wash as it landed on her, and 3) told me I needed to throw away a mug because the fly did land on the rim and 'the dishwasher won't kill the germs and you risk getting maggots in the dishwasher'.

I'm usually pretty hygeine conscious - and would probably throw away any food a fly definitely landed on, and wipe a side I definitely saw a fly on, but that's it. Should I be doing more is my sister's reaction over the top?!

I'm quite neurotic myself, but your sister is badly off the scale there. You can definitely kill all germs in the dishwasher.

If you want to really worry her, explain to her about prions. Those are the thing that spread (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy). They are so hard to kill that surgeons who perform brain surgery have to have their tools melted down and remoulded between surgeries to avoid the risk of passing them on. #ProbablyBestNot

My latest stupidity is worrying about drinking out of a cup if rain has fallen in it btw. I'm almost certain that that is batshit too.

That's sad for your sister. I hope she gets some help as this level of hypervigilance must be exhausting for her.

Well that's a relief! And you're right, it doesn't make much sense that she'd want me to bin the mug but wash the utensils (I've not binned the mug, just left it out until she left). Also realised DH had given DS a baby bottle that had been drying on the side during 'fly time', but she doesn't know that.

She's generally not too much of a germaphobe, so I will keep an eye in case something has changed recently and maybe speak to her DH. Always been petrified of wasps so maybe it's related to that and a really specific thing!

I've previously really struggled with health/ cleanliness anxieties myself so I'm still quite triggered anytime someone suggests what I'm doing isn't good enough!

I really struggle with this stuff too and I agree it's totally exhausting. It's quite hard to fix though because in my case it's a combination of extreme susceptibility to viral illness, and also a thick layer of anxiety on top of that, so sorting it out takes quite complicated work. Taking a sensitive approach is very helpful if you can manage it (notwithstanding my daft response above, which was probably totally unhelpful).

You can reassure her that the dishwasher will definitely kill all bugs though, as long as it is on a setting that heats to 60 degrees.

Hopefully that should offer some reassurance. Poor soul.

realised DH had given DS a baby bottle that had been drying on the side during 'fly time'
just as well you're not breast feeding, she'd be leaping into an immediat mastectomy.
At least you could be confident she'd sterilise the knife

Gosh, breastfeeding is hilariously unhygienic isn't it? I think live milk is probably antiseptic though, in the same way that blood plasma is.

Bloody hell! Honestly I thought I was batshit about flies. I chase them round the house with antibac spray as it sprays a wide area and turns them to walks or swims....at which point they get dispatched and flushed down the loo buried at sea. If they escape and live to crawl on my stuff another day at least I can convince myself they are a bit cleaner having been antibaced

However I am not a good person to ask as I have one of those sticky dangling fly lines with about 40 dead fly bodies stuck to it.
I hated seeing dead flies but I've changed with fruit flies.
I've a bottle of white vinegar on the window board with about 50 fruit flies floating in it.
It's genius I'm usually swatting them from the fruit bowl or my vegetable soup during lunch, have no issues this year.

I've been thinking about this as we also have flies bothering us in the house this year. The thing that annoys me most is when they drink from my mug of water, and then I have to pour it away and get a new one.

I figured out that the answer to a particularly troublesome mug-drinking fly is to get one of these bug zapper bats (below - it's called "The Executioner bug zapper ") and hold it over the top of my mug with the button pressed. Then when the fly comes down to land on my mug, it lands on the live wires of the bat and get fried. Not very charming, but does get rid of the fly.

www.amazon.co.uk/Sourcing4U-Executioner-Mosquito-Swatter-Zapper/dp/B000MU2MJA/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&s=outdoors&keywords=bug+zapper&srpt=PEST_CONTROL_DEVICE&qsid=262-7104702-4859852&sres=B000MU2MJA%2CB08RHN1BDL%2CB07MDZTGBK%2CB098LL8FL3%2CB08QCFKF5Z%2CB07H8Q5S1T%2CB07PKMX15L%2CB017TETOE2%2CB08R8TDSBQ%2CB07HY36F6V%2CB08QMPNHWK%2CB08R8M1DX9%2CB09FX7QH99%2CB08Q2WMXZK%2CB08RRXCHV8%2CB08ZJDHTZN%2CB09DXXG4Q2%2CB08YN6RNKV%2CB08RRY4WQZ%2CB08SWL2649&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1633763989&sr=1-4

@StrongLegs

My latest stupidity is worrying about drinking out of a cup if rain has fallen in it btw. I'm almost certain that that is batshit too.

I have recently started wondering about this as well. I have no idea where this has come from as normally stuff doesn’t bother me.

As for flies, I really don’t have the energy to worry about stuff like this. I usually wait until it’s night time, lure them into a specific place with light (usually the hall), and then use some fly spray.