Sodding flies everywhere!

[surreysarah]

Another reason to hate this blistering heat, aside from the sweat, lack of sleep and blazing hot commute: flies everywhere. We seem to have them constantly in the house, despite no food left out - vile. Roll on Wednesday when it’s 10 degrees cooler!

The buzzy bastards are driving me demented. I’m living with a can of fly spray next to my chair. Why are they so thick? Ramming their stupid heads against the one window in ten that isn’t bloody open 🤦‍♀️

Driving me mad too. Windows open but they are still aimlessly buzzing about. Are they all short sighted?

I've noticed loads of flies this week & they are brazen. Why are there so many?

We bought a fly catcher from Amazon leave it at the back of the garden, they drown in this evil liquid, empty it and change the sachet once a week it’s definitely helped. I blame recycling and collection of bins people need to dispose of food and other waste properly.

Screen door off Amazon. Best thing I ever bought

Half a lemon with cloves stuck in placed on the window sill seems to be helping.

Does this not attract wasps? If not I’m off to buy some lemons…

Fly screens are what you need . We have midge roller blinds on all of our windows , it’s brilliant

The most disgusting fly-related thing happened to me today. I was in a barn, it was hot, airless, dusty. Lots of flies buzzing about my face and crawling on me, and getting stuck to my sweaty, sun-creamed skin, horrible. I was sweeping, noticed something I was sweeping was moving about. I looked closer. Maggots. As I looked at the ones crawling about on the floor, I heard a little ‘plop’ and another one appeared, and another, and a couple more. They were falling from the roof RIGHT ABOVE ME, where there had been a birds nest recently. Talk about luck - I’ve never won a thing in my life but just so happen to be stood underneath an old birds nest when some tiny, wriggling maggots decide to hatch! And I’ve got six horse-fly bites from the day before driving me insane with the itching as well. I fu@#ing hate bugs!

Does it stop them coming into the house? If so, can you post a link please?

Lots around yesterday, but a lot were flying ants. I read somewhere there will be a lot of FAs this year due to the weather.

We have screen curtains from Amazon, they fit to the door frame with velcro, and basically have two halves that are edged with magnets so you can just walk through and it re-closes behind you. Best £20 ever spent!

It’s the heat. Just one of the many reasons why I’m looking forward to the temperature dropping by 10C tomorrow!

That sounds horrific. And horsefly bites are incredibly painful.

I just made dinner, left it on the kitchen counter for a second whilst I popped to the loo. Came back and a fly was leaping off my food. Not sure which bit it was on but it’s really put me off my dinner, especially as it was no doubt landing in poo somewhere about 10 minutes previous!

Screen door or screen curtains, wouldn't be without them now.

We are quite rural and the flies are horrible, but even worse was a plague of horseflies for a week (seems to have eased off now) so we had to have our lovely bifold doors and shed doors shut. Have killed load of them in the house urgh.

It still amazes me that fly screens aren't more common in the UK. I've lived here 20yrs and never seen a house with them- unlike where I grew up abroad. We recently renovated a derelict property (in England) and needed new doors and windows throughout. I specifically asked the window company about screens. He looked at me sideways and their only solution was a massive, electronic screen that could come up and down across all the bifolds. Nothing for windows or other doors.

I've bought fly catchers from amazon. They contain a powder and when mixed with water smells rotten. Its vile! They go OUTSIDE the house in the sun. (Not like MIL who has them inside her house 🤢) You can buy replacement powder sachets, but I read that liver powder from fishing suppliers smells the same. I shall post some pics of the 2 catchers I have in the garden.

I appreciate that maggots and flies have a purpose, but I clearly haven't killed off my local supply, given the amount still in my kitchen every day. I have no idea how many more I'd have if I didn't have the traps? Yes- those containers and half filled with flies! I can see argos has a sale on a 2 pack currently.

What about those sticky strips?

Yes it does they all congregate round this horrible thing you have to try and have it quite a few meters away from your house but I promise it definitely helps https://amzn.eu/d/5hQ0JZq

I worry about catching bees with those, so don't use them.

We have swallows and swifts nesting in our eaves & barn.
They seem to be having a good year with lots of young.
Their diet is flying insects so we have virtually no flies. I also don't disturb spiders webs.

Mesh screen on the back door keeps a lot out. When they do get in I have an immensely satisfying electric tennis racquet (from Amazon) to swat them with.

Someone once posted on here that if you use a decent fly spray around your window frames/ patio doors etc outside it helps deters the buggers and those who make it through are drowsy and easy to catch.

Not sure if it works but could be worth a go.

lol this reminds me of something from about 20 years ago. I was filling the horse lorry up with diesel and heard a few things drop around me. Looked up and a whole nest of stag beetles was for some reason falling from the skys. They sounded like hail on the lorry and my hood was filled. It was like something from Tales of the Unexpected