Flies! at this time of year! Any ideas?

[LeftieRightsHoarder]

For over a week I've had flies buzzing around my kitchen. I always clean surfaces and don't leave crumbs lying around, so we don't often get insects around. I'm in England, so it's cold, and we don't usually see flies this time of year.

I watch (too many) murder mysteries, where the buzzing of flies means there's a dead body nearby. But having once had a rat die under the floorboards of an old house I lived in, I know even a dead mouse would smell atrocious, and there isn't any smell.

Yesterday I broke and used a fly spray, though I hate using poisons. Today no flies in the kitchen yet, but I have seen some in other downstairs rooms.

Is anyone else seeing flies in their house? And has anyone got a better solution than nasty sprays? I'm hopeless at fly swatting!

Something is rotting op

i can’t recall seeing a fly since late summer

Probably a dead mouse. Sorry.

Are you a hoarder @LeftieRightsHoarder ?

Oh dear. I don't like to think I'm a hoarder, but the larder is pretty well packed, to the extent it's quite hard to see at the back. I'm going to have to take everything out and check there's nothing nasty going on.

Thanks for all these comments. I'll report back if I find anything interesting!

Good luck op!

Dont get overwhelmed with it; just do one shelf, or half a shelf at a time.

We are having a fly issue too!
ours is our living room. We have checked the loft (bungalow)and can’t work out where they are coming from!

What sort of flies are they?

I left bananas on the work top! I usually put then in a bag, the bloody fruit flies have invaded 😮😮😮

I think they might be cluster flies that often hibernate in the roof and come out in spring, however they also seem to find their way into the house, particularly the kitchen. I try to head them out the windows when i can.

Houseplants, usually.
Put gravel over the soil. Usually gets rid of them.

Have you over-watered your houseplants? If they are tiny they could be fungus gnats - worth a google!

Like the previous poster says likely cluster flies from the loft. Did you disturb any bring down Christmas decorations? We normally get a few at this time of year for that reason. Likely brought them out of hibernation and into the house.

I have had one lonely very slow big fly all day . Tonight he flew past as I was folding clothes. Rolled up a pair of pyjamas and hit him mid flight . Fuck off fly .