Flies

[AngieM2]

Can anyone help me out. We have a problems with flies in a room in our house. They are around the window. The house is double fronted victorian with sash bay windows. Front is south facing. Nothing downstairs, just one of the upstairs bedrooms (on the front), sometimes getting them in the other bedroom (also on the front). Both rooms have open fireplaces but the flap thingy is almost closed (not sealed). Have tried taping the windows but the buggers are getting in somewhere. The room was decorated in October, everything cleaned out and no food etc has been left in there. A friend reckons there could be a birds nest close by? They are driving me batty - 5/6 a day!

might be dead bird in chimney.

Thanks Piglet. Shall I get I sweeped as a first course of action? DH is convinced they're getting through the window rather than chimney as they're always at the window.

Hmmm how mysterious? But they can turn up in weirdest places. My dad makes traps which seem to work well - you cut the top part off a milk bottle and then invert it (lid off) and then tape it back and put some old food at the bottom of the bottle so the flies get in but then can't fly out. You then dispose of the trap far from home once they are inside and then they can't breed. My dad uses dried fish in the bottom but they make me boak but are very effective.

they are attracted to light, so often die by windows, trying to get out.

You could try taping paper across the fireplace to seal it.

there is a type of fly that gets in round windows to hibernate, I had them in an attic in a cottage once. Cluster flies maybe. They can smell where others have been so keep coming back.

If it is a bird in the chimney, or a mouse under the floor, it will dry up soon and the flies will stop.

Could there be a birds nest in the eaves? Is the window frame sound? And loose material around the window embrasure? We had an unfortunate coincidence of all the above a few years ago, which culminated in a diabolical smell, the "lintel" (it didn't deserve the name) crumbling away, and plaster and maggots dropping all over the bathroom.

Could be cluster flies, do you live near a meadow?

Thanks everyone. Brownsauce that sounds grim! I'm going to tape up the fireplace today and see what happens. Its been going on at least since October when we did the room up and she moved in so I would've hoped any dead animal would be long composted down by now. Bloody bastard flies.

Get the chimney swept.

I came home from work one day to find a plague of flies in my house - it was fine one day, and then the next, there were hundreds of them. It was skin-crawlingly awful. I am really clean (borderline OCD) so I was frantic. I moved every bit of furniture trying to find where they were coming from. They were concentrated in one room, but I couldn't find any source. Then I poked up the chimney, and a dead pigeon fell out on my lap. I screamed the place down.

Two cans of raid, a steam mop, dettol, and a thorough sweep of the chimney sorted it out. I then spent about 3 hours scrubbing myself down in the shower. Ugh!

I understand that flies can also lay eggs in the seals around windows, so it might be worth checking these too.

scuttle no, nowhere near a meadow. struggling I feel your pain as I'm really clean as well and they're doing my head in. Yes I'll get the chimney swept as well.

I have flies like this in my house, upstairs where there is no fireplace but they seem to be coming from the loft...sometimes a few a day, sometimes none at all/ I've learnt to keep a can of fly spray handy! They are certainly worse when I have had the loft open although have never seen them up there (alive at least - there are dead ones as I often give it a quick blast with the fly spray before I close the hatch again!)

We too have lots of flies in one bedroom. I think they might be hatching between the window and the frames. There have also been lots of ladybirds. This part of the house is 15 years old and recently decorated with new carpets etc. I am at my wits end. There is no food, no chimney there but we do have a lot of small down lighters in the bedroom ceiling. I spray and then the flies fall onto my lovely pale grey carpet! Yuk. I have also stained the ceiling with spray and had to repaint! I sympathise with everyone and we really have no idea why it is so bad. We have three chimneys elsewhere and no problems at all.

I've taped up the fireplace today so if they continue to appear then they must be coming from the window in which case I might call a pest controller to see if they can get rid of them

looking at millmm's post, it is worth looking in the loft in case there is a dead bird. Flies do not usually go into dark places so they would only go in if something attracted them (though cluster flies are attracted by the scent of places previously used)

holes in ceilings for downlighters may allow insects in, and will be warm.

So after sealing up the fireplace this morning, i've come back to about 8 flies and 3 ladybirds inside the bloody window. Am going to have to call a pest controller out. No downlighters in the room, just 1 chandelier. God help me!

We were plagued with large black flies in the bathroom for around a week. It stopped when we moved some large bags of manure-smelling shredded bark which were outside under the window,waiting to be spread on the garden.

We have cluster flies. We live next to farmland. I have never found a way of getting rid of them. We had the loft sprayed but they were back the next year. Keeping the window frames/seals around opening windows clean helps a bit. The pest controller was very pessimistic - it is impossible to seal a loft so that they cant get i as houses need to "breathe". Then there are the carpet beetle......

We have a bay window in a south facing room. The bay has a flat roof and some of the plaster inside the house was bulging out. When we investigated, there were lots of flies (not sure what type) that were nesting in the gap between the plaster, the window and the flat roof. I can only guess that there was a small hole that they were able to get inside and as it was warm, set up residence there. We have filled in the gaps and so far no return of the flies.

Perhaps it is something similar to your problem - fill in the gaps because pest control can get rid of the flies, but if the access is not blocked off, they may return.

Yes, when I had cluster flies it was a cottage in farmland (sugar beet usually). For some reason they only seemed to get in round the attic window, but there might have been a gap in the roof or round the chimney. I just hoovered the bodies up occasionally. If I had found a gap I would have tried to seal it.

P.s.

I wonder if you could sit up there quietly with a book and a cat and watch out for them getting in. Or get a pet spider, or a gecko.