I'm In FLY HELL -HELP

holsum

For the last four weeks flies have invaded my kitchen, not little itty bitty flies, but massive blue bottles :eek: I pinned the invasion down to the kitchen so sprayed lots of fly spray and shut the door. I'm mystified as I can't figure out where they are coming from as the doors and the windows are shut but still they keep coming.

Week 1: First sighting on Friday evening, over the weekend the numbers increased. On Sunday I went out and bought a vacum cleaner to pick up the bodies. I called the council on Monday morning who told me that they don't come out for flies, maybe something had died under my floor boards and at the most it would take 2 weeks to decompose (I couldn't actually smell anything decaying under my floorboards) the best advice they could give me was to wait it out.
So I waited :undecided

Week 2: The Kitchen door is still shut and flies are still coming, I'm living on takeaways because I can't face the kitchen and still vacuming up the bodies. yesterday there was an angry wasp buzzing around in my kitchen, but this soon died I think I've figured out where they are coming from. Just wanted to add I bought my flat at the end of June last year. The previous owners ripped out some of the skirting boards when they put in new kitchen cupboards and don't seem to have sealed it properly so I got my dad around to put some polyfiller in. He couldn't get all the way behind the cupboards but did a good job. That night no flies, but unfortunately 2 flies the next morning.
Don't think anything is decomposing because of the wasp sighting , but I'm still going to wait it out :undecided

Week 3: I'm going away on holiday for the week, from holiday I rang my dad to go around and check on my flat the day that i was flying home as I didn't want any nasty suprises upon arrival. he went around and vacumed up a dozen. when I got home two more dead flies were on my counter top, and more the next day. I always find them next to the window I assume they are trying to get out.
I've come to the conclusion that they must be coming in through the airbricks (these are also located on the side of the kitchen where we put polyfiller in). As a side note I must tell you that my neighbour upstairs is renovating his flat (he bought his around the same time as me). he owns a tiny piece of garden which is next to my kitchen and in his garden he has dumped all of the elements that he has ripped out from his flat this consists of at least 15-20 refuse sacks kitchen sink etc.
My dad and I ended up attaching these air vent slidy things because they had smaller holes (got these from homebase and supposed to be used indoors). Fitted these on Saturday and since then I've been fly free :j

Week 4: That was until yesterday when I was cooking dinner and from out of nowhere a fly appears as I had the window open I figured it could have come from outside. Finished cooking then killed the fly. when I went back into the kitchen there were 2 more buzzing around and this morning one more, I came back from work today and there were at least 7 more. I really am at a loss now.:mad:

Any usefull suggetions on how I can get rid or where people think they might be coming from or why they chose my home. please help I'm at the end of my tether and can't deal with vacuming up any more flys

roswell

Firstly report the rubbish outside to the council as thsi is probably attracting / breading them, spray a good helping of fly spray into the air bricks then clost the shutter, Inspect from outside to see if you can find any openings, and most importany go through your cupbards and make sure nothing is off / spilt that may be attracting them.

Lorian

My guess is it's cluster fly eggs hatching somewhere, that have lay dormant over the winter.



If so, Get a can/block of citronella and leave in the kitchen and they'll try to get away from it. I bought several blocks from Sainsburys when they were on offer. You need to leave the flies an escape route.

If you can identify the source you need to seal it up (when they have all gone) or use citronella again in the autumn to ensure they don't lay again.

Is the kitchen is single story? If so the loft space is the likely source.

ormus

a used jam jar (dont clean it out) with a bit of water in it will help the wasp etc..
leave it outside the kitchen window somewhere. this will attract them away from the house.
i use a similar idea for the ants!

marybishop

Years ago I had exactly the same problem but it all happened in one day!! Noticed one or two flies in my bedroom so closed windows and door and used fly spray. Short while later noticed a few more and they were all on the windows as if trying to get out!!!

Sprayed what little fly spray I had left and closed door again. Little while later went back in to find lots of flies buzzing around the room and like you couldn't work out where they were coming from.

Then the penny dropped and I realised they were coming out from behind the chest of drawers against the chimney breast which had an air vent at lower level. That's where they were coming from .... hundreds of them (or so it seemed!). Had no fly spray left so sprayed furniture polish at them instead! Last resort was to tape a piece of paper over the air vent so no more could get through.

My guess was that a bird had fallen down the chimney and died and all the flies had hatched out at the same time! It was like something out of a horror film! :eek:

peak9

My bet is cluster flies too. We inundated at the moment,my loft gets full, where they seem to overwinter. We have loads of fly traps in the loft but obviously they are just to numerous, sadly I don't know of any cures ?

Any ideas greatly received.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

We,only this last week have had flies in the bedrooms.They don't seem to be around when we go to bed but are there next morning.The cluster flies theory may just be our problem.Well at least I can now open the windows again was worried they may be coming in to keep out of the cold and was sleeping with the windows shut.

Lorian

We had cluster flies the first spring we moved in. Hence my OP.

We haven't had them since, but I put two citronella sticks in the loft in early autumn each year now, and either I've been lucky, or it works, keeping the flies from laying eggs.

The canisters I talk of are not candles (that would be dangerous and not last long enough) they are jelly sticks, a bit like a big deodorant, and they are sold as insect repelant. If sainsbury's still sell them they are an orange twist-up cansister with orange jelly inside. Ideal for putting in lofts. I need to buy some more, I'm down to my last two. I'll check siansburys later.

holsum

Lorian wrote: »

My guess is it's cluster fly eggs hatching somewhere, that have lay dormant over the winter.

If so, Get a can/block of citronella and leave in the kitchen and they'll try to get away from it. I bought several blocks from Sainsburys when they were on offer. You need to leave the flies an escape route.

I did try to buy some citronella in week 1 /2 in Robert Dyas but they said it wasn't in season yet. Right I'm leaving the house now to look for it and I'm not coming back until I find it!!!

My only concern is I can leave the windows open as an escape route, when I'm here after work in the early evening and during the day at the weekend but I live on the ground floor and the idea of someone climbing through the window while I'm in bed at night scares me more than the flies.

Lorian wrote: »

Is the kitchen is single story? If so the loft space is the likely source.

my neighbour isn't above my kitchen it just has a tiled roof could they somehow be in there? how would I get the Citronella up there?

I'm in a maisonette and my neighbour upstairs has the loft, i asked on week 1 day 2 if he had seen any flies in his flat he had sighted two and thought it was strange because his windows were shut, i asked again a couple days later and he hadn't seen any more. He hasn't mentioned anything since, but I barely see the man I usually have to text or call him to speak to him.

Does anyone think it would be worth getting pest control in or would I be wasting money?

My poor dad has run out of ideas and is getting fed up of me calling him with my homeowner woes, his suggestion is for me to get a boyfriend!

Nobleck

Have you got recessed light fittings , i have seen many a creepy crawly enter a room from light fittings.

pavlovs_dog

i saw citronella candles in woolies at the start of the week

they are often with camping/picnic/outdoor/spring/summer/seasonal stuff if that helps at all