Flies! Help!

Pipkin

All of a sudden we seem to have an influx of tiny black flies.. they are definitely not fruit flies (had those before and can see the difference), thought they might be fungus gnats, but we only have one pot plant which we have had for yonks without any flies, and it's rarely watered, so not waterlogged (and I bound the pot up with clingfilm to see if any emerged overnight and got trapped, but nope..)..thought they might be drain flies..but whatever they are they are not responding to the vinegar in the jar with washing up liquid trick (which fruit flies do), so not attracted to a food source..I don't know what to do! Any ideas? they don't bite, don't think they are harmful, I just don't like them in my house! They are very slow moving so easy to kill, but there are always more there in the morning..help!

notjustlaura

I have had these twice before. Once was traced to something disgusting the cats left behind a sofa and I didn't know about. The second time they disappeared when I threw out a 'living herb' that I'd bought from Mr S and was trying to grow and harvest a few times before it died.

I don't really have any tips for getting rid of them other than to find the source and remove it, kill as many as you can catch and spraying each room with fly spray each night before bed and then closing the door till morning. But if you don't remove the source then there will always be more ...

Chris25

I wonder if these are cluster flies looking for a place to overwinter as they tend to materialise in the Autumn.

We've had them in our loft a few times - always in the SW corner - being the warmest place in our loft.

They go into a state of hibernation & I've vacuumed them whilst 'asleep'. luckily, I haven't seen them this year.

I don't think they represent a problem to health but obviously, they're not nice in the house.

Grimbal

we had drain flies a couple of years ago. We tracked it down to a redundant sewer pipe that had become broken, allowing the little blighters to escape into the house.

We were at our wit's end after a few weeks of them, and paid out for a drain survey to be done which revealed the cause. We got it cleaned, then capped it off, & the drain flies went completely in a couple of days.

They are quite distinct - they're all black with a furry little top part of their body. Only 1-2mm in length, they don't move very far from the source of the outbreak.

ETA: not promoting the business, but this page has a good description of them

Pipkin

Thanks all I don't think they are cluster flies because they are tiny, and having looked at that picture Grimbal I don't now think they are drain flies either as they have a definite pointy end which you can see even though they are small..I think they are some kind of gnat...but I'm stumped...I've bought some fly papers, but as you say, if I dont find the source they will not stop

Pipkin

Fungus gnats it must be, cos this is exactly like them, but why after all this time would the plant suddenly get them?



Its the only plant I've never killed too!

Chris25

Pipkin wrote: »

Fungus gnats it must be, cos this is exactly like them, but why after all this time would the plant suddenly get them?


Its the only plant I've never killed too!

Pipkin, have you recently bought flowers and put those nearby? Or perhaps twigs? We got an infestation of whitefly on a pot plants due to flowers

How hardy is the plant -can you stand the plant outside for a while?

Pipkin

I did recently have some bunches of roses bought for me and it was a day day or two after that I noticed the first few flies..Def not whitefly though..could gnats come from cut roses?

Pipkin

It's an orchids, not sure it would survive, but willing to sacrifice it if I have to!

claire07

Do you perhaps have one of those table top compost bins with a lid in the kitchen?

We traced an outbreak of fruit flies to this a few weeks ago when we had been putting in waste fruit and veg items en route to the compost bin and the lid must have been slightly open.

They definitely liked hanging round the compost bin outside in the summer.

Pipkin

Thanks Claire no we don't have one of those, and they are definitely not fruit flies, they look and behave different, and aren't congregating around appropriate food, which they would, as have had them before , thank you though!