Breaking Through, Travelling On

Karmacat

So ... I've been doing lots and lots of decluttering, admin, and healthy walking, as well as going to the computer shop 3 times :eek: I was most worried about the genealogy information I got from ancestry last weekend, as I didn't back up on Saturday night :rotfl:

A definite pain in the arris, however, has been the bluebottle situation: we're up to about 4 dozen now and I'm officially peeved. They *seem* to be coming from a first floor window, in the hall, which I don't understand at all. New window, with a flyscreen. The understairs cupboard is underneath, but if they were coming from there, they'd also be coming out of the cupboard door, into the living room, surely? Aggravating!

To end on a high: DECLUTTERING
24 handbag
25 lever arch file
26 old accounts papers
27 7 magazines
28 4 cute little (useless!) cardboard boxes)
29 approx 4 dozen bluebottles
30 3" stack of A4 papers.
31 keys
32 old business cards
33 5 adsl filters
34 3 old printer cartridges

I know most people would have listed a lot of that as one general bag of carp, but I needed the numbers to accelerate :rotfl:

Off around the forum

Alchemilla

Great decluttering.x

ZTD

Karmacat wrote: »

So now I have a new battery, which *still* only charges to 80% actually, and I'm going to experiment with doing what they advised, which is taking the battery out when I'm plugged in. When the computer's plugged in, anyway

Some modern machines only charge the battery to 80% to try to conserve its useful lifespan. It will probably be a bios setting, and it may be changable within Windows if the drivers for your laptop are installed, but unless you need to squeeze that extra 20% out of it, it may be best getting the extra lifespan.

Karmacat wrote: »

A definite pain in the arris, however, has been the bluebottle situation: we're up to about 4 dozen now and I'm officially peeved. They *seem* to be coming from a first floor window, in the hall, which I don't understand at all. New window, with a flyscreen. The understairs cupboard is underneath, but if they were coming from there, they'd also be coming out of the cupboard door, into the living room, surely? Aggravating!

Do you have a loft hatch? Where is it?

Karmacat

Thanks Z!

Oh dear, yes I *do* have a loft hatch. Its right by the window. The hall upstairs is really a square thats 3 feet on each side, and thats where the loft hatch is. I've not seen any of them clustering around it, but ... oh dear. There was a rat up there that the pest control guy killed, at least a year ago, do you think they're feeding on that? _pale__pale__pale_

ZTD

Karmacat wrote: »

Oh dear, yes I *do* have a loft hatch. Its right by the window. The hall upstairs is really a square thats 3 feet on each side, and thats where the loft hatch is. I've not seen any of them clustering around it,

They won't. As soon as they emerge from somewhere, they will head for the light. That means they'll headbut the glass until the cows come home. Not much room in a fly's brain for concepts such as "glazing".

Karmacat wrote: »

but ... oh dear. There was a rat up there that the pest control guy killed, at least a year ago, do you think they're feeding on that? _pale__pale__pale_

I would doubt it. It almost undoubtedly would have dried out by now and be virtually inedible by maggots. They may be munching on its great-great-great-great-grandson though.

Karmacat

Ug!!!!!! It was only one, I think, and I could hear it late at night, so it was only there about two weeks, honest. Omigod, this is horrendous! Please don't tell me to go into the loft :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I don't care how broke I am, I might well try to get the pest control guy to come back

ZTD

Karmacat wrote: »

Ug!!!!!! It was only one, I think, and I could hear it late at night, so it was only there about two weeks, honest. Omigod, this is horrendous! Please don't tell me to go into the loft :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I don't care how broke I am, I might well try to get the pest control guy to come back

How's it horrendous? You've already been dealing with the bluebottles, so you can't be cockly about that. Maggots can't exactly leap at you (barring a few comedy-horror films).

If one rat can get in, then others can unless you blocked the hole. Despite your bookshelf, it wasn't beamed in there by Scotty...

Pop the hatch, and see if any flies come out.

Fortune_Smiles

A little more info Karma - an old article but I hope a reassuring one.


We get a few of these too. A nuisance but nothing to worry about.


Fortune x

Karmacat

Fortune - hi there! There's no linkie in your post that I can see. I'd like to read the article. But there's more than a few - 4 dozen this week! I work from home, I have clients in, I [STRIKE]can't have[/STRIKE] don't want clients traipsing over bluebottle bodies.

Z - how is it horrendous? Erm, I *really* don't like it

I went for a cuppa tea just now, and there was a bluebottle crawling out of the (closed) hatch. I'm not going up there today, and I'll see what happens tomorrow... I find it quite stressful, its just how I am, and I don't want to overstress again...

ZTD

Karmacat wrote: »

Z - how is it horrendous? Erm, I *really* don't like it

I went for a cuppa tea just now, and there was a bluebottle crawling out of the (closed) hatch. I'm not going up there today, and I'll see what happens tomorrow... I find it quite stressful, its just how I am, and I don't want to overstress again...

Do you have a Hoover** with a hose attachment? Just turn it on, then use it to poke open one corner of the hatch. When the little thuddy noises stop, you can let the hatch drop.

It's not a solution, but it'll get the numbers down until you decide on a solution. You needn't do it today of course.

** Other brands of vacuum cleaners are available from all good shops.