Any recommendations for fly killers please?

Marcon

We are plagued by bluebottles and assorted smaller flies, and short of shutting all the doors and windows to keep them out, are set for a much buzzier summer than we'd like! Although chasing around the house with one of those electronic tennis racquets gives us plenty of exercise, the bluebottles tend to win every match. There are plenty of fly papers, electronic zappers etc on Amazon, but the hugely varied reviews for any particular product suggests that not all reviews are entirely objective.

Please does anyone have any suggestions on how best to control them? Help much appreciated if you have any suggestions. Budget not really the issue if the thing actually does the job.

sarah1972

I think your first port of call is to find out why you are being plagued by bluebottles as thats not normal at all. What is it they keep coming in for? I am lucky if I see one the whole year in my place.

Marcon

sarah1972 said:

I think your first port of call is to find out why you are being plagued by bluebottles as thats not normal at all. What is it they keep coming in for? I am lucky if I see one the whole year in my place.

Seeing a bluebottle is lucky...now there's a thought! We're surrounded by open fields and a considerable amount of wildlife flies in at the window or sees open French windows as an open invitation. It's perfectly normal, I'm afraid, for anyone fortunate to have plenty of greenery around them.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Have you looked at chain/bead curtains and similar to hang in the french doors doorway?  

Marcon

We have, and thank you, but unfortunately the little blighters still invite themselves in through the open windows  - and there are simply too many of those to add fly screens or similar even if we wanted to. 

sarah1972

Marcon said:

sarah1972 said:

I think your first port of call is to find out why you are being plagued by bluebottles as thats not normal at all. What is it they keep coming in for? I am lucky if I see one the whole year in my place.

Seeing a bluebottle is lucky...now there's a thought! We're surrounded by open fields and a considerable amount of wildlife flies in at the window or sees open French windows as an open invitation. It's perfectly normal, I'm afraid, for anyone fortunate to have plenty of greenery around them.

I am lucky enough to have a lot of greenery around me and a beautiful lake surrounded by fields but I must just be lucky to not have lots of bluebottles  coming in.  Have you tried a professional electric zapper like they have in commercial kitchens. I use this company for all of my kitchens bits https://www.nisbets.co.uk/cleaning-and-hygiene/fly-killers/_/a33-2?text=fly killer&cm_sp=Site Search-_-Redirect-_-fly killer

203846930

You could try a UV lamp like they use in some shops but it has to be the brightest thing in the room to have any effect in drawing the flies to it so if the light from the window is bigger and bright the flies will still bang their noses off that instead.
I found this out to my cost and I now have a redundant UV lamp sitting on the shelf.

badger09

Marcon said:

We are plagued by bluebottles and assorted smaller flies, and short of shutting all the doors and windows to keep them out, are set for a much buzzier summer than we'd like! Although chasing around the house with one of those electronic tennis racquets gives us plenty of exercise, the bluebottles tend to win every match. There are plenty of fly papers, electronic zappers etc on Amazon, but the hugely varied reviews for any particular product suggests that not all reviews are entirely objective.

Please does anyone have any suggestions on how best to control them? Help much appreciated if you have any suggestions. Budget not really the issue if the thing actually does the job.

Our location sounds similar to yours, farmland opposite & small lake & fishing pools nearby. We are regularly plagued by cluster flies & have to have council wasp man out at least once a year. In halcyon days of visiting my son in HK in winter, we'd return to a fly graveyard, akin to something from a Stephen King horror movie. 

You didn't mention chemical sprays, so if you don't mind using them I can recommend RAID Fly & Wasp Killer spray 300ml can, £3.00 most supermarkets, £2.75 Wilko. A single spray will knock them out & seems to deter others for most of the day.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

duncanthedog said:

You could try a UV lamp like they use in some shops but it has to be the brightest thing in the room to have any effect in drawing the flies to it so if the light from the window is bigger and bright the flies will still bang their noses off that instead.
I found this out to my cost and I now have a redundant UV lamp sitting on the shelf.

I run one of those overnight on a timer; think it was about a fiver from Aldi.  It seems to work most of the time except for some flies and moths that aren't fussed about UV.

Marcon

Many thanks to you all for taking the trouble to respond. I've got a can of RAID on the list for our next supermarket shop and will also have a look at the electronic zappers. The comment about running them overnight makes a lot of sense, particularly given Duncan's comment (wouldn't have thought of that!).

Much appreciated.

longwalks1

I asked a similar question a years ir 2 ago on here OP and was mostly questioned why where they coming in etc, what’s we’re talking hey after - made me question my homes cleanliness for a while! The realised being surrounded by fields and wildlife we’d always get flies around, it’s nature

can't help with your question I’m afraid though, I was wondering if there’s any kind of home made mixture you could make up in an old jam jar and leave by the door that attracts them, that they all get stuck in then just dispose of the contents at the end of the day