House Flies - arghh!

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 ablackett 07 Jan 2023

Is anyone else finding they have a lot of house flies for the time of year?

We had a warmish spell around the end of November, and we were finding around 20-30 house flies a day, they were all a bit slow and lazy, so easy to swap/hoover up, I even got my eye in to snatch a few out of the air.  They are medium sized house flies.  They we had the cold snap, and not so much of a problem, now the weather has warmed up again we are getting 20odd flies a day all over the house.

There isn't any obvious place they are coming from, no rotting vegitation in the corner of the kitchen or anything else obvious.  We live in a fairly rural area, farm fields around us in NE England.

Mid summer - I have grown to expect this, but never in Winter before. 

1) Is anyone else having the same problem?

2) Is there anything I can do about it other than covering the house in fly paper or catching them every day?

 Lankyman 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

> 2) Is there anything I can do about it other than covering the house in fly paper or catching them every day?

Move the body out of the cellar?

1
OP ablackett 07 Jan 2023
In reply to Lankyman:

> Move the body out of the cellar?

Where should I put it?

 mik82 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

As John Kelly says - are they cluster flies? My friends live in a rural area and get them. The description of being slow and lazy fits. They're harmless unlike bluebottles etc.

My friends use a handheld hoover to catch them all!

Post edited at 11:03
 David Riley 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

Yes, cluster flies.  Over winter in roof or gaps in windows, then exit the wrong way into the house.

 Billhook 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

Like the last previous 2 posters say, they could be Cluster Flies which are pretty dormant and you sometimes find them in .....clusters!! in dark sheltered places, such as cavities, lofts and so on.

The most obvious difference to me between house flies and cluster flies is that the latter have noticeable feint white/pale markings on their bodies/hairs.  House flies don't..  

 David Riley 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

I'd be interested to know if there are cows around you ?

 Cloughy 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

It could be clusterflies like the other posters have said - we had quite the gang of them in the loft of our house when we moved in. The previous owners had clearly ignored the problem as the loft was full of live and dead ones - whenever we changed the spotlight bulbs upstairs, loads of dead clusterflies spilled out!

Apparently they are more likely to use the same buildings year after year. Might be overkill for the odd fly, but we now use smoke bombs on the loft twice a year, with a permethrin spray on a timer throughout the year and we haven't had a problem since.

1
 Rob Exile Ward 07 Jan 2023
In reply to Cloughy:

We live in a rural are and have cluster flies in the loft. Apparently they lay pheromone trails so they and their mates can find their way back in.

I did put an insectocutor type device in the loft on a timer for a couple of hours a day, but when I looked recently the little beggars were using the UV as a disco light and didn't seem to be dying off at all! I think the unit may be damaged, so I will get another and try again.

 David Riley 07 Jan 2023
In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

>  Apparently they lay pheromone trails so they and their mates can find their way back in.

Yes, I thought I could smell it.  A shame they can't follow it back out the same route and not cause any problem.

Do you have cows nearby ?

 Flinticus 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

My flock (herd?) of frogs has seen to them.

But now the frogs are becoming an issue...

 FactorXXX 07 Jan 2023
In reply to Flinticus:

> My flock (herd?) of frogs has seen to them.
> But now the frogs are becoming an issue...

Simple solution to that is to find something to eat the frogs. 

 Flinticus 07 Jan 2023
In reply to FactorXXX:

Any ideas? 

Snakes?

 David Riley 07 Jan 2023
In reply to Flinticus:

The obvious answer is spiders.  Apparently the only downside of having cluster flies in the roof is the spiders multiplying out of control.

 David Riley 07 Jan 2023
In reply to David Riley:

Perhaps the cluster flies are protected from spiders by their pheromones ?

 RX-78 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

Sounds like you have the common general cluster fly. 

In reply to ablackett:

+1 to attic / cluster flies - they're not just a rural phenomenon.  They hibernate within the suspended ceiling voids at my office - emerge on warm days to pitifully buzz around and collide with inanimate objects such as the windows and me. I find flies generally disgusting but they are so hapless I feel more pity.

 aln 07 Jan 2023
In reply to Flinticus:

> Any ideas? 

A Heron.

 aln 07 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

No flies but I saw a bee flying around today!

 Rob Exile Ward 08 Jan 2023
In reply to David Riley:

I suppose so, but not neighbouring - maybe 250m away?

Another issue with flies is that they attract bats...

 Lankyman 08 Jan 2023
In reply to RX-78:

> Sounds like you have the common general cluster fly. 

He'll need to take a stand against them

 David Riley 08 Jan 2023
In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

I've lived in a variety of places, but only seen cluster flies here.  I wondered about the differences, either woodland, fields, sheep, cows, or horses.  It is interesting that it seems when there are cluster flies, there are no spiders.

I've noticed loads of flies this year too. Now cows, unless they're creeping round Sheffield in the dark. Thought they came in on one of the plants I'd been gifted and maybe more prevalent since I actually turned the heating on-? No solution, sorry, but they seem to be mostly hanging near my plants, despite me spraying them (which are also next to my bin).

 Bulls Crack 08 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

Not here, just the usual Fruit Flies but I empathise with them - they like all the things I  like! 

 Hat Dude 09 Jan 2023
In reply to ablackett:

We started to get a bit of a problem with them in our loft 3 or 4 years ago

Every September since, I've hung a couple of Rentokil Fly Killer Cassettes in the loft and this seems to have sorted it

 Nic 09 Jan 2023
In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

...and another vote for cluster flies. We used to have a problem with them in the loft and getting into the house. Now, every October or so I bomb them with a smoke bomb and, as a finishing touch, rig up an electrocutor as well. The sound of frying flies every 30s or so is most satisfying...

 David Riley 09 Jan 2023
In reply to Nic:

But do swallows rely on them for food ?

 Nic 10 Jan 2023
In reply to David Riley:

The African ones or the European ones?

 David Riley 10 Jan 2023
In reply to Nic:

In the Uk.


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