# Invaded by House Flies!



## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Yes, we have been invaded!

More flies that I have seen in one place in my LIFE!

*We have:*

*1.* Made sure that all trash has been taken out.

*2. * Plugged cracks & holes that could be the cause.

*3. * Sprayed the outside of windows with fly spray. Sprayed all waste baskets.

*4. * Inspected rooms carefully…
... We had put out some *D-Con* to control rodents that may have slid through the doors (while open) during the hot days of summer… We saw one & decided to try it… I did find a dead rat… but it wasn't breeding flies.

*5. * When I use a flyswatter, I can kill 5-6 in one swat!... I have worn out the flyswatters…

*6.* I have gone to small Shop Vac… I suck'em up around a window area they like… *IT WORKS!*

*7. * I get them knocked down to size… wait a few hours or next day only to find they are back and MORE than BEFORE!

*8.* I am going to setup a fly trap with a wide mouth jar with a funnel on top … with some garbage inside to attract them… Hope that works a little bit.

This is getting to be an impossible situation!

We cannot figure out WHERE THESE FLIES ARE COMING FROM!
... and it's getting harder & harder to kill them!

I thought someone here might have some ideas…
What can I do that I haven't done?

This is really a true invasion of the House Fly!
... and We Are There! LOL

*Thank you for your ideas & comments…*


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## DanYo (Jun 30, 2007)

Saw something like that on Supernatural a couple years ago.

... could be serious ! >grinz<


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## GaryC (Dec 31, 2008)

Any chance you have a dead crtiier either in your attic or under your house?


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

have you blocked the chimeney


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

We've been swamped with Lady-Bugs. I've never seen this many in my life…. Somethin is happening to the air we breath, believe me, I think it's true. The whole globe is goin bonkers


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

Run ,..,.,..,..,..,...,.,.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Is Alfred Hitchcock filming in the area?


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

maybe some of the neighbors are raising some animals
those unseen back yards there 
could hide all sorts of things

or those banana palms in your back yard 
could be home to some too


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## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

Joe, not much help but make sure the shop vac's not a breeding place
after you've sucked the things up..my wife adds the time of year, the house is warmer, they WANT in
even though you've sealed whatever off..just like the mice.

Roger..Letem in..Ladybugs are the good guys-gals..so long as y'all can breathe they'll 
take care of your aphids n'such. We haven't seen too many of them the last couple of years, they used to coat my south west wall and take good care of my Virginia creeper's bugs.


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

Check all the drains in the house. The toilet as well.


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## Kyle82 (Mar 1, 2011)

I work with a nurse whose house is frequently infested with cluster flies. She said that out of nowhere literally clusters of them show up regularly. She lives in a log cabin here in WA and I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. I know this doesn't help.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

I did not check the attic… Can't see how they would get into house… Will look into it & see what I can… If I see a slew of flies flying around, I'll know for sure! LOL

Nothing can get under a slab… especially flies… LOL

I have NOT checked the fireplace or chimney! I have a fire built… ready to lite… I might just go ahead & lite it.

Lady Bugs wouldn't be so bad… They are good lil critters…

I can't run like I used to… LOL

No Hitchcock here… LOL

We don't have any Banana Palms… don't see how they can get INTO the house anyway…

I cleaned out the shop-vac before I started sucking them… and more came back next day…
...today, after sucking them, I sprayed some into the hose while on & put a Baggie around the end of the house wrapped with a rubber band… in case some found their way back out…

OK on the drains, etc. They all work OK… nothing is stopped-up… will double check.

The last thing I did today was to just spray the buggers! Messed up windows & smelled really bad… BUT, I killed almost every fly… FAST!
... and as soon as I type that, I saw a fly fly by!!

Thank you for the suggestions… I hope I find something soon… We shall see how the morning finds us…


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Joe…Have you considered maybe more than just a Saturday night bath??? -)


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

might check your drawers

kicking depends 
under the bed
is not 'good housekeeping'


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Joe: you realize you have set yourself up for this…....


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

Oh now its getting bad. Its not how often he changes them its what he does with them when he takes them off.


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## Roger Clark aka Rex (Dec 30, 2008)

Joe, my you are in a quandary. Just a thought, have you changed your underwear lately?


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## superdav721 (Aug 16, 2010)

Roger you are on a roll, every where.


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## Roger Clark aka Rex (Dec 30, 2008)

Yeah Dave, this toxic stuff they pumped into me shows.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Well, depending on how you look at this depends on whether *D*epends are used and if so, depends on whether the *D*epends are kicked around to under the bed.

It just happens that *D*epends are not used at all… so the rest of the commentary that depended on *D*epends, is now moot. * LOL*

I never knew flies could breed if one only took a bath once a week… or a bath once every two weeks… or once a month!

*I don't take baths… I take showers! LOL

Thanks a lot for all of you constructive help… LOL*


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## Roger Clark aka Rex (Dec 30, 2008)

Think nothing of it Joe, glad we could give some constructive help. There's no flies on us Joe, only the marks where they have been.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

That happened to us and it turned out to be a water leak in the wall behind our kitchen sink; took months to figure it out.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Hey… I'll check into that… That could be very well possible…

Thank you.


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## harry1 (Feb 22, 2012)

Joe, a few years ago we had a summer where the flies were almost as bad a you describe, I collected several jam jars, punched about a 1/2" hole in the top. I then put water about a third way up which covered a piece of meat. It didn't take long for the meat to go off and the jars, spread around the garden needed emptying into deep holes in the ground every few days, in other words it really worked.


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## Howie (May 25, 2010)

Seriously Joe,have you tried the old fashioned fly paper?
Flys are like a lot of things, some years there is an abundance.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

*Harry,*
I have setup a fly-trap that I used many years ago as a kid.
I took a wide-mouth jar, a mayonaise jar, put some old syrup in it & placed a funnel in it.
Set it on the kitchen window sill… Last I looked, it had 5-6 flies in it…
... later, I added a piece of fatty meat to it…
They go down the funnel into the bottle & can't find their way out.

*Howie,*
I thought of fly-paper… didn't have any… Took some clear packing tape and made an outside-sticking loop… stuck it in the air… Didn't work… I saw 3 flies on it… I thought they were stuck… when I got close, they flew away! LOL
So much for packing tape…
If the problem persists, I'll get some from store & try it.

So far, this morning, the fly population is quite low… 4-5 compared to 40-50!

I've only swatted 4-5 now… Hope it gets better yet… to none…

I will try to update the situation if it gets worse…

Thank you all for the laughs & help… it was fun.

Later…


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## americanwoodworker (Nov 26, 2011)

First place you should start in my opinion is to find out what type of fly it is. House fly, cluster fly, blow flies, etc.. Then find out what attracts that type of fly and try to get rid of it.

Good luck.


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## IrreverentJack (Aug 13, 2010)

Joe, I think you should go to Harbor Freight and get an Electric Fly Swatter. Bugs fly into it and make a very satisfying snap - sometimes a crackle and pop too. Just don't put it near any protruding body parts when it's turned on - I don't want to be seeing you on YouTube. -Jack


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

*americanwoodworker*
I'm pretty sure they are the common House Fly.

*IrreverentJack*
I have been tempted to get one of those many times… just to see how they work!
... but haven't done it… I'll watch it and maybe grab one On Sale…
... thank you for the reminder… LOL

*Update*
I checked for a leak under the sink & everywhere on the underside… All OK.

Things were not bad today… Much lower than other days…

I swatted some today… but NOT a big deal as before… by a long shot…

I was wondering… D-Con is supposed to kill rats & mice by drying them up & they don't drink…
I think, for the most part, they just shrink-up into a blob after dying.
In this case, it hadn't been dead much more than 2-4 days…
I'm wondering if flies could breed from worms on the inside of them and hatch out the rates mouth!
If that could happen, it would make good sense as to where our flys came from… I did not see any flys around the rat at all when I got rid of it.
Any comments on that possibility?

Thank you.

Thanks again…


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## LeeinEdmonton (Aug 5, 2008)

Check with your neighbors' & see if they also are afflicted with hordes of flies & if so it may be an area problem rather than just your home. If an area problem …check with your District Agriculturist….she/he may know the cause & have a solution.

Lee


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## stonedlion (Jan 12, 2011)

Back before I start trapping mice in my garage I used poison. I could always tell when I had a dead one hiding under something by the unusual number of flies in the garage. Apparently some kinds can smell a dead animal from a considerable distance and will find their way to it to lay eggs.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Electric Fly Swatter from HF works great. Too bad mosquitoes are too small and get through the screen ;-(


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Time to see a priest before things get really ugly.


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## Roger Clark aka Rex (Dec 30, 2008)

Joe, how long is it since you have seen your neighbors? Heard any gunshots in the neighborhood lately?
don't envy you being Lord of the Flies.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Hey!

Upon my morning inspection of my garage / shop, I found a dried up piece of fur with some teeth at one end…
... it looked more like a mouse to me…
*D-Con* does suck the moisture out them… it's not really a poison as we think of poison…
*This is the stuff I used... It really works*!

Just about 4-5 flies again today this morning… took care of them with a conventional fly swatter.

I will put that HF electric fly swatter on my radar watch list… What are the Normal prices on it… anyone know?

Haven't heard any gun shots in neighborhood…
Thank you.


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## americanwoodworker (Nov 26, 2011)

Joe I bought the electric fly swatter because I wanted to see what it was like. Honestly I would say don't waste your money. I used it religiously for about 2 weeks and decided a rolled up newspaper was better. It was neat hearing the "zap" and seeing flies running around with the wings burned off if not dead. But the idea of swinging a bulky, heavy item through the air to get the fly just lost it's appeal. I tended to forget where I was swinging and got the "eye" from my wife.

The classic fly swatter is still boss.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

*americanwoodworker:*

Thank you… I have erased it from my list… LOL

Flies are apparently under control… only killed 3 today!


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