I just simply hate fly's

[gixxerific]

I mean come on, what purpose do they serve other than pissing me off?

I just hate them!!!!!

Whatever they may do for the golden "Circle Of Life" can be done by other life. So I say we band together to eradicate this creature from our life forever. Don't get me wrong I am a nature lover, well unless it comes to the fly. Heck since I have been typing this a few have landed on me 20-30 times.

You can't even try to have a barbecue in the summer around here with out thinking there will be thousands of them sampling your food. One thing I can't stand is a dirty fly landing on my food. I would rather not eat anything as to eat something a fly has been on.

I can't even go outside without being swarmed by them. Tomorrow I will be getting some fly traps. My "greenness" will be going out the window at a fast speed for these little buggers.

Of course my garden and compost pile and degrading vegetation bring them on, not to mention the multiple cattle farms close by. But I just can't take them anymore I'm gonna blow. It's them or me. And I'm not going down without a fight.

Every night I have to kill several in the house and that is only a small portion of the ones in the house.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!


I could go on but I will stop.

End of rant.!!!

[Dixana]

I hear ya! I cannot STAND going to my SIL's these days. There are millions of flys out there and with 5 kids running in and out the house is no better. My niece and I went kamikaze with flyswatters one day and literally turned the floor BLACK with dead flies. We won't even talk about what happens if you leave your car windows down out there
They're horrid annoying little bugs and I HATE THEM!!!
I can also say with near certainty that nothing works to get rid of them. Even with 5 different kinds of fly traps everywhere, sticky tape on every window and door, and an every few day house bombing with barn fly killer, they continue to plague us
Bug spray helps keep them off of you somewhat, I soak myself in it before we go out there to prevent going totally :nutz: from flies CONSTANTLY landing on me

[applestar]

Hmm. It may be that the source of the flies is the manure you trucked in. There may have been pupae. (as well as the cattle farms, as you say, when the wind is in the right -- or shall we say WRONG -- direction).

Consider getting some fly predator flies. I think I mentioned some time ago that I used them way back when. I've seen them in horse care magazines and horse supply websites. You get them as pupae that you sprinkle in likely locations around the garden.

[Dixana]

Those things are uselss! We ordered the predator wasps back on the farm for our manure pile. Too bad our neighbors with cows didn't
It did nothing for us, no noticable differences even though we applied the wasp larva 4 times over the summer two years in a row. It might work if your land is many many acres with no other animals in the immediate area, but if you have neighbors with critters don't waste your money.

[applestar]

The ones I got were flies. For serious on-going fly population, it's recommended that you apply on schedule 3 (I think) times during the season. Good sources for these predators will have option to buy them in timely shipments. It sounds like you did that though Dixana.

In my case, whatever the original source -- and it was like the way Gixx described -- flies swarming inside the moment doors are opened, dozen~20 flies in every window. But there were no on-going source. So a single application (apparently at just the right time and perhaps in the right areas around the garden) drastically reduced the population. I felt it was well worth it.

I'm remembering that back then, we also had a much larger population of large brown garden spiders -- the kind that make webs the size of doors and windows. Not seeing them as much of them lately.

If you regularly spray insecticides, then you'll also kill the beneficials that will take care of the pests. You'll also sicken the predator birds and animals. So even though it might seem counter-intuitive, it's best to deal with the pests with traps and other mechanical solutions rather than the broad-spectrum poisons. You can make DIY soda bottle traps for outdoor flies. For indoor flies, I have seen, though never tried, sticky traps that lure flies that swarm the windows. Lavender (and mint, I believe) repel flies.

AH! I'm also remembering that I bought beneficial nematodes later in the same year and applied them in the fall after temperature cooled down. (I'm pretty sure I scattered the predator fly pupae in early summer). They help take care of the pupae in the ground and prevent them from overwintering.

[gixxerific]

Quick post here I'm being constantly attacked by what else but flies.

It wasn't in the manure they have been here all summer. I don't use chemicals but am about to go out and get some of the sticky and bag traps I used last year.
Seriously it's like every 2-3 seconds I am landed on down here.

I can't take it any more

gotta go.

I can't even catch up on here because these bastards are pissing me off so bad.

Later.

[Dixana]

Are the soda bottle traps like the ones for bees? I'm making some of those right now.....
They don't bug bomb outside, just in the house. Those stupid yard foggers don't work anyway, the hubby used one on our campsite and I still got ate alive
The sticky fly window traps help, but not when you live on a dairy farm which is where my SIL is at. Manure pile, manure on the fields, a dumpster, 5 dogs between the 2 houses.....there is no hope
I did discover though if you leave a bin of wet coffee grounds outside the flies will lay their eggs in them and the nasty little maggots are then easily destroyed

[Brand D NATURALS]

We have lived on our farm for 4 summers now. The first 2 summers, we were wrapped up with flies nearly as bad as you are describing. I spend many hours stalking flies around the porch and yard with a fly swatter. It was a little scary how much pleasure I got from killing the little varments.
Last spring we got some hens. We let them free range over the entire farm during the day and only shut them up at night for protection. Since we got them, the fly population has plummeted to almost nonexistent. We have 5 horses ourselves and our neighbors raise cattle and goats. The only flies I ever see are right down in the barn and there are very few there. The horses are much happier. Now if we could just get the hens to do something about the gnats, it would be near paradise.

[Dixana]

How about fruit flies this time of year they drive me crazy!!!!

[applestar]

The chickens sound like the perfect solution!

For fruit flies in the house, I make traps out of paper rolled into a cone and taped to a jar with spoiled fruit and vinegar. That and vacuum cleaner.

Oh, Gixx -- try the vacuum cleaner.

[rainbowgardener]

Check out this thread we did on fly control last summer; there are some really good suggestions.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=91780&highlight=flies#91780

Somebody with the fly problem HAS to try HG's method at the bottom of the page and let me know if it really works.

I'm in the city, no horses, no cows, no flies... (well maybe one here and there, but not to be a problem)

[Dixana]

I can't anything about just a bag of water, but a plastic bag with one or two shiny pennies repels flies. To them it looks something like a spider web, they avoid them.
Hanging them in doorways helps keep them out if you don't mind every person who sees asking about it and/or thinking you're nuts.

[gixxerific]

RBG I did the bag of water trick last year when that post was in motion.

I hung it outside my door in the garage where they are always bad. It didn't seem to work as a matter of fact it is still hanging there. Flys and and all.

[Dixana]

It's pennies AND water. A sandwhich sized baggie with a shiny penny, then half filled with water.
Staple it in the doorways......and I should have just edited my other post....coffee!

[rainbowgardener]

Have you tried this part?


A vinegar and water spray is said to repel flies. Spray it on your window and door screens to help keep flies out of the house and around your deck or patio or where ever you like to hang out.

[Sage Hermit]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DZiTACprhE]Venus Flystrap[/url]