Log in

View Full Version : Flies, Flies and more Flies


zzvictoria
Sep 8, 2011, 07:31 AM
Please please help me!

About 3 days ago, I noticed two flies. I killed them and when I woke up, there was 10 more. I killed those and when I came home from work, there are 25. They are multiplying faster then I can count.

I put about 20 fly catchers all around the house, however, they are still multiplying and not landing on the catchers.

What should I do? How can I eliminate them? I cannot sleep! All of my free time is spent on killing flies!

There is no food, trash or fungi that I could find.

odinn7
Sep 8, 2011, 07:59 AM
What kind of flies? Are they tiny fruit flies or the larger black house flies?

zzvictoria
Sep 8, 2011, 08:18 AM
Larger black and green house flies.

odinn7
Sep 8, 2011, 08:39 AM
Just keep smashing them as you see them. It probably started from a fly laying eggs on something in your house. There might be more efficient ways to do this but I went through the same thing a while ago... took 2 or 3 days to kill them off but that was the end of it.

Aurora_Bell
Sep 13, 2011, 10:51 AM
Raid, Raid and more Raid. I used to keep my compost bin close to my front steps, bad decision on my part, but I used to get infested with flies as soon as I would open up my front door. The only thing that worked, and still works is Raid. I spray my entire house before I leave and when I come home all I have to do is vacuum up the bodies. Of course I have to wash cupboards, and any other utensils left out.

odinn7
Sep 13, 2011, 02:44 PM
Raid makes a mess! I can't believe you put yourself through that!

Aurora_Bell
Sep 13, 2011, 03:42 PM
Hehe I don't mind, as long as it kills them DEAD!

J_9
Sep 13, 2011, 03:51 PM
I pay my boy 20 cents each to kill them... the house stays fly free and he works for his allowance! :p

gnahcd
Sep 16, 2011, 09:32 PM
I suspect you may be seeing green (or blue) bottle flies. Has something died under or around your house? Is it time to take out the trash? Bottle fly maggots eat dead things, and poop, and can infest trash. Since they are so closely associated with wet garbage, these types of flies can spread germs.

Since the onset was so sudden, a mouse or other unmentionable, may have died under the house/in the wall, you threw out a raw steak in the garbage, or there may be, (hope not), a sewer line break, and the flies are getting into the house through the heating grate, or windows, etc.

Get rid of the dead thing, or when the garbage gets picked up, or once whatever they are eating is all gone... and eventually, after the adults flies die, you won't see them anymore.

Raid will kill the adult flies, but you hope you don't have to go that far. Find and control the source, what the maggots are eating, and the control will be more permanent.

A professional pest control company can help or take a sample to your local ag agent for ID.

Of course, the flies buzzing around inside the house are not pleasant. First of all keep them out, with screens on windows or doors if needed. Take the trash out. Use garbage bags. Keep the trash cans covered, and at the end of the driveway away from the house.

I'm not sure this will work to get rid of the adult flies in the house... but these flies are attracted to light. So on a sunny day, close the drapes on all the windows where they are flying and open the door. Honest, they might migrate to the outside. But, do try to get whatever they are eating out of or away from the house. Until then, a fly swatter will work, until you tire of swinging it.


Here are some references:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7457.html#GARBAGE
http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/health_issues/tactics_detail.cfm?pest_code=N
http://www.orkin.com/flies/bottle-flies/
http://www.orkin.com/flies/bottle-flies/green-bottle-fly
http://www.orkin.com/flies/bottle-flies/blue-bottle-flies-in-the-home

This answer is assuming a correct ID from very limited information. Submitting a sample to an authority is the only true diagnosis.