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flies and ladybird problem


osie

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Each year we have a house fly and ladybird infestiation during this period and I would like to find a solution.

We have a pidgeonaire as a bathroom with an uninsulated roof(which means any little creatures could slip through the roof tiles).  There is a false plastic ceiling with insulation resting on it.  In the room itself are lots of windows.

I have tried to close the gaps between the false ceiling and the walls to stop anthing coming through but with not much luck. 

I am not too sure if the insects are coming through from the gap between the false ceiling (but I think so), or between the windows and wooden window structures.

Last year it worked but this year there are loads of them.

I am not sure if the flies come due to the heat of the windows or if they are born in the loft and hatch.

Is there a product that goes between a plastic false ceiling and the wooden supports.  Is there a spray/bomb that rids all fly pupae.

Thanks in advance

Osie

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Let me tell you a little story from somebody who really can't stand flies especially when I am having my siesta wearing my shorts and they keep landing on my legs and waking me up.

When Mrs Q and I lived on a canal boat in the UK for a couple of years with our two cats and our dog we had a fly problem. Mrs Q said there must be a dead mouse or something in the galley behind the units. After much 'conversation' along the lines of her not being silly I eventually gave up and stripped out most of the galley and sure enough there was a dead mouse.

When we moved to SW France (12 years ago now) we had the same problem the first summer. Mrs Q said it is another dead mouse or worse. This time no 'debate' and I started ripping out the fitted kitchen and no dead bodies were to be found. I put the whole lot back and what with having spent all day at it we went across to the local Auberge for evening dinner. There were more flies there than in my house. I was telling the owner about my 'bad' day and he told me it was perfectly normal and there was indeed a 'fly season' and there was little or nothing you can do about it. I then started to notice there were loads of flies every place and hose you went, even in the supermarket.

Now if you notice your local supermarket will have loads of sprays etc for killing flies at a certain time of the year which normally change to ant stuff when their 'season' starts. So there is a definite 'fly season' with the exception of this year and the change in weather which seems to have created about two or three for some reason.

The best answer I have found are these circular stick on discs (four to a packet) you buy in the supermarkets. I stick these at the top of the windows in the centre, one disc, one window, same with the patio doors. Don't have a clue what is on them but the fly touches them 10 to 15 minutes later it is dead. The biggest problem is that they are so good that every morning in every room we have them you have to go round and sweep a shed load of dead flies under the window.

I have tried sprays, these 'vent' things which are similar to air fresheners and even tried those sticky spiral things but by far the best solution has been these disks. They won't get every fly but they do cut the quantities down significantly.

So no it's not you, its not something nasty in your house, it is the 'fly season' and this year the c has just made it spread on and off over the summer.

Hope that helps.

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Hi Quillan..

It is good to know it is not only me..  I forgot to mention that alive or dead is not really a problem for me as in fact by the next day they are all dead anyway except with the odd one which I chase around with henry the hover(they dont stand much chance and in fact I think they see it as a game).

I am sure there is no dead creature and I have in the past ventured into the roof space, which is horribly dusty but flyless.

They love the windows and in fact if I leave the window open they dont come in. It must be the heat and reflection.

My problem is probably the minute spaces they find or have burried to get in and how to seal them all off.  I used the expansion foam but evidently they have still found ways in.

Inspiration moment: Maybe the circular disks might work on the outside of the window.

Thanks

Osie

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You will end up being carted off to the funny farm with this if you are not careful. Even in rooms where we have permanent flyscreens on the windows they still appear, where they come from or how they get in I have no idea. Believe me we have tried everything over the years and it will drive you mad unless you accept that this is how it is and move on.
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We seem to have had a plague of flies this year ..our greniere is like the fly 'killing fields' with corpses a plenty (yuk)

I can handle the odd fly but have good reason to live in fear of the mosquito. I seem to be very allergic to mosquito bites and if I get one chances are it will end up in a sore which lasts weeks ..I have one on my arm which has just healed leaving a scar from a bite at Easter!..Anything resembling a mosquito in my house gets squished...it's the law! This year I have noticed a lot of 'mosquito like' flies which when squished leave a stain like ash ..very black and nneeds to be cleaned quickly. I love France aat this time of year and I guess it's all the insects which allow the impressive displays from flocks of starlings picking up where the swallows left off..Discs for windows are on the shopping list ..what are they called?
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[quote user="BIG MAC"].Discs for windows are on the shopping list ..what are they called?[/quote]

I don't have any packets left now but you won't miss them at the next fly season when you go to the supermarket. Do remember to wash your hands after sticking them up as it is not just flies they kill, they kill just about every insect that comes in to touch with them and have been none to have a mild effect on some humans. They last for ages as well, much longer than they say on the box.

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Lots of ladybirds around, it's the most I've seen this year. Re. flies, you probably have cluster fly (google it) and it will be nigh on impossible to remove unless you use a 'bombe' from the bricolage stores. They're about 20euros or so each, from memory, and shut all windows and open all internal doors. Depending on size of your house do one or two per floor, and on each floor. We put one in the basement, one in the main living area and one in the loft (tip, light them from the top floor down otherwise you will get smoked out) and went out for the day. When we returned the floors were full of dead flies and bugs which was very satisfying but took a long time to clean (another tip: cover your bed and furniture with old sheets otherwise you will have to clean those!).

Now for garden flies (and again, it's been a bad season for those) I'd recommend Red Top Fly Catchers. Google that, you can get from the UK, about £10 each and worth every single penny. Do NOT buy the imitation ones from those bricolage vans, they fall apart easily and don't work. Put the Red Tops around the garden in strategic places, at least 20 feet FROM the house because they stink, seriously stink! But they are incredibly effective and hold up to 50,000 flies and attract them easily. They made a huge difference to our enjoyment of the garden. I buy 10 each year and start putting them in the garden from April, and change them every 10-12 weeks.

Re. discs on windows and those fly strips you hang from the ceilings, you can buy those from supermarkets but they won't work outside. The sunshine on the glue will harden it within a few hours so they're best put indoors.

As you can see I'm a bit of an insect expert, not by choice, but living in the countryside means we do get a lot of flies here. Someone told me "oh you live in the Lot-et-Garonne ... you must have a fly problem" because of all the fruit trees and countryside. And, as somebody has said, there is a 'season' ... just look at the supermarket displays and how quickly the shelves empty of insect products!
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I checked and they are indeed cluster flies.  There is a website http://www.clusterflies.co.uk which can sort them out but as it is an aerosol will not ship to france.  They have one product that you ignite but I can imagine I would burn the house down.

I will check mrbricolage tomorrow to see if I can find a similar product.

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+1 for the discs you put in the window (I think the ones I us are made by Bayer), they really work and scooping up some flies in the morning is no great hardship

From memory they contain Pyrethroid (plus presumably a stabiliser) which act on the nervous system of insects.

A point to note is that they are extremely poisonous to  fish (eg in an aquarium) and cats so a little care needed.

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Well from what you say I'm inclined to try those disks again next year. Tried them a couple years ago and they didn't seem to do squat. They were in south facing windows so maybe the sun got to them. I must admit the smelly things that attract them in the garden (like nectarine said) were a great success. I bought them in Super U but the plastic disintegrated this year after 2 seasons.

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We had a problem with ants and flies in our mobile home a year back and bought one of those 'bombs' that you place in the central area, open all the internal doors, close windows and outside doors then light and depart quickly. You leave it for a couple of hours then vent the place properly. Killed just about everything, ants, spiders, flies etc. it took us a good hour to sweep up all the dead bodies afterwards. We were clear of everything for a few days then the flies came back but the ants and spiders never did.
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  • 4 months later...
Well... 3 months down the line and I am none the wiser.  well, a bit.  I am fairly adamant they come from inbetween the opening of the windows.

I bought a seal that can be put around windows but that has not had much effect.  I have put masking tape round all the windows but I could swear I see the odd few slide from under the masking tape.

There are occasions when only lady birds find a hole big enough but after a few days some flies manage to get in too.

btw: there was another window in another builiding that was left ajar all winter and there were hundreds in the door frame, brick work.. all over the place... One spray can of fly killer and they are now, no more.

So my guess... is that they are coming through the gaps in the window(although there are no gaps), and gaps between the window frame and window(where there may be tiny hidden gaps)... and there are alot as they are all asleep in the roof space.  I should bomb the roof space but it is a bit tricky to access.... and be now I am hoping they all disappear soon anyway till next autumn.

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