8 replies to this topic

[rightwingknot]

For the last week, we have had a tremendous problem with flies in our kitchen. They seem to congregate on the two kitchen, west-facing windows of the downstairs. Each day we return from work there about 50 or so flies sitting there....waiting....knowing their presence pisses me off. I manage to kill or coax them out the window. Then their cousins are back the next day.

We keep a very clean kitchen/home. I haven't a clue where or why this is. HELP!

Any help or suggestions are most welcome!

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Do they seem to fit the description of cluster flies?

http://www.bugclinic.../clusterfly.htm

[rightwingknot]

Do they seem to fit the description of cluster flies?

http://www.bugclinic.../clusterfly.htm

Their wings definitely do not overlap when they rest so I am pretty confident they are not cluster flies. They really seem like regular house flies.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

I wonder why they're congregating at your window and I wonder where they're coming from. They don't like the scent of cloves, so you may want to try sprinkling ground cloves in the track of your window. That may keep them away from the window, but you still have to figure out whether they're multiplying in the house and/or how they're getting in.

[rightwingknot]

I wonder why they're congregating at your window and I wonder where they're coming from. They don't like the scent of cloves, so you may want to try sprinkling ground cloves in the track of your window. That may keep them away from the window, but you still have to figure out whether they're multiplying in the house and/or how they're getting in.

Thanks. Good suggestion. I'll give it a try.

[Bill Z]

you still have to figure out whether they're multiplying in the house and/or how they're getting in.

ditto on the above, even when I had outside dogs (a known fly attractant), we rarely had flies in the house, and when we did, we always knew pretty much when we were the guilty ones for opening the door and letting them get in.

After a an hour or so of leaving a couple of fly swatters in close reach, we could usually end their annoying buzz.

So unless you do something like air your house out at night with open windows and faulty screens, then the question is, are they breeding inside (not very likely unless you got something rotten indoors) ot they have a small access hole to get in. Windows & sliding glass doors would be my first inspection point. Regular wooden doors would be my second.

[Revolutionist]

ditto on the above, even when I had outside dogs (a known fly attractant), we rarely had flies in the house, and when we did, we always knew pretty much when we were the guilty ones for opening the door and letting them get in.

After a an hour or so of leaving a couple of fly swatters in close reach, we could usually end their annoying buzz.

So unless you do something like air your house out at night with open windows and faulty screens, then the question is, are they breeding inside (not very likely unless you got something rotten indoors) ot they have a small access hole to get in. Windows & sliding glass doors would be my first inspection point. Regular wooden doors would be my second.

next check the skeletons in the closet that are still not quite skeletons....

[rightwingknot]

ditto on the above, even when I had outside dogs (a known fly attractant), we rarely had flies in the house, and when we did, we always knew pretty much when we were the guilty ones for opening the door and letting them get in.

After a an hour or so of leaving a couple of fly swatters in close reach, we could usually end their annoying buzz.

So unless you do something like air your house out at night with open windows and faulty screens, then the question is, are they breeding inside (not very likely unless you got something rotten indoors) ot they have a small access hole to get in. Windows & sliding glass doors would be my first inspection point. Regular wooden doors would be my second.

Thanks. It's probably the weep holes in these darn old window. They are not very efficient at all. However, I think I found the breeding area which turned out to be at the base of the sliding glass door. There seemed to be a buildup of dirt there that I never saw because it was behind the blinds. About 20+ flies seemed to be in the vicinity. I bleached it and cleaned it out. Now, like Bill Z says, I keep the fly swatter handy and the numbers seem to be subsiding. We'll see tomorrow. Strange though that they only came out mainly at dusk at the west facing windows. Oh well.

Thanks for the tips all!

[Toadster]

I cut the tops off several plastic water bottles and invert the tops into the lower portions, forming a funnel. I put about 2 inches of apple cider vinegar in each bottle with 1/4 teaspoon of sugar. Almost all flies, no matter their normal food preference, will enter the trap