Anyone else plagued with flies at the moment?

[NDA]

A couple of my windows look like something from the The Amityville Horror today - I've had a few days like this. Not 20 or so, more like 100 or so.

Not an issue as they can be let out, I have no idea how they're getting in - clean house, clean bins etc etc

[Monkeylegend]

We have loads of Crane Flies but no house flies.

[Richard-390a0]

Sounds like you need to get rid of that body in the attic! As above Crane Flies / Daddy Long Legs are this weeks daily pest!

[Muppet007]

Yup, some kind of Marsh Fly I believe.
Loads of the buggers.

[MBVitoria]

We like to keep the back door open for the dog so normally spend the summer chasing flies out of the house but this year we've gone for a string door curtain, hardly any big flies have come in, it's ace.

[ARHarh]

On warm days this time of year we used to get 1000's of cluster flies, tied everything from insecticide bombs, through zappers to sticky paper strips. Nothing worked. About 3 years ago I started to hoover them up on the days it got really bad, hovered up thousands the first year. The next year we had less, last year even fewer. This year, year 4 we have not seen many at all. So just hoover them up when you see them after a few years the population will drop.

[NDA]

I have been busy hoovering up the ones that I can't let out. No idea where they're coming from though - very odd.

[Jamescrs]

Very strangely I noticed a number of very small flies in the house last night, very rare at this time of year

[NDA]

It must be the fly equivalent of the Last Chance Saloon when there's a sunny day. It's the most bizarre thing to see so many of them - you naturally assume there must be some hidden pit of maggots or something.

[ARHarh]

NDA said:

I have been busy hoovering up the ones that I can't let out. No idea where they're coming from though - very odd.

If they are cluster files like mine. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/hom...

[wyson]

Something died in your loft or inside a cavity wall?

I had a fly infestation when the pest control man came and baited the loft. Started seeing random maggots, they turned into pupae then just loads of flys. Trouble is, you can try cleaning them up, but they get into all sorts of areas in the house you can’t access. Was a right pain for a while, I guess whatever died turned to skin and bones, then they abated.

[NDA]

ARHarh said:

If they are cluster files like mine. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/hom...

"They will cause some spotting and staining with fly vomit and excreta"

Hahaaha - that's nice.

Yes, they are almost certainly the same and they're plaguing the south facing windows.

[ARHarh]

NDA said:

ARHarh said:

If they are cluster files like mine. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/hom...

"They will cause some spotting and staining with fly vomit and excreta"

Hahaaha - that's nice.

Yes, they are almost certainly the same and they're plaguing the south facing windows.

They do poo a lot, need to clean the windows and frames often. Little black dots a mm or less in diameter. The good thing is cluster files are easy to hoover up as they don't fly off like house flies do. And if you have south facing rooms you don't use often check them, as it comes as quite a shock when enter a room and it is almost completely full of flies. Spent 30 minutes one year just hovering them up in the spare room.

[Actual]

At a previous house in early autumn we had a couple of outbreaks of cluster flies in the loft. I don't know if they were always in the loft or came into the nice warm space though the roof vents. They would drop into the house though the loft hatch gaps. I could take care of them easily by using fly spray in the loft and a vacuum.

How long have you lived in the house as this could happen every year?

[Evanivitch]

Was big issue in Bridgend recently and has happened in previous years. Not sure if it's entirely natural event.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqxjx0z2ldlo

[119]

Nope, and we live in the middle of nowhere.

Maybe they can’t be bothered to travel this far.

[Jez m]

Yes! They come down the chimney.. discovered this recently as one of our cats is a very proficient fly catcher and worked out where they were coming from, sitting patiently waiting for his next victim to appear!

[otolith]

I was advised that cleaning the inside of the window frames and rubbing them with citronella oil will stop cluster flies coming back.

Didn't seem to make much difference, to be honest.

[ARHarh]

otolith said:

I was advised that cleaning the inside of the window frames and rubbing them with citronella oil will stop cluster flies coming back.

Didn't seem to make much difference, to be honest.

I was also told something like this. I was told to open windows and remove all the hibernating flies from the window frames, there weren't any.

Cluster flies are not attracted to rotting flesh like normal flies so the normal way to kill flies does not work. Even leaving food in front of them does not attract them.

[Evanivitch]

otolith said:

I was advised that cleaning the inside of the window frames and rubbing them with citronella oil will stop cluster flies coming back.

Didn't seem to make much difference, to be honest.

I did Raid spray...