Where are the freaking house flies coming from?

[TexasBushwhacker]

Garbage is taken out and litter boxes are cleaned daily. No science experiments in the fridge. Are they just slipping in when I open the door? Is there a non toxic way of getting rid of them, other than a fly swatter?

[EarlG]

1. That happened to me once

The answer was a trapped rat that had somehow gotten through an old cracked pipe in the basement, became stuck in a crawl space and died. Is there a funky smell accompanying the flies by any chance?

[Kali]

2. flies are one thing I will recomment sticky traps for

old style - kind of nasty to handle and deal with, but cheap







I prefer these

[PADemD]

3. Non Toxic Spray

One tablespoon of Dawn dish washing liquid to one cup of water in a small spray bottle. One squirt will take down any flying insect and no odor.

We're getting them here in PA, too.

[840high]

4. Great tip. It works.

[NJCher]

5. sorry I didn't see this until now

I think I have the answer for you. There is a certain type of fly that builds its nest in the ground around the base of your house. Starting in the spring, you'll get about one or two flies a day. Kill them, next day there are another one or two. Near mid-summer, like July 15, it will end.

Somehow they get into your house. I wish I knew how.

I have this problem myself and have had it the last three years. It is driving me crazy. Also, it is hard to find info on it. I did find an explanation and saved it but I can't find it now, as I have had numerous computer hard drive problems over the last year. I tried finding it again, but to no avail. I still keep searching, and if I find it, I'll post back.



Cher

[arachadillo]

6. More on Flies

I had a similar problem, however the flies were not coming in from the outside when the door opened. They just popped up in large numbers. When I tried to figure out what was going on, I realized that there are so many different fly species that pinpointing the specific problem to solve was hard.

They could have been drain flies, if there was a drainage problem somewhere in the immediate vicinity. They could have been cluster flies, they are like house files, but a little bit larger. Sometimes they gain access to houses through any opening to the outdoors such as cracks in exterior etc, or the door opening. They lay eggs in baseboards, window areas, etc, and they keep emerging multiple times per season, so it's not a matter of taking out the garbage consistently, they are already in their development stage.

Best thing to do to remedy the situation is first figure out which particular species you're dealing with and go from there.
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