Dealing with flies and gnats...

[01rangerxl]

We have a serious fly and gnat problem in my house, and I'm running out of ideas. There are three 22 year old guys living here, but we are not nasty. The house is clean...counters wiped down with Clorox wipes, dirty dishes in the dishwasher (not the sink), floors mopped with antibacterial cleaner, trash taken out, etc. It's really not nasty. We keep doors and windows closed as much as possible, especially now that it is hot, but the fly problem is only getting worse.

I bought the sticky fly strips, and they seem to avoid them. We are lucky to catch a few gnats on them, but the flies won't even land on them. I also had fly adhesive things on the windows, which did kind of work, but has not been a total solution.

What's even worse is that these are highly aggressive flies. They don't just buzz around windows and trash. They will follow you around the house, and don't even think about getting out food in the kitchen.

Any ideas?

 

[CourierDriver]

CLOSE ALL DOORS, SEAL ALL DOORS, DONT GO HOME, LEAVE TOWN AND GET A MOTEL. h**L, who knows, I grew up in the south, we ate flies in our hamburgers, and watermelon, its summertime guys, get a grip,,,ps,,are u all taking showers,,lol,,,dont take me seriouly, but take me somewhere.....lol,,,this was fun, only kidding,,stay cool.

 

[bigmike]

 

[01rangerxl]

I grew up in the South too, but seriously, we have Africanized killer flies or something that are highly aggressive and apparently hatching in the house because as soon as you kill one, three more show up. Everyone showers regularly, so I'm at a loss.

 

[IndyIan]

Well it sounds like they aren't breeding in your house(although doing a thorough search might find a breeding ground...), so they are getting in somewhere, probably around a door or window so you'll have to do some scouting on which one and seal it up. I guess there are all sorts of UV light flytraps but they cost a bit and I'd rather not have new ones come in all the time.

 

[Billbert]

A few years ago I purchased a package of 6 ultrasonic bug repellers due to a spider infestation, now we hardly have any flies at all- apparently the repellers really work

 

[SuperDave456]

Has anything died in your chimney?

When I was a kid we had an issue one summer with HUGE horse flies that hurt when they bit you. Turns out there was a dead squirrel in the chimney and as the maggots grew they would fall through the flu and turn into those big black flies.

Also, try treating around the foundation of your house with the recommended dosage of a spray based insecticide in case they are getting in from outside.

Finally ask yourself, "If their is nothing inside they want, then why are they coming in? "

 

[01rangerxl]

The only thing that might be attracting them is the trash can by the garage entrance. I'm going to move it and see if that helps. We're also going to bug bomb the house tomorrow to kill the ones already inside.

 

[river_rat]

Go to a commercial kitchen supplier...most are open to the public. See what they got.

 

[Gary Allan]

Invite spiders next season. Cultivate some decent web sites and you'll be (mostly) flying bug free. Web site development takes on a whole new meaning. Self regenerating. Self maintained.

Get bat roosts for the outside. Stealth nighttime death from above.

Finally, a purple martin house for a daylight defensive umbrella.


Three rings of protection.

 

[Scotty1981]

THey may be coming in through the attic somehow Id get up there and see if there are any holes you can screen over.

 

[santov]

I'm in California, and our bug problem isn't nearly as severe as what lives mid-west or back east. I watch Billy the Exterminator and I'm horrified at what he encounters.

I used to have wasps that would build nests on the corner of the screens. But during the summer with the window open they'd manage to crawl on the inside of the screen and buzz around the room. I solved that problem by bleaching the [censored] out of the window frame and using a screwdriver to clean all the mud the nest left behind. Then I used a pressure washer from the outside to clean the stucco really well and rinse the bleach off. They haven't been back since.

I bought a bird feeder for the backyard, but one evening I saw a rat walking along the top of the fence, so I never filled up the feeder again since I didn't want to attract rodents. A few months later we had a funky moth infestation. At night they'd buzz around the indoor kitchen lights, the TV and always seem to land in my dinner plate. They even started to build cocoons in the corners of the rooms. A few weeks later realized I had the remainder of the 20lb wild bird seed bag stored in the garage that I forgot all about. When I pulled the bag of the shelf a grey cloud of them came out, even more when I opened the bag.

They were being sucked up by the furnace ducting and distributed everywhere!!!

I bug bombed the garage with a double dose (move out any cars). There must have been literally hundreds of dead ones when it was over. I vacuumed the entire garage too and sucked up about 30 dead black widows too. Gives me the heebie-jeebies thinking about how much time I spent in the garage without getting bit.

Now I spray around the house every few weeks. I buy the cheap gallon jugs ($8) of insect killer at home depot and pour it into a $20 garden sprayer. A gallon will allows me to completely cover the entire permiter of the house foundation, around all the doors and windows, and around the garbage cans about 4 times, so I get good value, especially compared to an exterminator who charges $70 a month.

I did have a few gnats that were in the kitchen, but it seems like them came with some Kiwis that were overripe. Got rid of the kiwis and bleached the heck out of the kitchen counters and they haven't been back.

I'd start by killing any existing bug population by bug bombing the house, garage, and attic. Then prevention by keeping door and windows closed (or installing/repairing screens). Spraying the perimiter of the house with insect killer. Keep indoor plants outside since bugs like the water in the pots. And keep fruits and vegetables in the fridge. The fruit will last longer and be pest free. Also consider unsed drains in the house (our upstairs hallway bath never gets used). Pour some bleach down the sink and tub drain since those water traps can be a breeding ground for nasties.

Good luck!

 

[doitmyself]

Maybe a Big Stinky is in your future, set outdoors to attract them away from the house. Kind of gross to empty!

 

[saberz]

Listen, your problem is easy to fix. You ever hear of the campers trick to sleeping in a tent?

Go find yourself some spiders and they will do the trick. When the fly infestation is nipped in the butt you can evac the spidey's.

That ,or you can have your crew dedicate 1 full day of fly swatting. I am sure the 3 of you can kill them all in a days time. Make a game out of it, Ninja attack those SOBS!.


If all else fails:

 

[bigmike]

I've got tons of lizards that keep just about anything small removed from the surroundings. Hawks keep the rodents, moles, etc. away.

I leave Mr. Miyagi to handle the flies.

 

[01rangerxl]

I'm going to have to convince my roommates to stop squashing the spiders then. Spiders don't bother me all that much, so I usually leave them alone, but as soon as my roommates see them, they usually kill them.

I bought some Ortho Home Defense Max today and treated the outside and some of the inside of the house. I also got up in the attic and sprayed in there. I think a lot of them probably are/were getting in from the attic. There's a vent up there, and I can see light coming in around the eaves.