Return of the flies(GW)

Ugh, about a year or so ago, I wrote about how flies invaded my
apartment. I'm not talking one or two, I'm talking like TEN at
minimum Still can't figure out how they are getting through screened
window, can't find a hole anywhere.

I used the same trick last year of turning off the lights and putting
a lamp on the patio and then stirring up the flies in hope they'll fly
toward the light.

That has worked....kinda. everytime i get out three or four, I'll
turn on the lights and then end up seeing at least two more.

I've killed about five today using things from a towel to my employee
handbook from my clinic.

Last year I broke a lampshade in the process. This year, I had chased
out a bunch of flies using the lamp technique. I didn't want them to
come back inside so I shut the sliding door.....right onto the
electrical cord plugged inside.

There was a pop and the lamp went out. i tried to turn on the other
lights and found i had blown a breaker. *sigh* one visit to the fuse
box and lights were back on.

BF laughed at me for several minutes and keeps telling me i'm really
gonna break something.

he doesn't seem to get it....I HATE flies...I hate them buzzing in my
kitchen, I hate them buzzing around my lamps and in front of my
face...ARGH!!!

I'm looking in vain for my electrical bug zapper. It's shaped like a
tennis racket.

I had one, but now I can't seem to find it. I might have to go to
Target or something and try to find another one.

Oh and the cats, who usually LOVE chasing flies, are totally oblivious
to them buzzing around. All they know is Meowmie is suddenly waving
things around and breaking things.

ugh....


Kristi

Mischief wrote:
Ugh, about a year or so ago, I wrote about how flies invaded my
apartment. I'm not talking one or two, I'm talking like TEN at
minimum Still can't figure out how they are getting through screened
window, can't find a hole anywhere.

I used the same trick last year of turning off the lights and putting
a lamp on the patio and then stirring up the flies in hope they'll fly
toward the light.

That has worked....kinda. everytime i get out three or four, I'll
turn on the lights and then end up seeing at least two more.

I've killed about five today using things from a towel to my employee
handbook from my clinic.

Last year I broke a lampshade in the process. This year, I had chased
out a bunch of flies using the lamp technique. I didn't want them to
come back inside so I shut the sliding door.....right onto the
electrical cord plugged inside.

There was a pop and the lamp went out. i tried to turn on the other
lights and found i had blown a breaker. *sigh* one visit to the fuse
box and lights were back on.

BF laughed at me for several minutes and keeps telling me i'm really
gonna break something.

he doesn't seem to get it....I HATE flies...I hate them buzzing in my
kitchen, I hate them buzzing around my lamps and in front of my
face...ARGH!!!

I'm looking in vain for my electrical bug zapper. It's shaped like a
tennis racket.

I had one, but now I can't seem to find it. I might have to go to
Target or something and try to find another one.

Oh and the cats, who usually LOVE chasing flies, are totally oblivious
to them buzzing around. All they know is Meowmie is suddenly waving
things around and breaking things.

ugh....


Kristi

Hi Kristi,

I use the vacuum cleaner to get them. I plug the hose after sucking one
(or more)in, so they can't fly back out. I also have one of those 2
gallon wet vacs - I put a bit of water in the bottom, so when the
buggers are sucked in, they drown.

Good luck!
Mishi

"Mischief" wrote in message
...
Ugh, about a year or so ago, I wrote about how flies invaded my
apartment. I'm not talking one or two, I'm talking like TEN at
minimum Still can't figure out how they are getting through screened
window, can't find a hole anywhere.

I used the same trick last year of turning off the lights and putting
a lamp on the patio and then stirring up the flies in hope they'll fly
toward the light.

That has worked....kinda. everytime i get out three or four, I'll
turn on the lights and then end up seeing at least two more.

I've killed about five today using things from a towel to my employee
handbook from my clinic.

Last year I broke a lampshade in the process. This year, I had chased
out a bunch of flies using the lamp technique. I didn't want them to
come back inside so I shut the sliding door.....right onto the
electrical cord plugged inside.

There was a pop and the lamp went out. i tried to turn on the other
lights and found i had blown a breaker. *sigh* one visit to the fuse
box and lights were back on.

BF laughed at me for several minutes and keeps telling me i'm really
gonna break something.

he doesn't seem to get it....I HATE flies...I hate them buzzing in my
kitchen, I hate them buzzing around my lamps and in front of my
face...ARGH!!!

I'm looking in vain for my electrical bug zapper. It's shaped like a
tennis racket.

I had one, but now I can't seem to find it. I might have to go to
Target or something and try to find another one.

Oh and the cats, who usually LOVE chasing flies, are totally oblivious
to them buzzing around. All they know is Meowmie is suddenly waving
things around and breaking things.


Are they big flies or those crappy little fruit flies? I wouldn't know how
to get rid of the big ones without spraying, but you can set traps for the
fruit flies. We've had lots of those this summer, practically every time we
brought new fruit into the house. Very frustrating.


--
Theresa and Dante

Stinky Forever: http://pets.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh

Am 11.08.2009 schrieb Mischief:

I used the same trick last year of turning off the lights and putting
a lamp on the patio and then stirring up the flies in hope they'll fly
toward the light.

In case of fly-invasion I use the vacuum cleaner to get rid of them:-)
I remove the brush from it and use the tube only.

Purrs to you from
Inge and the catgang

--
CatManiacs World: http://www.gwsystems.com/inge

Kreisleriana wrote:

Are they big flies or those crappy little fruit flies? I wouldn't know how
to get rid of the big ones without spraying, but you can set traps for the
fruit flies. We've had lots of those this summer, practically every time we
brought new fruit into the house. Very frustrating.

I've been getting a lot of fruit flies, too. In my case, it's partially
my fault - I don't empty the compost pail often enough. On the other
hand, to completely avoid getting them, I'd have to empty it every other
day, and I'm just not that motivated.

Agreed about the traps. Here's how to make one, for anyone who has a
fruit fly infestation. They *love* vinegar. So what I do is take a small
(clean) jar, and pour about 1 inch (2.54cm) of white vinegar into it.
Sometimes I'll add a bit of apple cider or balsamic vinegar to give it
a stronger smell (but not much - I don't want to waste the good stuff).
Then I take a piece of plastic wrap (cellophane? Saran wrap? Don't know
what it's called in other places), place it over the top of the jar, and
pull it taut. Then I secure the plastic in place with a small elastic
around the jar. You have to make sure it's taut across the top.

Then, with the end of a paper clip (or other small, sharp pointy thing),
poke small holes in the plastic wrap. Not too close together, or you might
end up making one big hole (in which case, you'd have to start over). Make
6-8 little holes. I like to wiggle the paper clip end around just a little
to make the hole slightly bigger than the initial puncture hole.

Then just leave it out wherever the fruit fly hotspot is. They *will* go
into the jar, attracted by the vinegar smell. But they will not be able
to get out (because, basically, they're too stupid to find the holes again
to get out). And they drown in the vinegar. I guess as a way to die,
drowning in your favorite substance isn't the absolute *worst* way to go.
That's my justification, anyway.

Joyce

--
Who ever thought up the word "Mammogram"? Every time I hear it, I
think I'm supposed to put my breast in an envelope and send it to
someone. -- Jan King

On Aug 11, 12:38*pm, Inge Grotjahn wrote:
Am 11.08.2009 schrieb Mischief:

I used the same trick last year of turning off the lights and putting
a lamp on the patio and then stirring up the flies in hope they'll fly
toward the light.

In case of fly-invasion I use the vacuum cleaner to get rid of them:-)
I remove the brush from it and use the tube only.

Purrs to you from
Inge and the catgang

--
CatManiacs World:http://www.gwsystems.com/inge

I thought of the vacuum but they always seem to run away before i can
suck them up.

I'm ticked I couldn't find the electrical bug zapper but I found the
next best thing.

I dug in my closet and found in a box of my childhood things.

My old rubber band gun.

Great for zapping your siblings from across the room, or pests at
medium extreme close range. I killed many a spider on the ceiling in
my youth.

My dad got four when I was young one fore each of us kids and one for
him. For a long time he'd even keep his in the kitchen for those
pesky flies.

Oh and these are the usual house flies. Big, black and icky.

Before I found it I found about six of them in my bathroom when I got
home. One dishrag wrapped like a rat tail and flies were stunned and
then flushed down to watery grave.

but now I have my trusty rubber band gun. Complete with clicker for
multi-shots, muhahahaha

Now if I can just find more than ONE rubber band in this place.

Kristi

ps. Checked every open window, none of the screens have holes. Still
stumped as to where they are coming in from.

"Mischief" wrote in message
...
On Aug 11, 12:38 pm, Inge Grotjahn wrote:
Am 11.08.2009 schrieb Mischief:

I used the same trick last year of turning off the lights and
putting
a lamp on the patio and then stirring up the flies in hope
they'll fly
toward the light.

In case of fly-invasion I use the vacuum cleaner to get rid of
them:-)
I remove the brush from it and use the tube only.

Purrs to you from
Inge and the catgang

--
CatManiacs World:http://www.gwsystems.com/inge

I thought of the vacuum but they always seem to run away before i
can
suck them up.

I'm ticked I couldn't find the electrical bug zapper but I found the
next best thing.

I dug in my closet and found in a box of my childhood things.

My old rubber band gun.

Great for zapping your siblings from across the room, or pests at
medium extreme close range. I killed many a spider on the ceiling
in
my youth.

My dad got four when I was young one fore each of us kids and one
for
him. For a long time he'd even keep his in the kitchen for those
pesky flies.

Oh and these are the usual house flies. Big, black and icky.

Before I found it I found about six of them in my bathroom when I
got
home. One dishrag wrapped like a rat tail and flies were stunned
and
then flushed down to watery grave.

but now I have my trusty rubber band gun. Complete with clicker for
multi-shots, muhahahaha

Now if I can just find more than ONE rubber band in this place.

Kristi

ps. Checked every open window, none of the screens have holes.
Still
stumped as to where they are coming in from.\\

They can get in almost anywhere. Even around the entry door if it
doesn't have a tight seal. They will come in through our fireplace!

We are fortunate that they are attracted to light and that draws
them to either the kitchen window or the bathroom.

We even get desperate and use the Raid flying insect killer..

Kayla, bless her catches and eats flies that don't get out of her
reach right away.

Yech, but I pretend not to notice. Usually we only have two or
three bad days a year.

It helps if you can look out for the source. Spray inside of
outdoor garbage cans and dumpsters.

Jo
Jo

wrote in message
...
Kreisleriana wrote:

Are they big flies or those crappy little fruit flies? I wouldn't know
how
to get rid of the big ones without spraying, but you can set traps for
the
fruit flies. We've had lots of those this summer, practically every
time we
brought new fruit into the house. Very frustrating.

I've been getting a lot of fruit flies, too. In my case, it's partially
my fault - I don't empty the compost pail often enough. On the other
hand, to completely avoid getting them, I'd have to empty it every other
day, and I'm just not that motivated.

Agreed about the traps. Here's how to make one, for anyone who has a
fruit fly infestation. They *love* vinegar. So what I do is take a small
(clean) jar, and pour about 1 inch (2.54cm) of white vinegar into it.
Sometimes I'll add a bit of apple cider or balsamic vinegar to give it
a stronger smell (but not much - I don't want to waste the good stuff).
Then I take a piece of plastic wrap (cellophane? Saran wrap? Don't know
what it's called in other places), place it over the top of the jar, and
pull it taut. Then I secure the plastic in place with a small elastic
around the jar. You have to make sure it's taut across the top.

Then, with the end of a paper clip (or other small, sharp pointy thing),
poke small holes in the plastic wrap. Not too close together, or you might
end up making one big hole (in which case, you'd have to start over). Make
6-8 little holes. I like to wiggle the paper clip end around just a little
to make the hole slightly bigger than the initial puncture hole.

Then just leave it out wherever the fruit fly hotspot is. They *will* go
into the jar, attracted by the vinegar smell. But they will not be able
to get out (because, basically, they're too stupid to find the holes again
to get out). And they drown in the vinegar. I guess as a way to die,
drowning in your favorite substance isn't the absolute *worst* way to go.
That's my justification, anyway.

Joyce


Similarly, regular house flies are attracted to beer. I discovered this
when I shared a house with my brother. He had a party which apparently
involved drinking copious amounts of beer. The house had an atrium in the
center and we had a table and chairs out there. There might have been
grilling going on, I don't recall. But people were going in and out,
letting flies in in the process. The next morning the almost empty beer
bottles were still sitting on the tables inside... with dead house flies in
the bottom. Drowned in drink.

I'm fortunate, I haven't had any problems with house files (or fruit flies)
here in SC. Fruit flies are often attracted to things which aren't actually
"fruit". I know someone who "lost" a potato in the back of her pantry. It
drew them like, well, flies! LOL She couldn't figure out where they were
coming from until she discovered the icky potato. I don't remember how she
got rid of the infestation; it may well have been the vinegar trick.

Jill

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:01:03 -0700 (PDT), Mischief
wrote:

Ugh, about a year or so ago, I wrote about how flies invaded my
apartment. I'm not talking one or two, I'm talking like TEN at
minimum Still can't figure out how they are getting through screened
window, can't find a hole anywhere.

Ick! I'm surprised the cats aren't on the job... if ever a flying
critter gets into our apartment, the girls are on it like flies on
honey! They'll chase that critter around the apartment until it can
fly no more, and then look disappointed. lol

Mischief wrote:
Ugh, about a year or so ago, I wrote about how flies invaded my
apartment. I'm not talking one or two, I'm talking like TEN at
minimum Still can't figure out how they are getting through screened
window, can't find a hole anywhere.

They may be hatching out - have you had anything briefly in your
apartment that was infested with maggots? (Not intentionally of course,
but sometimes cats bring in critters that have been dead a while.)