# House Flies



## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

Between yesterday and today, I've killed about a hundred house flies. Mostly hanging out on kitchen windows. It's not uncommon for a fly to sneak in the house, but this is more than usual. 

I expect they found a dead mouse inside the wall or something we'll never know. Once that goes away, so will the flies. So my attitude is that it's only been 2 days and it's probably self-limiting and we should just wait and see. 

My wife has a phobia of snakes and worms, so she is imagining opening up a cabinet and finding something covered with maggots. It's pretty much her worst nightmare and she's in panic mode. She wants somebody to do "something". She's ready to tear open the walls. 

What's my move?


----------



## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

If you know for a fact there is a dead critter in the walls, then as you mentioned, you have to wait it out or tear open the wall and remove it. but problem is you never really know where in the wall it is. 

Check all screens windows, and any openings.They have to be getting in some how.


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Borrow a neighbor's dog? It seems they would go to the source pretty quickly.


Even my cats are quick to smell rotting or off odors.


Ask your kids if they have a little pet stashed away?


Fly tape & a bag's worth of cut lemons really help. D-limonene.


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

If your wife is truly panicky, she could stay in a motel?


----------



## hkstroud (Mar 17, 2011)

Show us a picture of these "house flies".


----------



## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

Here ya go.








Sent from my SM-J337P using Tapatalk


----------



## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Close as many doors as possible to identify or exclude those areas.

I've found it only takes about 3 or 4 days, I've lost a few mouse traps is how I know.

But isolate as many areas as possible to see where the flies show up or not show.

Bud


----------



## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

Technically, they aren't houseflies. These radical green metallic ones are called blow flies. I called up my favorite pest control control place. They told me I have something dead somewhere and locating random dead, rotting carcasses is not really what they do. Chemicals are not the answer. You have to find the dead thing and remove it. I'm still thinking it's in a wall cavity, so screw that. I'm working on the assumption that the dead thing is eventually going to dry up and turn to leather and it will be entombed there for eternity, but the blow flies will lose interest. In the meantime, I am just dealing with the flies on an individual basis with my shop vac. It is very satisfying to see them sucked in there. =D Seems to be working. Now I am no longer seeing more than 2 or 3 at a time. 

Between a shop vac, diotomaceous earth, and glue traps, you can get rid of just about anything. I saw a video once where a guy set up a shop vac hose by the entrance to a bee hive and he just let it run all day. Problem solved.


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Did you ever try a dog?


----------



## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

mathmonger said:


> Here ya go.
> View attachment 564349
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-J337P using Tapatalk


That's actually a "greenbottle" fly, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_bottle_fly but, same general thing as a "house fly" (house fly has convict stripes instead of "greenies.") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housefly

Both swarm on dead animals make maggots, yuck, etc.
@Nik333's got a good idea, if you can get a dog to sniff in a disciplined way. Trouble is, dog might find lots of other more interesting stuff. 

Since flies have a fast life cycle, if the decedent is a small critter, it may already be "et up" to the point the flies are no longer even interested. 

Maybe get one of those battery-powered "fly racket" thingies like I used when a dead raccoon ended up in my attic causing a situation like yours. Sadistic fun. :vs_laugh: Cats got into it, too.


----------



## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Sounds like I'm a bit late.

Oh well, @mathmonger, sounds like your problem is on its way to being solved.

It might be a good idea to maybe do a pre-emptive reconnaissance examination of your house to see where a likely spot for entry of critters might be. 

I ended up with, first a racoon, then a skunk, in my house, eating cat food, till I was able to trap and get rid of them, then (finally) figure out ways block their ways in. 

All that said, you likely won't be able to "barrier out" small rodents completely.


----------



## bmwr1200 (Jul 22, 2019)

DoomsDave said:


> That's actually a "greenbottle" fly, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_bottle_fly but, same general thing as a "house fly" (house fly has convict stripes instead of "greenies.") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housefly
> 
> 
> Both swarm on dead animals make maggots, yuck, etc.
> ...


fly racket is great


----------



## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

Nik333 said:


> Did you ever try a dog?


No. It's a good suggestion. I just couldn't really figure out how to ask somebody to lend me their dog to sniff out a dead, maggot-infested carcass. So I back-burnered that idea.


----------



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

We have normal flies sometimes, but not often. This morning I have one flying around and I can read the "N" number on his tail. What a hog ! He's gotta go.


----------



## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

chandler48 said:


> We have normal flies sometimes, but not often. This morning I have one flying around and I can read the "N" number on his tail. What a hog ! He's gotta go.


Like the number on a plane? :vs_cool:


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

mathmonger said:


> No. It's a good suggestion. I just couldn't really figure out how to ask somebody to lend me their dog to sniff out a dead, maggot-infested carcass. So I back-burnered that idea.



People are usually proud of what their animals can do.


----------



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

> Like the number on a plane?


Yeah, he had to be registered somewhere.


----------



## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

chandler48 said:


> Yeah, he had to be registered somewhere.


Could be military.


----------



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

CIA. Didn't check the body for a camera, but he could have had one.


----------



## jecapereca (Mar 28, 2019)

Those electric flyswatters are amazing. But I always get disgusted when I'm finally sweeping all those dead flies off my floor.


----------



## mathmonger (Dec 27, 2012)

jecapereca said:


> Those electric flyswatters are amazing. But I always get disgusted when I'm finally sweeping all those dead flies off my floor.


LOL. I'm not looking forward to cleaning my shop vac filter.


----------



## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

A guy was swatting flies in his kitchen, and wife enters. 
What are you doing. 
Killing flies
Already got two males and two females. 
How can you tell. 
Well two were on a beer can and two were on the phone.


----------



## prazzz (Aug 1, 2019)

If you know that there is a dead mouse in the walls, then you should tear open the wall and remove it, or else there will be an odour in the house and the house flies will increase so you should go for tearing up the wall and removing it.


----------



## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

prazzz said:


> If you know that there is a dead mouse in the walls, then you should tear open the wall and remove it...


Can you explain to the OP, which wall to tear open ?


----------



## Calson (Jan 23, 2019)

I use fly paper near a window if a problem indoors or the chemical attractant type of trap outdoors (use similar approach for yellow jackets). When I get a fly infestation it is only once a year and they are gone within a week.


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

mathmonger said:


> Between yesterday and today, I've killed about a hundred house flies. Mostly hanging out on kitchen windows. It's not uncommon for a fly to sneak in the house, but this is more than usual.
> 
> I expect they found a dead mouse inside the wall or something we'll never know. Once that goes away, so will the flies. So my attitude is that it's only been 2 days and it's probably self-limiting and we should just wait and see.
> 
> ...


I was noticing again that the flies tend to come in with a change in weather.

Hot weather seems to hatch more, but very hot weather makes them come indoors. They hang out on the window because they don't like the A/C & the glass is warmer?

Now, it's cooler outside in the morning & they try to come in.


----------



## bubbler (Oct 18, 2010)

Old thread, but might be useful to someone else one day --

Was on a sailing trip, we passed a "Dole" container ship and man-oh-man did the flies head over... hundreds and hundreds of flies, below deck, on deck, in everything.

At the next port we bought those gross hanging glue traps -- Putting ten under the only light source worked amazingly. 

Years later lived in an apartment where 50 units of city people dumped their diapers and chicken carcasses into uncovered plastic barrels in the basement, door often propped, we'd have billions of flies. LL would hire an exterminator, but it did nothing. Took it on myself to hang glue traps under a fluorescent bulb strip near by, it worked, would fill within a day or two. LL started doing it himself weekly with the rubbish pickup, no more fly issues.

I think light + glue is the way to go if you want to avoid trips and "active measures" like a swatter or shop vac.


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

I just wanted to write for tbe record that the d-limonene released by lemon rinds didn't help with house flies. It worked wonderfully with phorid flies.

The weather cooled suddenly after heat to 105 & all that hatched with the heat wanted to come indoors.

Also, I read that house flies are attracted to white. So true. Someone painted white vertical stripes on the wall & fly tape hung on white drew many more flies. Also, a clean gallon milk jug, the white plastic ones attracted flies more. I was swatting them on the milk jug & it sounded like gunshots.

Maybe I'll become a fly expert :sad:


----------



## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

prazzz said:


> If you know that there is a dead mouse in the walls, then you should tear open the wall and remove it, or else there will be an odour in the house and the house flies will increase so you should go for tearing up the wall and removing it.


Well, not to be rude, but I wouldn't.

A critter as small as a mouse will pretty much vanish without much in the way of odor, unless you have a lot of them.

Larger animals, raccoons in particular, are another matter. Ohh yeah . . . . :vs_mad:


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Today's a particulay bad day; it's hot again.

My plan of attack is to leave the bathoom light on. The bathroom is white & between white paint, glue strips and light, they should go in there. Then Raid! If they aren't on the glue strips.
There are cattle ranches near here.


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

How powerful does the shop vac need to be?


----------

