We are overcome with flies here in the Barn. It's been going on for weeks, but seems to have gotten much worse in the past week or so. The flies wake us up every morning.
At first we thought it was because we leave the doors open and there are no screens, so we started keeping them shut. This didn't seem to help and makes the barn dark. I would still walk into the kitchen area, kill 6 flies, think I had gotten them all, come back a half hour later to twelve flies. I spend a significant part of my day with the flyswatter in my hand.
Preparing food is a new art. Everything is covered unless I am standing right over it. I use cloth napkins and tupperware lids. If I am making dinner, the counter looks like it is strewn with napkins.
I read a thread on Mamatron about someone who found "worms" in her unwashed dishes in her kitchen sink. She was so embarassed that she posted anonamously. Several people responded that they were probably maggots and to not be embarrassed, that it has happened to the best of us. She wasn't the first person to have let dishes sit in her sink for two days. I immediately got up and took out the compost bowl that had been sitting on our counter for two days. We'd been washing the dishes and wiping the counters religiously, but that compost bowl had been neglected.
At first I tried not to let Aidan see me killing the flies. I am murderous when I am fly killing and I just didn't want to teach my son to be murderous. I spend too much time doing it to hide it from him though, and if I thought that maybe he wasn't picking up on what I was doing, I realized that I was mistaken when he pointed one out to me as I was hunting for them in the kitchen...my innocent boy an accomplice.
Steve made a quick trip to the grocery store last night and came home with a second flyswatter. We could now kill flies together. By the time we went to bed last night, I had some hope that we had gotten all of them. I actually woke up this morning, rolled over and whispered to Steve, "no flies". I was wrong. I had just woken up before them. But there were fewer, and I still had a lot of hope.
We had to take my car into the shop this morning, and when I got back with Aidan, there were a ton of flies in the kitchen - and then in the dining area - and in the laundry area. I was swatting for several minutes before I realized that the back door had been left completely wide open the whole time we had been gone - like we live in a barn or something.
Comments
I have a feeling you have major leaks in the cupala and in the openings upstairs that go into the attic area. You know the area that the cat likes to disappear into. Your screen door does not block off the back door opening completely - in other words you are in a barn! Love, Mom
Christy's getting really good at fly killing.Yesterday day I saw her dust three flies in one swap!Love, Steve
Hey Chris, remember Dad's fly gun? You should try to track that thing down. Or move. Maybe try some of those citronella(sp?) candles. Or you could move. Or get some frogs. -t
When I was a camp counselor in Maryland we had a horrible infestation of flies. I would count how many I could kill in 15 minutes (or whatever) - so I can relate to what you're going through. But they don't live through the winter - and you do!
Hi, Christy,try some fly strips. They come in a little tube; you unroll them and hang them where you won't bump into them. The flies are attracted and stick to them. I don't think the strips are toxic; and it is much less disgusting to see a strip full of flies than having the flies on your food stuff! And they're cheap.
We, too are besieged with flies! They wouldn't actually bother me so much if they didn't feel the need to sit on me, when I'm already hot and annoyed. We got flystrips three weeks ago... there are two flies on each one, they don't seem to be working. I have heard that flies don't like citrus, maybe I'll rub a lemon all over myself , but chances are I'd be sticky and the flies would still land on me.You have my total empathy.
No flies here, just maddeningly small fruit flies and... UGGGHHHH... meal worms that turn into moths. I hate them. All my grains are in the freezer. They have infested our pasta and our rodent food. I hate these little insects.
I have found the answer to your fly, moth, etc. problems. It is called "Fly Catcher" This is the description - It attracts flies, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, moths, and more. It lures insects with ultrviolet light, then a built-in fan draws them into the disposal chamber. Just plug it in, turn it on, and empty the collection tray occasionally. Covers 1000 sq ft area. Go to gardeners.com; item no. 33-563. Also look at item no. 05-243.
I want to apologize for my obnoxious "you could move" comments. You already know that you could move, it's not like you don't want to. I must be sobering up. Anyway, you should get that thing that mom mentioned... ...or you could move. That time it was supposed to be funny. But it wasn't.
You have my complete and total sympathy on this one. We alternate between flies, moths, and fruit flies. Ugh.
Comments
I have a feeling you have major leaks in the cupala and in the openings upstairs that go into the attic area. You know the area that the cat likes to disappear into. Your screen door does not block off the back door opening completely - in other words you are in a barn! Love, Mom
Christy's getting really good at fly killing.Yesterday day I saw her dust three flies in one swap!Love, Steve
Hey Chris, remember Dad's fly gun? You should try to track that thing down. Or move. Maybe try some of those citronella(sp?) candles. Or you could move. Or get some frogs. -t
When I was a camp counselor in Maryland we had a horrible infestation of flies. I would count how many I could kill in 15 minutes (or whatever) - so I can relate to what you're going through. But they don't live through the winter - and you do!
Hi, Christy,try some fly strips. They come in a little tube; you unroll them and hang them where you won't bump into them. The flies are attracted and stick to them. I don't think the strips are toxic; and it is much less disgusting to see a strip full of flies than having the flies on your food stuff! And they're cheap.
We, too are besieged with flies! They wouldn't actually bother me so much if they didn't feel the need to sit on me, when I'm already hot and annoyed. We got flystrips three weeks ago... there are two flies on each one, they don't seem to be working. I have heard that flies don't like citrus, maybe I'll rub a lemon all over myself , but chances are I'd be sticky and the flies would still land on me.You have my total empathy.
No flies here, just maddeningly small fruit flies and... UGGGHHHH... meal worms that turn into moths. I hate them. All my grains are in the freezer. They have infested our pasta and our rodent food. I hate these little insects.
I have found the answer to your fly, moth, etc. problems. It is called "Fly Catcher" This is the description - It attracts flies, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, moths, and more. It lures insects with ultrviolet light, then a built-in fan draws them into the disposal chamber. Just plug it in, turn it on, and empty the collection tray occasionally. Covers 1000 sq ft area. Go to gardeners.com; item no. 33-563. Also look at item no. 05-243.
I want to apologize for my obnoxious "you could move" comments. You already know that you could move, it's not like you don't want to. I must be sobering up. Anyway, you should get that thing that mom mentioned... ...or you could move. That time it was supposed to be funny. But it wasn't.
You have my complete and total sympathy on this one. We alternate between flies, moths, and fruit flies. Ugh.