Flies invading apartment

IsThisOneFree

Hi All, really not too sure what forum to put this one, hope this is the right place.

I moved into a 3rd floor apartment back in March. All of a sudden since last Tuesday, I've had a steady trickle of flies in my living room. As soon as I kill them, there's more arriving to take their place. They're the big ones that buzz when they're flying (horseflies/bluebottles maybe, although not too sure ??).

I done some research on them, and it seems that they usually turn up when there's something dead or equally disgusting for them to feast off. However, I've pulled the room apart and there's nothing dead. Likewise, I keep all my food in the fridge, but they're not even bothered with the kitchen (there's no door, so it would be easy for them to get in if they wanted). And I empty my bin regularly.

I sprayed the room Wednesday morning then went away for a few days. I returned home this evening to find the situation still the same ... always a steady trickle of them. I thought they might be coming in the vent on the wall, and sure enough just as I decided to close it up, I caught one coming in. I went out onto the balcony (closest I can get to the vent), and I can see there's some hanging around outside my window ... but only my Window.

I'm not really looking for advice on how to kill them, as the fly spray I have is doing a great job at that. But what I'm wondering is why do they seem to be specifically interested in my apartment ? Could they smell something dead (from outside) that I can't ? Or am I just unlucky ?

Any advice would be really greatly appreciated, as just the sound of these things buzzing is enough to put me off my food

Grolschevik

Serial killer in the apartment below yours?

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Did you check your air vents? They should be just screwed to the wall, so take them down and check if there's any there. Get the vacuum out as well.

IsThisOneFree

Grolschevik wrote: »

Serial killer in the apartment below yours?

Actually I did mean to ask about that .... not so much the serial killer aspect ... but in more general terms - if there's something dead/disgusting in a neighbouring apartment, could I still get flies ? Or would they stick to the apartment where all the "loot" (ie, dead stuff !!) is ?

Did you check your air vents?

Yup, they're definitely coming in the vent ... for now I've closed it off with some kitchen roll ... but what I'm curious about is why they're specifically interested in my place, given that I don't see to have anything that would interest them. Once they get in, all they do is fly around the light. Am I just unlucky ?!

Borzoi

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

Any advice would be really greatly appreciated, as just the sound of these things buzzing is enough to put me off my food

Sounds like Cluster Flies coming in to hibernate. They're harmless but annoying. When the weather turns a bit cold they'll go dormant which will give you an opportunity to get rid once and for all

IsThisOneFree

Borzoi wrote: »

Sounds like Cluster Flies coming in to hibernate

Excellent .... I'd love to have some company over the winter months !!!!! Had never actually heard of cluster flies but everything I've just read on them just now does seem to coincide with what I'm seeing.

Incidentally, now that I think back, I seem to recall there was a scattering of dead flies here when I moved in. At the time, I didn't think anything of it as the place had been empty for over 6 months, and I never had problems with any live ones until now.

Came across an old thread on here while I was googling incase anybody is interested:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=68558208

So Mother Nature ... bring on the frost !! In the meantime, I might have to get me some Citronella

johnnyskeleton

How often do you put out the bins and clean under the sink etc? Very often a small amount of food can lead to a large amount of fruit flies

IsThisOneFree

Emptying the bins varies, but most times it's every second day. Last Tuesday I emptied them when I started having all the flies (and because the bin was looking disgusting with all the flies), came back inside 5 minutes later and found more of them had come in! By under the sink, do you mean the cupboard under the sink (where I keep bleach etc) ? The floor in the kitchen is pretty well swept. But they're never interested in the kitchen anyway ... once they get in, they just fly around the lights before their inevitable death by my can of raid

TheBandicoot

Please do NOT block the vents, you will get trouble with humidity and mold.

IsThisOneFree

It's only temporary until I sort out my fly problem, and in any case I'm using Kitchen Towel, so air can still flow through

plodder

Borzoi wrote: »

Sounds like Cluster Flies coming in to hibernate. They're harmless but annoying. When the weather turns a bit cold they'll go dormant which will give you an opportunity to get rid once and for all

I had a lot of them one Winter. They were particularly attracted to the area behind the handle of Velux windows. So, when you opened it, they'd all fly in or fall in dead as the Winter got colder. It was a bit of a nuisance hoovering them up all the time, but otherwise not a problem.

Rhys Essien

Possible dead body next door and I am not joking.Have a read of this.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2773425/Mother-fours-home-infested-maggots-DEAD-BODY-decomposing-upstairs-flat.html

Do any of your neighbours live on their own and have you seen them lately?.I heard of a case about two years ago where a lad was dead for a few weeks in his apartment and it was only copped when the neighbours became infested with blue bottles.

Thoie

I live in a 3rd floor apartment and have a similar problem, as do my neighbours. Like you, I thought they were targetting me. I'm not finding them as bad this year, but about 2 years ago they nearly drove me nuts.

In my case there's waste ground nearby, and they're attracted by the heat from the building, and in particular the metal cladding outside the window frames. They follow the heat in wherever they can. The best I've managed is to liberally spray the outside places where they're coming in in the hopes of discouraging them. Other than that it's hunt and destroy.

pow wow

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

Actually I did mean to ask about that .... not so much the serial killer aspect ... but in more general terms - if there's something dead/disgusting in a neighbouring apartment, could I still get flies ? Or would they stick to the apartment where all the "loot" (ie, dead stuff !!) is?

Yes. Happened to me a few years ago when the lad upstairs died (suspicious circumstances) and wasn't discovered for about 6 weeks. The maggots dropped down the interior of the walls and then crawled out from under the skirting boards. If it's only fully grown flies you're seeing though I'd suspect they're not coming from a rotting corpse. And yes, it was awful :cool:

IsThisOneFree

I was actually going for something a little less dramatic myself Was more thinking about whether a neighbour might have a dead mouse (which would attract flies), would they come into my flat too, or would they just congregate around the dead mouse. In any case, the immediate neighbours are all accounted for !!

Since I've covered up the vent, the amount has dramatically decreased ... 2 today, and I think they both came in when I opened the window. I like keeping the windows open, even in Winter, but I guess the only way to keep them out would be to get screens.

Thoie - what were you spraying them with outside ? Can you use aerosols (like fly spray) outside ? I've sprayed some into the vent from the inside (after I put the kitchen towel over it), and now I'm on the lookout for something I can put inside the vent to stop them coming in ... don't know if such a thing exists though !

Thanks again for all the replies ... nice to know I'm not suffering alone at least

Thoie

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

I was actually going for something a little less dramatic myself Was more thinking about whether a neighbour might have a dead mouse (which would attract flies), would they come into my flat too, or would they just congregate around the dead mouse. In any case, the immediate neighbours are all accounted for !!

Since I've covered up the vent, the amount has dramatically decreased ... 2 today, and I think they both came in when I opened the window. I like keeping the windows open, even in Winter, but I guess the only way to keep them out would be to get screens.

Thoie - what were you spraying them with outside ? Can you use aerosols (like fly spray) outside ? I've sprayed some into the vent from the inside (after I put the kitchen towel over it), and now I'm on the lookout for something I can put inside the vent to stop them coming in ... don't know if such a thing exists though !

Thanks again for all the replies ... nice to know I'm not suffering alone at least

I just used an aerosol "insect killer" that I got in Woodies. There's nothing special about it. I hate using it indoors, but I sprayed it onto the window frames on the outside in the hopes of discouraging them.

I've also heard that lavender oil, eucalyptus oil and mint are all deterrents, so if the vent isn't of a delicate material, or if you don't mind if it gets stained, I'd try that. In your case you could also line the vent covers (on both sides of the wall) with a bit of net curtain/mesh so that the air can still get through, but the flies can't. Maybe even wash the net curtain in lavender/mint oil. You'll be shocked how manky they'll get though

The_Conductor

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Please do NOT block the vents, you will get trouble with humidity and mold.

If you have gas heating- blocking vents could be critical.
Vents are there for a reason- please do not block them.........

MrDerp

Whatever about your solutions for now, if they're cluster flies do a good root and branch clean before the Spring.

Had a bunch of them wake up a couple of summers back and called the exterminator* who looked at them and advised me to wait it out. You get anything between 100-150 hatching from the eggs or waking up or whatever over a 7-14 days. You don't want babies. They're fat and big as blue bottles, slow, and too stupid to fly out open windows, they just fly onto the glass and plank themselves there. Very unpleasant to wake up to 5-10 of them on your living room window and 10+ when you get home from work. I was constantly nauseous and had no appetite in the house until they were gone.

*Free consultation