Help! Flies in new build!

FiOT

We just moved into our new build home 2 weeks ago and noticed a lot of dead flies around. We thought they had gotten trapped during the build and died but we have come home from work today and our kitchen is taken over by flies!

They are not flying around rather congregating on windows, particularly the velux windows.

How is this happening and what do we do? We don't have any food lying out and the house is very airtight.

SOS!!

Shaunoc

Go nuclear with those ugly sticky fly things. Few hours and you'll be amazed how many can fit on one.

I tried home made traps and deli style zappers but none as effective as the sticky rolls.

Good exercise with some tea towels and swatters for the evening too if you are cold

Metric Tensor

It's the velux windows. I've never seen a house in the country with velux windows that didn't get a sh!t load of flies at certain times of year.

I'm afraid I've yet to find a solution. The hoover frequently!!

Squeaksoutloud

These flies are called cluster flies and seem to be common in new build. We had the same problem with tons of them gathering in the windows..horrible. Just keep opening the windows and hoover them up. Some spray and the marker are good. They seem to come in August to around now and then stop. Once u keep on top of it they disappear or get less each year. My experience anyway!

Tails142

Could be cluster flies.

I remember seeing this massive swarm of flies on a bush beside my house one year. Threw a rock at them, they went mad so I legged it into the house and thought no more about it.

A couple of months later I went up to the attic and nearly died due to what I saw, I shone the flashlight up to the roof felt and it was covered in flies slowly crawling about. The swarm had made it into the attic and taken refugee for the winter, Google cluster flies, also known as attic flies.

Anyway I noped out and didn't go back to the attic for a loooong time, we got the odd fly around the house that winter, my wife was wondering where they were coming from, I didn't want to tell her because she would freak so I just pretended not to know. when I did go back up there was a lot of dead flies but the swarm was gone.

Anyway, check the attic... Or don't....

SunshineKid

Velux windows = flies!!! Sorry but I have yet to see a house with velux windows that doesn't have a fly problem.

Also, if you have fresh clay near your house or clay was recently moved, which I expect it was because you have a new build, then you might also have a cluster fly problem. Did you check your attic?

Dudda

SunshineKid wrote: »

Velux windows = flies!!! Sorry but I have yet to see a house with velux windows that doesn't have a fly problem.

So if these velux are left fully closed does it help? I presume it's when the velux window is left in the ventilated position where it has an inch opening at the top?

Metric Tensor

Doesn't seem to matter from what I've seen Dudda.

Something about the structure of them just seems to be ideal for the flies - open or closed.

Lumen

I was curious and read through a load of old threads this morning and the advice seems to be to add cover the inside of the Velux vents with insect mesh.

Not having Velux windows I don't know how easy this is.

FiOT

Lumen wrote: »

I was curious and read through a load of old threads this morning and the advice seems to be to add cover the inside of the Velux vents with insect mesh.

Not having Velux windows I don't know how easy this is.

I'll try anything..

It seems that we just had an influx of them one evening which is so weird. Although I did have himself up on a ladder cleaning them and he opened and closed all 4 velux that night, hardly they all flew in without him noticing?

Will try the insect mesh. They are so high up that we'll never have them open so I don't mind what goes up there once it keeps the dirty things out.

Down to only a handful buzzing around now but we've gone through 3 fly swatters to get this far!

Thanks everyone for all your help.

jmBuildExt

I'll throw in my fly experience.
Fixed a leaky waste pipe on our kitchen sink recently. It went out underneath the window in the kitchen, and was leaking on the bend outside the wall of the house. Anyway i replaced the whole lot back to the bend under the sink, and applied a small bit of expanding foam to make it a bit more snug where the pipe went out.

Following that we had a similar experience to yourself, flies on the kitchen window every morning. They were also concentrated in the press under the sink. I'm pretty sure that there was nothing in there attracting them (i thought maybe it had gotten damp). Anyway I just had to keep hoovering the dead ones and spraying fly spray into the press where they appeared to be coming from. They went after about 5 or 6 weeks, but it was very annoying because you would get a few strays in other parts of the house flying in front of you while watching TV etc - I feel your pain.

Goldengirl

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