Fly Sprays

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#1899701 12-Nov-2017 18:20

Best way for flies is to keep them out of the house in first place
We use the magnetic fly screen to keep them out
Mitre10 has them, comes in a roll of screen, and a roll of magnetic strip
Works really well.
No poison in house.

jpoc

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#1899714 12-Nov-2017 18:49

Electric bug zappers are a dreadful idea.

They work but the problem is what happens when you zap that bug.

They kill by passing a current through the bug. The current heats up the bug and its insides explode.

All of the bacteria that live in the bug's guts are then sprayed around your home.

They are not killed, they float down onto work surfaces, plates, food etc and contaminate your surroundings.

According to tests run by the German equivalent of consumer, the fixed units leave a circle of bacteria around 2metres radius around them. I would guess that the tennis racquet style have similar coverage.

If you want a non-poisonous spray, just use a can of aerosol bathroom cleaner and spray the bug. The surface tension effects will render the bug non-flying for several minutes giving you time to squish it in a paper towel.

Dratsab

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#1899740 12-Nov-2017 19:06

cadman: I got sick of changing the expensive 9V battery so I rigged an old DC power supply to run it and put it on a $10 Elto timer from 6am to 8pm on the longer duration between pulses setting which gets about 12 weeks out of a refill which I buy from Bunnings for ~$25 a pair.

Taking it to the next level - brilliant!

neb

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#1900265 13-Nov-2017 16:15

timmmay:
They're all rubbish these days. Seems like it stuns them but they get up and fly around again 20 minutes later. Might as well hit them with the can.

I assume you're quoting the Fair Go thing from a year or so back, there are some newer ones that do actually work according to Consumer's testing.

neb

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#1900267 13-Nov-2017 16:22

Rickles:
For a number of summers now I have used the auto-spray system ... firstly the Mortein spray definitely "kills them dead", and secondly the mist seems to set up a barrier that prevents flies etc coming in anyway (even with all doors open and I live across road from bush reserve).

I've found the exact opposite, it's more or less useless against flies, they wander in, buzz around, land on stuff, etc, totally unperturbed by the puffer going. It does seem to deal with the spiders though.

Rickles

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#1900275 13-Nov-2017 16:39

Oddly, we get deadum flies, and unaffected spiders!

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surfisup1000

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#1900286 13-Nov-2017 17:23

Look for active ingredient piperonyl (or something like that).

These sprays are always effective for me, for some reason it is more common in budget sprays.

This chemical allows the poison to reach where it does the damage as opposed to being a poison itself. Without this it is like the fly is wearing a raincoat haha

Rickles

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#1900287 13-Nov-2017 17:31

Pyrethrums are generally considered completely harmless to us humans.

neb

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#1900376 13-Nov-2017 20:44

Rickles:
Pyrethrums are generally considered completely harmless to us humans.

They're also pretty harmless to flies, unfortunately. Ever since they banned stuff like Amiton the writing's been on the wall in terms of effective insecticides.

In terms of what does work, Consumer found that Mortein Fast Knockdown, Black Flag Rapid Kill, Raid One Shot, Expra Fly and Insect Spray, and Zap Multi Insect Killer had a 100% kill rate, and Mortein and Black Flag had a quick (<1 minute) knockdown rate, the others took minutes for a 90% knockdown. All of them use permethrin variants, and some also include synergists to delay the breakdown of the permethrins so the flys don't get a chance to recover.

Davy

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#1900488 14-Nov-2017 08:54

We use the automatic sprays - with french doors open, the flies come in and don't like it, so they just fly out again. What is useful is that they seem to keep ant invasions at bay as well.

Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#1900496 14-Nov-2017 09:18

When I ran out of fly spray one day and was looking alternatives, I found Strepsils Anaesthetic Throat Spray to be surprisingly effective. You do have to sneak up on them a bit due to the design of the applicator though lol

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Rickles

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#1900499 14-Nov-2017 09:24

>I found Strepsils Anaesthetic Throat Spray to be surprisingly effective<

Did they cough?

jaymz

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#1900568 14-Nov-2017 11:21

When I lived on a farm, we used to use diesel for the paper wasps (the ones that build the nests under your eves or on posts).

A few sprays of that would literally "freeze" them on the spot. It was way safer than fly spray cause it stopped the buggers flying around and chasing you! Wouldn't recommend that for flies inside the house though!

I did see a neat salt shotgun https://bugasalt.com/ but again, who wants salt all throughout the house! or on your food!

We have two dogs, so often get flies in the house throughout the summer, towards the end of last summer though we found a animal fly repellent they use for horses. A couple of sprays on the dogs each week dramatically lowered the number of flies inside.

geoffwnz

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#1901145 15-Nov-2017 10:54

Found the downside of the automatic one (Raid I think I was using) was the significant mess around it. On any sort of hard floor there was a patch of residue which was very slippery. The ceiling above it has had the paint dissolved. Plastic trim on a fridge started dissolving from when I had it sitting on top of that. And when I accidentally pointed it at a painted wall, the paint on that started dissolving also.

Otherwise seemed fairly effective at significantly reducing the insect incursion. Way fewer flies, no more ant incursions and the spiders seemed relatively unaffected. Though smacking whitetails with something solid seems to deter them from living.

MotorDrive Rallying

Rickles

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#1901157 15-Nov-2017 11:10

>Found the downside of the automatic one (Raid I think I was using) was the significant mess around it. On any sort of hard floor there was a patch of residue which was very slippery. The ceiling above it has had the paint dissolved. Plastic trim on a fridge started dissolving from when I had it sitting on top of that. And when I accidentally pointed it at a painted wall, the paint on that started dissolving also.<

Eeek !! I've never experienced anything like that at all (Mortein brand) ... and unit stands on wooden display cabinet that also has objects d'art on it ... nearby wall and paintings etc unaffected, and floor is polished timbers with leather sofa underneath ... no over-spray at all!

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