House flies arising from the dead.

Forums › Off topic › House flies arising from the dead.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#1517395 22-Mar-2016 09:31

surfisup1000:

on the topic of flys -- how do you clean the spots from the ceiling?

I've heard you can steam clean them , but, is there an easier way?

I find those "magic" eraser foam blocks work really well for fly sh!t, and don't do any damage to the ceiling (that I can see). We just buy those blocks from Uncle Bill's, and use them in so many locations - minor marks on the car, kids' grubby marks all over the doors and walls, and fly sh!t of course...

Dratsab

3964 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1728

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1517418 22-Mar-2016 10:22

Chopsticks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1gAHil89Z4

robjg63

4161 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1427

Subscriber

#1517430 22-Mar-2016 10:40

I reckon you would be better spraying them with hairspray rather than flyspray.

Their wings would seize up and they wouldnt be able to fly - that would fix them!

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

Linuxluver

5833 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1639

Trusted

Subscriber

#1517431 22-Mar-2016 10:44

jonathan18:

I've also completely noticed the same issue with fly spray not being effective any more - and given flies this year have been something chronic at our house (perhaps the warmer weather? Neighbours' dogs?) we had to so something more heavy duty than spray, so sought advice here on GZ.

We had dogs for years and always had loads of flies.

Our last dog died about 10 months ago....and the reduction in flies has been huge - easily 90% fewer. Now only 2-3 flies instead of 20-30 flies. Even though we picked up the dog poo 2-3 times / week, we must have missed the odd one.

My wife is keen to get another dog.....but she isn't the one cleaning the fly poo off the ceilings twice / year.

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

jpoc

1043 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 289

#1517546 22-Mar-2016 12:56

The last thing that you should consider using is one of those UV zappers or electrical fly swatters.

What happens when one of those gadgets zaps an insect?

Current passes through the insect's body, the insect presents a resistive load and the current causes it to heat up.

Part of the internal fluid inside the fly will boil and that will cause a huge spike in internal pressure and thus the insect's body will rupture.

Only part of the insect will be heated up and most of the fluid will be expelled as an invisible cloud of drops that will fall out over an area a couple of metres across.

Those droplets will be full of the bacteria that are present in the insect's gut.

When I was living in Germany, some consumer show examined the surfaces in the vicinity of a zapper in a restaurant and they found bits of congealed fly insides all over the surfaces near to the zapper and they also pointed out that anyone in the vicinity of a zapper when it had just zapped a fly would be inhaling the droplets - germs included.

Not in my kitchen thank you.

Geektastic

18009 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 8465

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1517561 22-Mar-2016 13:18

jonathan18:

Like the OP, I loathe them with a passion, and this year have become an expert at killing them with my bare hands (easier to clean my hands than clean up the mess on the ceiling from when my weapon of choice was a newspaper!).

I've also completely noticed the same issue with fly spray not being effective any more - and given flies this year have been something chronic at our house (perhaps the warmer weather? Neighbours' dogs?) we had to so something more heavy duty than spray, so sought advice here on GZ.

To provide a longer lasting and (literally) less hands-on solution I ended up purchasing the Kiwi Care concentrate product (No More Bugs?), partly on the advice of the guy at Bunnings who said that Ripcord had an odour. He also recommended not spraying it inside, but applying it in appropriate places using a cloth; the only surfaces I put it on were above head height to keep the kids away from contacting it - primarily it was along the scotia and around light/air con fittings. I used a sprayer to do parts of the outside of the house.

About three weeks later and we're still way down on the numbers of flies in the kitchen, which has been the worst spot - from often having 20-30 flies, on a bad day now it'll be five. Similarly, in the spot outside where the flies would gather to sunbathe we have none.

Yep, the product may end up killing me (and my family), but at least I'll die a (relatively) happy and less-irritated man.

I've used Ripcord in agricultural buildings. Very effective but not really a chemical for the average home user to play with IMV.

Apple TV

Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#1517572 22-Mar-2016 13:33

Geektastic:

I've used Ripcord in agricultural buildings. Very effective but not really a chemical for the average home user to play with IMV.

There are two different versions of Ripcord - a more industrial-strength version, available from sources such as Farmlands, and the domestic version ("Plus") sold in Bunnings etc. I'm sure I read on GZ that, once diluted, they're similar strength, but the former is sold in a more concentrated form. I know in the past the latter has been commonly used in the domestic environment.

Personally, I'd have considered anything up to and including DDT to get these suckers under control (well, not really, but you'll get the gist of how pernicious and annoying they have been). I'd tried standard fly spray, tried a professional firm that sprayed inside using a more "natural" (and certainly ineffectual) spray, tried to find the source, all to no noticeable effect.

The product I used has a different active ingredient to Ripcord - not sure if this is more or less nasty?

Ripcord Plus (the domestic version): 15g/L cypermethrin

Ripcord (commercial version): 200g/L cypermethrin

No Bugs Super: 15 g/L Deltamethrin in the form of a suspension concentrate (0.6 g/L Deltamethrin in the form of a ready to use liquid)

BlueShift

1692 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 969

#1517610 22-Mar-2016 13:49

I used Ripcord Plus - the Bunnings type - around the outside of my house, around all the doors and windows and vents to stop the cockroaches wandering in from the gardens outside (they love living in the pungas). I generally spray once in the Spring, and possibly once more if they start showing up too often.

Jonathan18 is right, the product you buy is less concentrated than the full-strength Ripcord, but once diluted (following instructions) its the same thing. It just means you add more of it per litre of water in your sprayer than the professionals need to.

I have one of the automatic flyspray squirter things on the wall by the kitchen, and it does seem to keep the fly numbers down. It doesn't help when all the doors and windows are open, but when its operating, there are a lot less flies each morning than when it runs out of spray or battery. But whatever you do, don't mount it so the spray goes too close to the ceiling - that stuff makes an oily looking stain that does not ever come off, and according to the guys at Resene, will bleed through multiple layers of paint if you try to cover it.

Dulouz

887 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 384

#1517612 22-Mar-2016 13:51

Poll:

I'm a fan of the electric fly swatters, fry them all!

There's nothing like the smell of fried flies in the morning.

Amanon

Dulouz

887 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 384

#1517616 22-Mar-2016 13:55

robjg63:

I reckon you would be better spraying them with hairspray rather than flyspray.

Their wings would seize up and they wouldnt be able to fly - that would fix them!

If it didn't work at least their hair would look better.

Amanon

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#1517619 22-Mar-2016 13:57

jpoc:

The last thing that you should consider using is one of those UV zappers or electrical fly swatters.

What happens when one of those gadgets zaps an insect?

Current passes through the insect's body, the insect presents a resistive load and the current causes it to heat up.

Part of the internal fluid inside the fly will boil and that will cause a huge spike in internal pressure and thus the insect's body will rupture.

Only part of the insect will be heated up and most of the fluid will be expelled as an invisible cloud of drops that will fall out over an area a couple of metres across.

Those droplets will be full of the bacteria that are present in the insect's gut.

When I was living in Germany, some consumer show examined the surfaces in the vicinity of a zapper in a restaurant and they found bits of congealed fly insides all over the surfaces near to the zapper and they also pointed out that anyone in the vicinity of a zapper when it had just zapped a fly would be inhaling the droplets - germs included.

Not in my kitchen thank you.

Is there scientific proof about that though? Also is that any worse than inhaling insecticides, which is what flyspray is? They have them in many restaurants, so I guess if you eat at one that has these things, then depending on where it is positioned, you could be eating insect guts! But people eat insects all the time without knowing it, and you don't know what may have found it's way into the processed food you are buying. Personally I think there are bigger things to worry about, and you don't have to have these things in a kitchen to work. The reason why many people have so many flies in their house, is because they don't keep things clean, and wash up dirty dishes when they need doing.

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Dulouz

887 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 384

#1517624 22-Mar-2016 14:01

jpoc:

The last thing that you should consider using is one of those UV zappers or electrical fly swatters.

What happens when one of those gadgets zaps an insect?

Current passes through the insect's body, the insect presents a resistive load and the current causes it to heat up.

Part of the internal fluid inside the fly will boil and that will cause a huge spike in internal pressure and thus the insect's body will rupture.

Only part of the insect will be heated up and most of the fluid will be expelled as an invisible cloud of drops that will fall out over an area a couple of metres across.

Those droplets will be full of the bacteria that are present in the insect's gut.

When I was living in Germany, some consumer show examined the surfaces in the vicinity of a zapper in a restaurant and they found bits of congealed fly insides all over the surfaces near to the zapper and they also pointed out that anyone in the vicinity of a zapper when it had just zapped a fly would be inhaling the droplets - germs included.

Not in my kitchen thank you.

I imagine Germans would prefer gas.

Amanon

MikeAqua

8024 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3818

#1517628 22-Mar-2016 14:17

You can get a version of the indoor UV trap that uses a replaceable sticky transparent film in front of a UV light instead of an electrified grill.

That's what you are supposed to use in food safety certified premises.

Badminton rackets work well as fly swats. Fast, light, rigid, good coverage. A bit hard on ming vases though ...

Or install a fly trap in a back corner of the garden. That works.

Our dog went RIP last winter and I have also noticed a big decrease in flies this summer.

Mike

SepticSceptic

2263 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 779

Trusted

#1517650 22-Mar-2016 14:29

Mmm, flypaper !!!

From the wiki:

Flypaper is as effective as many other methods involving insecticides or bug zappers

geoffwnz

1722 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1579

ID Verified

#1517699 22-Mar-2016 15:20

BlueShift:

I have one of the automatic flyspray squirter things on the wall by the kitchen, and it does seem to keep the fly numbers down. It doesn't help when all the doors and windows are open, but when its operating, there are a lot less flies each morning than when it runs out of spray or battery. But whatever you do, don't mount it so the spray goes too close to the ceiling - that stuff makes an oily looking stain that does not ever come off, and according to the guys at Resene, will bleed through multiple layers of paint if you try to cover it.

They also seem to be able to strip paint off surfaces. The paint just melts.
And it eats into plastic.Not to mention the residue left on hard floors.

Mine currently points into the hallway over old carpet that I'm not overly bothered about. But considering deactivating it to see if there's any noticeable increase in flies afterwards.

MotorDrive Rallying

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5