Flies in the library, big ones. Ideas?

[flyingpig]

My college library has them and it's very annoying since the librarians are way too lazy to clean the keyboards.

I will not clean them myself because there are over 400 computers here and I am surrounded by people who eat in the library (unfortunately including myself, but I clean up).

Is there anything I could bring and wear that would fend off those giant fruit flies?

I could complain to the librarian, but he would just give me the response "okay, thank for you complaint. Sign a form blah blah blah we don't care"

 

[Proton Soup]

wear a large sombrero. wrap flytape around the top and dab a few specks of banana on the tape to attract the fruit flies. or a beekeeper hat.

 

[flyingpig]

wear a large sombrero. wrap flytape around the top and dab a few specks of banana on the tape to attract the fruit flies. or a beekeeper hat.

That sounds tedious...and I would catch so much attention.

 

[micromass]

I've had it with these m******g flies in this m******g library!

 

[jhae2.718]

Fire the "laser"!

 

[Pengwuino]

laser.

 

[Containment]

If that's how bad it is just start smoking in the library when your at a computer I'm sure if they allow food to be eaten at the computers they will let you smoke :)

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Get one of those laser pointers that can pop a balloon, light a match. That's sure to cause some damage to a fly.

 

[skeptic2]

Introduce bats into the library?

 

[Newai]

A desk fan?

 

[Chi Meson]

Oh, "f-l-i-e-s," I thought it was "f-i-l-e-s," and I was all "why aren't they using computers yet?

 

[Newai]

Oh, "f-l-i-e-s," I thought it was "f-i-l-e-s," and I was all "why aren't they using computers yet?

And in another thread...

I thought this was a thread about tonguetwisters.

Probably you and me both need some sleep.

 

[BobG]

Catch them in your hand. The best technique is to wait until the fly is on a large flat surface so its path of evasion is limited. Position your hand just above the surface to the side of the fly and rapidly sweep your hand across, catching the fly.

After catching the fly, hurl it against a wall. This will temporarily knock the fly senseless.

Then, pick up the fly and store it in a bottle. Once you've accumulated enough flies, you're ready for the next stage.

Store the bottle overnight in the freezer. The flies' metabolism will slow and they'll essentially be unconscious.

Superglue the legs of each fly's legs to the top of a very light model airplane. A model made of balsa wood and saran wrap will work excellently.

As the flies slowly thaw and regain consciousness, they'll begin to fly, providing a multi-fly engine for your model airplane.

Imagine the delight of the library patrons when they see your model airplane flying around the library powered by flies!

Or capture a bat and let it loose in the library. Watching a bat catch flies is almost as much fun as the model airplane option.

 

[fluidistic]

I've found a trick to trick flies that aren't flying (i.e. when they are over a surface). I don't know if they can see in 3 dimension or in 2, but if you move your hand slowly (maybe about 1 cm/s) directly at them, they "won't see it" and you can, if you don't care having dirty fingers, crush it.
If I knew more English I could describe the position of fingers+hand+arm but I'm at a loss.
It's better if all your arm+finger+hand is on a single "line" so that the fly doesn't see horizontal motion. It might only see your fingers getting slightly bigger and bigger, but so slowly that it can't judge that they are already very close to it.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

It's awful. Flo from Afula says any fool could imprison a fly in a flue along with a flea from a foal. But I feel she's full of it. And another fellow said this fallow idea doesn't follow. Her plan has a flaw and her logic doesn't flow. They wouldn't fall for it, they'd file their way out. And if they flew, they could flee and the plan would fail as they once again fill the room. End this folly and flay all the the flies in one fell swoop.

 

[Office_Shredder]

I've heard that flies can sense the change in air pressure from a hand moving rapidly towards them and get out of the way from that, so it's easier to kill them by moving your hand (or crushing device) slowly toward them until you're just about touching them

 

[Evo]

Bring an electric flyzapper to the library. That ought to get the librarian's attention.

 

[wuliheron]

When the librarian isn't looking, splash a little sugar water on their clothing. Repeat as necessary.

 

[flyingpig]

I am so going to get banned from the library lol

 

[ArcanaNoir]

I thought the thread was about FLEAS in the library. Be glad it's flies and not fleas. I don't think eating in the library is the problem. We have a Starbucks in our library and there are not flies that I've seen. Being in Florida, we keep all buildings hermetically sealed and strongly air conditioned, which keeps the flies out. (lol) Does your library have open windows that are only screened or a door that's open a lot? Maybe you could explore other areas of campus with computer access? You're not going to get rid of the flies. Maybe complain to a local news station? The school might do something about the flies if they fear bad pr.

 

[ArcanaNoir]

Or, maybe it's time to take a walk over to the life-bio building. See if they've been doing any genetics experiments that may have gotten loose. If not, maybe they can help eradicate the creatures!

 

[Proton Soup]

I thought the thread was about FLEAS in the library. Be glad it's flies and not fleas. I don't think eating in the library is the problem. We have a Starbucks in our library and there are not flies that I've seen. Being in Florida, we keep all buildings hermetically sealed and strongly air conditioned, which keeps the flies out. (lol) Does your library have open windows that are only screened or a door that's open a lot? Maybe you could explore other areas of campus with computer access? You're not going to get rid of the flies. Maybe complain to a local news station? The school might do something about the flies if they fear bad pr.

obviously the dept of agriculture needs to come down and take samples

 

[Newai]

Hi, flyingpig.

I'd recommend the Schwerer Gustav, a 1,350 tonne World War II railway siege gun. Its 4,800 kg high explosive ammunition had an explosive mass of 700 kg and could be fired to a range of 48 km. This should effectively vaporize or crush every fruit fly in your library. Since they were manufactured by the Krupp company, this is good news because they don't charge for the first gun you buy. Here is their http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/en/index.html" , though it doesn't look like they're in the arms business anymore. I'd suggest sending them a large number of your flies and that should explain the problem to them.

The Schwerer Gustav is the black silhouette in the background (the red is an SS-21 SRBM launcher for comparison)
[PLAIN]http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/576/500pxdoravsscarabsvg.png

[PLAIN]http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/8203/tbgunlg4de.jpg

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerer_Gustav

Hope that helps!

Oh, here's a clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n-XlxEuWfk

And a longer version in German showing it in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyFKbLGGCVY&feature=related

 

[Pengwuino]

Did you get a laser yet?

 

[BobG]

I think the library needs to invest in some frogs. The frogs can be kept in cages with the mesh openings large enough to admit flies. Distribute the cages in strategic spots near the computers and the frogs will help eliminate any flies that spend too much time flitting about the vicinity of the customers.

Or, if the library won't do it, then buy your own pet frog and just take it with you whenever you visit the library.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Maybe complain to a local news station? The school might do something about the flies if they fear bad pr.

This would probably work. The news down here loves to air petty stuff about the local colleges.

 

[flyingpig]

Did you get a laser yet?

Where do you buy them? What if you miss?? Those things fly really fast

 

[Pengwuino]

Where do you buy them? What if you miss?? Those things fly really fast

You will miss. Half the fun is the collateral damage you will cause.

Google "Buy lasers" numbnuts.

 

[micromass]

Where do you buy them? What if you miss?? Those things fly really fast

Practice makes perfect! Try to practice on immobile target first, like people's eyes.

 

[BobG]

Practice makes perfect! Try to practice on immobile target first, like people's eyes.

This is so sad it's funny. And the funniest part about it is that after you shoot the first eye, they put their hands over the bad eye instead using them to protect their one remaining good eye. What is wrong with people?! Do they never think ahead?!

 

[turbo]

Why are people allowed to eat in the library? If I had tried that when I was in college, I would have been very firmly "asked" to leave. Bugs love remnants of human foods, and many of them can subsist on leather, vellum, paper, glues, etc. Sorry to be a wet blanket in an entertaining thread, but our university's library had some really strict (and entirely understandable) rules and it's disappointing to see such disrespect for the real books in such a repository.

 

[ArcanaNoir]

Why are people allowed to eat in the library? If I had tried that when I was in college, I would have been very firmly "asked" to leave. Bugs love remnants of human foods, and many of them can subsist on leather, vellum, paper, glues, etc. Sorry to be a wet blanket in an entertaining thread, but our university's library had some really strict (and entirely understandable) rules and it's disappointing to see such disrespect for the real books in such a repository.

There are no books on the first floor of our library, which is where all the computing/eating happens.

 

[DaveC426913]

I've heard that flies can sense the change in air pressure from a hand moving rapidly towards them and get out of the way from that, so it's easier to kill them by moving your hand (or crushing device) slowly toward them until you're just about touching them

It's not so much that they can sense it but they do ride it.

This is why effective flyswatters are heavily perforated.

 

[turbo]

There are no books on the first floor of our library, which is where all the computing/eating happens.

Bugs can crawl, fly, and reproduce and end up in the stacks, eating valuable old books. There is no way to effectively ban the bugs from the upper levels of the library without making those levels inaccessible to the students.

 

[lisab]

It's not so much that they can sense it but they do ride it.

This is why effective flyswatters are heavily perforated.

It must feel like surfing, to the fly.

 

[ArcanaNoir]

Bugs can crawl, fly, and reproduce and end up in the stacks, eating valuable old books. There is no way to effectively ban the bugs from the upper levels of the library without making those levels inaccessible to the students.

Maybe not completely, but we don't have any flies anyway :) I mostly meant we weren't getting our smudgy food hands all over books.