Flies in the library, big ones. Ideas?

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers around the issue of giant fruit flies in a college library, with users proposing various humorous and unconventional solutions. Suggestions include using fly tape with banana to attract flies, employing laser pointers, and even capturing bats or frogs to control the fly population. The conversation highlights the frustration with library cleanliness and the challenges of maintaining a pest-free environment in public spaces where food is allowed.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of pest control methods
  • Familiarity with library environments and their regulations
  • Knowledge of fly behavior and attraction techniques
  • Basic principles of air pressure and movement in relation to insects
NEXT STEPS
  • Research effective fly control methods in public spaces
  • Explore the use of non-toxic attractants for pest management
  • Investigate the impact of food policies in libraries on pest populations
  • Learn about the ecological role of bats and frogs in pest control
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for library staff, pest control professionals, and anyone interested in maintaining cleanliness and pest management in public spaces, particularly in environments where food consumption occurs.

  • #31
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.
 
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  • #32
turbo said:
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.
 
  • #33
Office_Shredder said:
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.
 
  • #34
ArcanaNoir said:
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.
 
  • #35
DaveC426913 said:
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.
 
  • #36
turbo said:
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.
 

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