Eliminate Pesky Flies Naturally

[wolram]

What is the best way to get rid of pesky flies, spray cans are a waste of money as as soon as you open a window or door the stuff is dispersed, and those sticky things are so unsightly.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

What is the best way to get rid of pesky flies, spray cans are a waste of money as as soon as you open a window or door the stuff is dispersed, and those sticky things are so unsightly.

get a cat or dog. since getting a cat and dog I have ZERO bug problems, they are both expert fly catchers and will eat any bug they come across :)

if you have fruit fly problems here is what you do. first take out all trash. clean up and put away all dishes. clean out the sink and counters. then place a piece of fruit, perferably a banana peel in the sink. turn the lights out and wait 15-20min. then sneak up on them while holding a bottle of kitchen cleaner. surprise attack them with the cleaner. repeat as necessary with those who escape. - I had a major fruit fly problem last week and that is how I defeated them in an afternoon!

 

[BobG]

If they're houseflies, you can catch them by hand. Throw them against the wall as hard as you can. It'll knock them unconcious, but won't kill them. Put them in a plastic vial or jar. When you've accumulated around a dozen, stick them in the freezer. Again, this won't kill them, but they'll be unconscious when you remove them from the freezer the next day.

Build yourself an airplane out of very thing strips of balsa and Saran wrap. Once the airplane is complete, remove the unconscious flies from the freezer and supergule them to the wings of the airplane.

Once the flies regain conciousness, you'll have a flying model airplane powered by a 12 houseflypower engine. The plane will fly very slow (so you need a lot of wing) and it's very hard to control the flight. The flies tend to start and stop on their own and it's very hard to train them to synchronize their efforts.

Still, it's a very cool plane for as long as the flies live. You can just replace them with new flies once they die, so the maintenance is pretty low.

So far, I've yet to see any objections from PETA, so I think it's an ethical use of animals in the pursuit of education and entertainment.

 

[Borek]

if you have fruit fly problems

Search forums for turbo's post containing "cider vinegar"

 

[brewnog]

You need an Executioner!
Very effective and great fun too. It's like an electric tennis racquet.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009JKC8M/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[BobG]

You need an Executioner!
Very effective and great fun too. It's like an electric tennis racquet.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009JKC8M/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Finally,a way to introduce the sport of tennis to the beer drinking set.

 

[Kurdt]

We have common garden spider in the kitchen.

 

[scarecrow]

Swat them with a pillow (larger surface area = higher probability of swatting them). I always do that and they end up crashing into the wall (It actually makes a sound when their bodies hit the wall). It knocks them out cold. Pick them up with a tissue and then release them outside (or just flush them down the toilet).

 

[Andre]

Go and move to the 14th floor of a appartment building. That's too high for the bugs. You can open windows at night with the lights on, no insects whatsoever.

 

[rootX]

Coke/Pepsi can kill can them.
Just let them drink some.

I heard on yahoo answers that it kills rats (I will be killing the rat in my house tonight ).

 

[LowlyPion]

Here's one you can make at home.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Fly-Trap/

 

[russ_watters]

What is the best way to get rid of pesky flies, spray cans are a waste of money as as soon as you open a window or door the stuff is dispersed...

Well, I think you just suggested a solution: seal every orifice of your house air tight (I suggest covering the windows and doors with plastic) and hit about a dozen cans of RAID with an axe. That'll fill your house up nicely and with limited waste from dispersion. I guarantee this will be highly effective at killing flies.

 

[Moonbear]

get a cat or dog. since getting a cat and dog I have ZERO bug problems, they are both expert fly catchers and will eat any bug they come across :)

Are you kidding?! My cat is a great flycatcher too, but I'm not sure it's an improvement being woken up in the middle of the night by her running across me, jumping at the walls, bounding off the furniture, and generally making quite a ruckus as she chases a fly. I preferred it when all I heard was "buzz buzz buzz" near the ceiling or window screen.

I prefer her as a spider catcher...they move more slowly and she can usually get them in a single pounce.

I don't really worry a lot about flies. They just seem like a natural part of summer to me, and I've accepted that as soon as you think you've killed them all, another sneaks in the door with you. So, as long as they aren't buzzing my head or trying to bite me, I can pretty well ignore them. The weather is turning colder and they'll die off soon.

 

[Moonbear]

Well, I think you just suggested a solution: seal every orifice of your house air tight (I suggest covering the windows and doors with plastic) and hit about a dozen cans of RAID with an axe. That'll fill your house up nicely and with limited waste from dispersion. I guarantee this will be highly effective at killing flies.

*cough* *cough* *cough* And all the occupants too!

 

[Evo]

My dog is a great fly catcher, the cat is more then cricket and larger bug killer. Although I usually only find dead bodies, so they are doing a pretty good job. I had a cat that would kill wasps. Watching her leap into the air after doing the cat chatter was incredible. Her accuracy was dead on. I was always afraid she'd get stung in the mouth, but she never had a problem.

 

[russ_watters]

*cough* *cough* *cough* And all the occupants too!

I didn't read anything about occupants in the specifications for the job.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Go and move to the 14th floor of a appartment building. That's too high for the bugs. You can open windows at night with the lights on, no insects whatsoever.

hmm i don't think so, I was once on a 20th floor and the balcony had tons of flying insects and spiders

 

[FrancisZ]

Don't kill them. Try to catch them and then let them out.

 

[LowlyPion]

Another strategy is to take meat scraps and put them up on the roof ...
of the neighbor you don't like.

 

[tribdog]

Swat them with a pillow (larger surface area = higher probability of swatting them). I always do that and they end up crashing into the wall (It actually makes a sound when their bodies hit the wall). It knocks them out cold. Pick them up with a tissue and then release them outside (or just flush them down the toilet).

remind me to bring my own linens if I ever stay at your place.

 

[wolram]

I found a way to kill them by accident, i left a cup with some of my whiskey sauce on the kitchen counter, this morning there were 6 dead flies in it.

 

[tribdog]

I found a way to kill them by accident, i left a cup with some of my whiskey sauce on the kitchen counter, this morning there were 6 dead flies in it.

I've tasted your whiskey sauce. I believe it.

 

[Andre]

hmm i don't think so, I was once on a 20th floor and the balcony had tons of flying insects and spiders

Okay, modifying the hypothesis, it seems that if you bring a balcony biotope to that height as well, the bugs will follow eventually.

I found a way to kill them by accident, i left a cup with some of my whiskey sauce on the kitchen counter, this morning there were 6 dead flies in it.

So how healthy is that wiskey in the first place?

 

[wolram]

So how healthy is that wiskey in the first place?

A flash fried steak and whiskey sauce is to die for.

 

[tribdog]

A flash fried steak and whiskey sauce is to die for.

obviously.

At least it was for six flies.

 

[Moonbear]

A flash fried steak and whiskey sauce is to die for.

obviously.

At least it was for six flies.

:rofl:

 

[scarecrow]

Interesting article from the BBC about this subject:

Fly's brain 'senses swat threat'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7586868.stm

 

[Evo]

I found a way to kill them by accident, i left a cup with some of my whiskey sauce on the kitchen counter, this morning there were 6 dead flies in it.

Well, at least they died happy.

 

[FrancisZ]

I found a way to kill them by accident, i left a cup with some of my whiskey sauce on the kitchen counter, this morning there were 6 dead flies in it.

This so reminds me of that old Joe Cartoon Superflies recurring bit. Funny but gross. You can see it on Youtube at your own discretion.

This one is fairly benign; cute even...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDXpd5g3Clc

 

[humanino]

VA living museum : I had never imagined flies bigger than my thumb. It's really horrible.

 

[wildman]

I didn't read anything about occupants in the specifications for the job.

Russ, you got my vote for the funniest. I laughed out loud at that one.

 

[Zenparticle]

I notice they end up by the windows or doors. I usually just wait for them to go towards an exit and then open it and sort of shoo them out. This way I don't have to worry about splatter mist of fly guts all over the place.

 

[rootX]

Has anyone tried vacuum cleaner to kill flies/rats/anything

 

[tribdog]

Has anyone tried vacuum cleaner to kill flies/rats/anything

I've never tried a vacuum but I've gone the other direction. I had a pump bb gun and I would pump it up and not load it. if you get close and shoot the bugs the air would blow them up.
Edit: Blow them up like explode, not blow them up like a balloon.

 

[Evo]

Has anyone tried vacuum cleaner to kill flies/rats/anything

It won't kill them, it will just suck them inside the vacuum cleaner. I guess if you leave them in there long enough they will die. If you vacuum up bugs, then you have a bag/cannister full of bugs, and you should throw it out before they crawl out.