UV flykillers - anyone got one?

[Penners]

My daughter and her husband have a constant problem with cluster flies in their house. The problem only exists in the second floor bedroom, which is underneath the thatched roof (of course, the thatch is hidden behind properly plastered walls/ceiling), but it is an ongoing irritation.

They've tried insecticides as much as they dare (bearing in mind that there are children in the house), but this hasn't fully worked. So they were wondering about putting up an ultraviolet insect killing gizmo - the sort that you often see in food shops. For example: http://www.martleyelectronics.co.uk/electric-grid/541-insect-a-clear-compact-30-watt-fly-killer.html

Has anyone tried one of these? Do they really work? Or have you any other ideas for getting rid of the pesky flies?

 

[tobydog]

I had a brand new house before my current 400 year old one :? and within a year I was plagued with cluster flies. They are harmless and don't generally carry the same germs as normal house flies but they are very annoying. At this time of year they will be hibernating in your loft / roof space and, if unchecked, will be back again next winter because apparently they go back to the same place each year. The rest of the year they are normally living around your garden on compost / rotting vegetation on and in the soil. I actually moved before I sorted the issue, however, from what I understand, fumigating the loft at this time of year is probably the best option. A UV killer in the house will only get the one's you see and I don't know if it will rouse them in the loft at this time of year. If the roof is anything like mine, there are probably thousands up there .

 

[Penners]

Yes, tobydog, you've hit the problem spot on. I agree that a UV killer will only deal with the ones that come within its range. However, daughter/husband don't want to risk having noxious fumes around the house, becasue of the children.

It's a problem...

 

[Flyfisher]

I'd also feel uncomfortable spraying insecticide around a home containing small children, especially when the flies themselves seem to pose no health risk.

If this information is correct then spraying the lawn might be a better form of control, though I suppose they might just come in from the neightbour's grass: http://howto.yellow.co.nz/home-garden/pest-control-home-garden/how-to-stop-cluster-flies/

 

[Feltwell]

We got them here last year - they may have been around in previous years, but the roofspace they were in was sealed from the house, so I don't know. I put a loft hatch in to get access to put pumbing and wiring up there.

I bought one of those fogger thingies, as below

http://www.clusterflies.co.uk/pest-expert-formula-p-fogger-includes-free-mask--gloves-24-p.asp

I set it off, chucked it in the loft, sealed the hatch and left. 10 minutes later I went upstairs to hear a sound like rushing water - thinking my plumbing had gone wrong, I dashed in there to find it was the cluster flies going absolutely beserk before they died.

It certainly worked but I haven't investigated if they've come back or not this year. For a chemical free solution, I don't think the UV devices would work - my cluster flies were, as the name implies, all clustered up together in a ball stuck to a roof timber and weren't doing much, only the odd one or two were dopily flying around rather half-heartedly.

I wouldn't be that happy to do it again, as my daughter now sleeps underneath that loft space. When I used the fogger all the kids were on the floor below.

 

[Penners]

Many thanks for that, Feltwell. Did you notice any effects from the fogger in the rest of the house, or do you think that the fumes were fairly well contained in the loft?

 

[Feltwell]

I think the fumes were fairly well contained up there Penners - and that's despite it being a very small loft space, the fogger could have coped with a much bigger loft so the fumes would have been quite concentrated. There are vent type roof tiles to that space though, and it's up very high so is quite breezy and well ventilated in there.

Maybe daughter could take the kids out for the day (to terrorise Grandad perhaps? :wink: ) whilst son-in-law chucks the fogger up in the loft, quick shuts the hatch and then opens the upstairs windows for a couple of hours.

 

[Feltwell]

You got me thinking I should really check our loft again Penners. Looking online, it seems that eradication is nigh-on impossible but control is possible. As a first chemical-free step if you can locate the hibernating swarm in the loft, just hoovering them up is suggested on a couple of sites. They are not a hazard to health in any way but can make a sickly smell if present in large enough numbers, and trying to control them outside is pointless is pretty much a summary of what I've read.

 

[Penners]

Maybe daughter could take the kids out for the day (to terrorise Grandad perhaps?)

That's already a well-trodden path, so it's probably what will happen! I think your suggestion sounds like a good plan. The vacuuming idea is perhaps workable, but I can't believe it would get them all, whereas the 'fog' should find them wherever they hide.

 

[Bayliss]

We use a electrified tennis racket which works off a battery in the handle. As soon as you swot a fly it, the fly, goes to its grave in blazing glory. The side benefit to using the tennis racket is its a good 'work out'. :lol:

 

[tobydog]

The racket works fine in the kitchen but to tackle cluster flies you need to have serial killer tendencies and plenty of batteries :twisted:

 

[Penners]

As tobydog says, using one of those tennis racquet gizmos to deal with cluster flies is like sweeping all the sand off a beach with a toothbrush.

 

[JHD]

Sorry to resurrect a post that is 2 years old, but I currently have a cluster fly collection that I would like to get rid of. I was wondering if the fogger method suggested by Feltwell was still the recommended solution. I tried a UV lamp before I'd identified that they were cluster flies, but they are too lazy to fly into it. They are piling up on the bedroom windowsill, but I'm guessing that there are more in the loft space above. Nobody sleeps in that bedroom, except the cat (who can be moved), so nasty chemicals shouldn't be too much of an issue. Is there any benefit to bombing the room itself too?

 

[Matt Green]

UV fly killers with electrified grids (zapper units that go TzzzZZt) would be a serious fire risk, especially in a thatch. A glueboard unit would be better, but running any electrical device in a roof void is a risk.

A total release aerosol would be a reasonable way of approaching the problem, as would spraying around any windows with an off-the-shelf residual insecticide.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh! But you can't beat flesh-and-blood fly-catchers; I've got three very good ones. The best is Lady Emma Hamilton, then Horatio Lord Nelson, then Madame Chocolat. All so much more effective than anything else I've tried.

 

[Penners]

Sorry to resurrect a post that is 2 years old, but I currently have a cluster fly collection that I would like to get rid of. I was wondering if the fogger method suggested by Feltwell was still the recommended solution.

I completely agree with Matt Green. My daughter had a considerable cluster-fly problem in the roof of her (thatched) house, and the only thing that considerably ameliorated the problem was a "fogger" total-release aerosol.

 

[JHD]

Oh! But you can't beat flesh-and-blood fly-catchers; I've got three very good ones. The best is Lady Emma Hamilton, then Horatio Lord Nelson, then Madame Chocolat. All so much more effective than anything else I've tried.

My flesh-and-blood fly-catchers have let me down. Flies don't see Irving coming, but he gets full quite quickly, and Monte would rather chase me around the house and explore the beams.

Irving:

Monte: