fly killer spray formulae

[Harry Bloomfield]

Has the formulae of the cheap spray cans of fly killer changed? I/we have not needed to buy any for around 15 years [1], I used the last dregs of it yesterday and it wasn't very effective, but as always it made my eyes water and caught the back of my throat. I bought a fresh can today, tried it and there were not of the anticipated effects, in fact the smell wasn't that unpleasant. I'm not yet sure how effective it was.

[1] During the 'fly season' I fit a fly screen to the inner back door and never open windows during the day, or the unprotected front door - except I was cutting the hedges over the weekend, mostly at the front, so I unlocked and opened the front door to provide a place to sit and take a few minutes rest. The flies must have gained entry then. There is a lot of farmland around me and so flies are a problem.

 

[Odds]

When i had the loft re-insulated couple of years ago, dozens of the sods flew out onto the landing. Apparently, they like to over-winter somewhere snug and wait for warm weather.
I just hoovered 'em up as they were way too sluggish to get out of the way.

It's a bother you can't open a window in summer - can you not fit a mesh screen over it?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It's a bother you can't open a window in summer - can you not fit a mesh screen over it?

It's not the only reason for keeping windows closed during the day, when the weather is warm - Keeping the shut during the day, keeps the house cooler, especially if you open them during the cooler night air.

I would seem to have just the two flies in the house, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. They are just laughing at the fly killer spray, I'm sure.

 

[^woody^]

Apparently, they like to over-winter somewhere snug and wait for warm weather.

Flies have a life time of less than a month and don't "over winter".

You must have had a load of maggots up there

 

[conny]

We have net screen frames over the openable windows held in place by velcro strips. They get removed during autumn/winter months and the windows are only opened to the vent position during this time. I'm in the process of making a screen door for the outside of the utility room but been so busy lately I haven't progressed far. Got the stiles and rails cut but need to join them together before fitting the mesh and then hanging it. Had a lightweight one for a few years but last summer one of the grandchildren poked his fingers through the nylon mesh and my FIL leaned heavily on the centre rail and twisted the frame. We still get the odd fly sneaking in if someone doesn't close a door properly or leaves it open when bringing shopping in. Usually dealt with by an electronic tennis bat or a quick blast of Raid, (with the white top as it smells less nasty but just as effective). Never bother with cheap fly sprays as they are more like air fresheners.

 

[Bod ...]

Has the formulae of the cheap spray cans of fly killer changed? I/we have not needed to buy any for around 15 years [1], I used the last dregs of it yesterday and it wasn't very effective, but as always it made my eyes water and caught the back of my throat. I bought a fresh can today, tried it and there were not of the anticipated effects, in fact the smell wasn't that unpleasant. I'm not yet sure how effective it was.

[1] During the 'fly season' I fit a fly screen to the inner back door and never open windows during the day, or the unprotected front door - except I was cutting the hedges over the weekend, mostly at the front, so I unlocked and opened the front door to provide a place to sit and take a few minutes rest. The flies must have gained entry then. There is a lot of farmland around me and so flies are a problem.

Today's flys are an endangered species. They need respect.
What you bought was more than likely fly perfume

 

[lostinthelight]

Flies have a life time of less than a month and don't "over winter".

You must have had a load of maggots up there

We have thousands of them in our loft, it stirs them up if I go up there and put the light on or if I leave the trap door open they come buzzing down..

https://www.cotswold.gov.uk/media/nqaecyzh/cluster-fly-fact-sheet.pdf

 

[securespark]

Flies hate the smell of cinnamon, peppermint oil, lemongrass oil and vodka.

Put little dishes of any of these around the house, especially near windows that you open and you should find it keeps them out.

 

[Justin Passing]

I remember whatever it was they used to use in "Vapona" got banned many years ago.
Some of the products you see now are just deterrents, which is annoying. After a bit the things revive and fly around again. If it says "fly killer" it should do what it says on the can......
"Formula C" seems to be what all the sellers flog now, which has Chrysanthemum Cinerariaefolium Extract. I thought it might be just a smell but it does kill things. It does catch your throat.
Pyriproxyfen is an interesting one, it stops cluster flies reproducing, apparently.
Also found the other day that if you want to kill Box Moth, the best is a bacteria. Oooh.
Lots more online of course. Apparently Basil keeps flies away...

Found this from 2001 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1939569.stm

 

[Mottie]

I noticed this hanging over the rear doorway of our next door neighbour. I mentioned it to Mrs Mottie and she told me what it was for - I’ve never heard of it before!

 

[noseall]

Flies have a life time of less than a month and don't "over winter".

You must have had a load of maggots up there

Read about cluster flies. We have come across them often when stripping roofs.

 

[noseall]

When i had the loft re-insulated couple of years ago, dozens of the sods flew out onto the landing. Apparently, they like to over-winter somewhere snug and wait for warm weather.
I just hoovered 'em up as they were way too sluggish to get out of the way.

Cluster flies.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Cluster flies.

No, they are just common house flies and only two of them. I have not seen the one in the living room area yet this morning, but yesterday I left plugged in the UV /HV fly zapper I bought many years ago. I bought it as an attempt to deal with the flies which came in, before I added a fly mesh screen at the back door. The magnetic mesh has been almost a 100% fix for keeping out of the house since I began using it, so I have not needed the UV gadget.

It's comes in two halves, which snap closed together down the middle using magnets. The idea is it is kept attached to the door frame by strips of sticky backed Velcro, but the Velcro doesn't stay stuck for long - To fix that, I made up a simple timber frame of 1/2 x 1/2 timber, which I screw to the door frame trapping the mesh in place.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I left plugged in the UV /HV fly zapper I bought many years ago. I bought it as an attempt to deal with the flies which came in, before I added a fly mesh screen at the back door.

I bought it and quite quickly gave up on it, simply because I wasn't aware of any flies it had dealt with - little did I know, that the base unscrewed which was where all the dead flies would be collected. Discovering this morning that the base was removable, I removed it to find there was quite a collection of dead flies in the bottom. It does work after all..

[EDIT] I have just checked the consumption of this gadget with my plug in adaptor/meter. It suggest it consumes 0.3 watts. It is one of those portable units, plastic cased, able to be hung up and looks rather like an old fashioned paraffin storm lights. Vertical UV tube down the middle, surrounded by HV bare wires. I almost chucked it out a couple of years ago, as a useless item.

Despite the fly screen keeping the larger flies out, I still get troubled by the really tiny ones. When I looked in the collection tray in the bottom it seemed to be mostly filled with those really tiny ones, so it's probably worth keeping it on for the sake of 0.3w to catch those annoying tiny ones, what ever they are?

 

[Bod ...]

Went to big white house on the outskirts of my Town. This lady had little converted units to the side that she has let go and wanted to get inhabitable again... no one ad lived there for a while...

Like something from a horror film I opened a tap...... all these flys flew out at us we both screamed ................then had a snog........ joking about the snog...... but it did scare the shíţ out of us both.