Hundreds of flies...

[2520years]

We've recently evicted someone from one of our houses, and gone in to inspect the state of the place.

The first time we went in there were about a hundred big flies in the front room, so we let them out of the window. The second time there were another twenty or thirty, and the longer we leave it between visits the more flies there are.

They must be coming from somewhere and we can't see anywhere obvious. My theory is there is a dead bird in the chimney and they're coming through the fireplace.

Has anyone here been called out to take out a gas fire to get at something dead in a chimney? Could you shed any light on our problem? How long would it take and how much would it cost to do this job?

I'm sure there are more pleasant jobs, we were also thinking of ringing the Council.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JohnD]

dead body under the floor?

sloppy food spilled in the kitchen?

Broken drain?

prawns in the curtain rails?

kitchen bin not emptied?

I tbink you are going to have to empty and clean each room and inspect as you go

Take a powerful vacuum cleaner with a snout so you can hoover then up (you want one with a disposable bag)

You might still be able to get a slow-release insecticide (Vapona has been discontinued) or spray something like Dethlac around (it leaves a film on hard surfaces, and poisons then through their feet when they walk on it)

 

[mickyg]

Have removed birds from behind fires on a few occasions, dead and alive!
Its definately a possiblity, and if you are going to rent the place out again, after having undesirables there it would be a sensible thing to have it checked anyway.

 

[2520years]

Thanks both.

I'm certain it's the front room, because all the flies have been there, and even though the tenants broke the door off its hinges it was virtually shut.

We've got to get a gas inspection before putting new tenants in, so I'll ask the CORGI man to check it out.

Cheers.

 

[D_Hailsham]

We've recently evicted someone from one of our houses, and gone in to inspect the state of the place.

And you can't afford to pay someone to sort it out???

 

[2520years]

We've recently evicted someone from one of our houses, and gone in to inspect the state of the place.

And you can't afford to pay someone to sort it out???

Who said we can't afford it? I'm not CORGI registered so I can't take the fireplace out myself, but I want to work out the best way forward.

In fact this tenant was in for 18 months and hadn't been paying the rent, so it could be that we have more than one house but be skint...it's called being "cash poor but capital rich". In our case, we're cash poor and capital poor!

 

[Norcon]

Just take a tin of fly spray and fumigate each room heavily then vacate the premises for several hours.
On returning open all windows and sweep/hoover up the dead flies.

 

[2520years]

Cheers. We used fly spray yesterday...it's really quick at killing those things, but we'll have to see if they come back.