FLIES. its a NIGHTMARE! How to stop?

[maxcatt]

The PICTURE of the bottle cut in half and inverted works 100%...BEST and Only liquid to use is BEER or wine...If you do not drink YEAST,SUGAR,OLD FRUIT peelings such as papaya water solution..I SET OUT 8 BOTTLES away from the house...this collects like 1,000 flies( EACH BOTTLE in 2-3days....empty and repeat..I have found this does thin the herd down.I live in Essan on the edge of a village with Water buffalo and a dirt road and this is the best I have found.The electric zappers are good fun but always approach the flies from the rear...the take off and fly into the zapper. I also have a BLACK HOLE..MOSQUITO zapper and I use FABRIC SOFTENER IN THE bottom to catch the flies and makes the HOUSE smell fresh and you KNOW how Thais love the smell of FABRIC SOFTENER...This year is a record bumper crop of flies not much rain but many flies an ants...good luck.

[Rorri]

But where are the OP's flies coming from? The house will be littered with chopped up plastic bottle fly-traps and yards of sticky paper and sticks and STILL have flies buzzing in and out.

Flies (maggots) hatch in organic materials and even in moist ground. Maybe a neighbour has a noodle meat ball factory and dumps the pretty foul effluent nearby; saw that in Udon once. Rotting fruit and vegetation? Any banana plantations nearby? A poorly managed compost heap (usually a farang thing)? Moobahn garbage pile nearby? Restaurant waste bins?

Find the source!

I come from Perth, Western Australia, 100 flies, heck man, that's nothing, sometimes I'd be carrying that many on my back, we tend to get two large periods each year, the flies breed in the northern areas (for the aussies, Pilbara and Kimberly) during the cooler months, when it gets too hot they travel south, passing thru Perth metro area, then when it gets too cold they travel back north, so what I'm getting at is that they do not necessarily breed close to your house. Do what most aussies do, learn to brush (great Australian salute) them away, put screens on all windows and doors, you can also use rub on/spray on repellents, but killing them really is a waste of time, you kill a thousand, they are instantly replaced.

[farang000999]

Over the years I have learned that different people have hilariously different standards when it comes to what "clean" means. Many, if not most people are total slobs. They will tell you that their house is clean and for someone like myself, it is a total disgusting pig sty. If you have an abundance of flies or ants or cockroach your home or home's exterior probably is not as clean as you believe it to be.

[Adeeos]

HERE'S your solution,, looks great fun too!!! http://bugasalt.com/how/gun-how-works-big.php

[unanimosity]

Ahh man.... I have no idea what is going on but moved into a new house and its like a hotel for flies. Its a nice big house, clean, not old, and the mrs seems to spend most of the time cleaning so its not a hygene thing. Plus my mate who lives around the corner says he has the same issue and its a recent thing.

There must be 100 of them in or around the house, As I write this there are about 20 of them just walking around on the lounge floor. They gather in little mobs and fly away when you get up and startle them.

Im constantly waving my arms around swatting them away and its driving me nuts!

I spent 3000 baht on a nice mosquito black hole thing that the bloke said works for flies also. It dosent. Neither does the electric zapper thing with a blue light that cost 1500 baht. Im too bloody slow to swat them and they dont annoy my mrs half as much as they do me, so she only occasionaly swats them.

Fly spray no good. Kills them for a while but reinforcments arive in 10 mins and i have a dog so dont like too much toxic spray kicking about.

Any tips? Any machine out there i can buy? They are pissing me off so much i would even say money is no object.

Apart from this - why the hell are there so many of them?

There is an old Thai technic ; find some empty plastic bottles (1.5 liters, pepsi or coke bottles are fine) remove all stickers , wash thoroughly, fill with plain water and place them in and around your place. I saw this so many times here and asked an old lady what purpose it serves and she told me this technic works fine with common flies.

This supposedly causes strange reactions to the fly vision by increasing magnification and distortion. Another version of this that works is to hang plastic zip-lock bags half filled with water above doors and other points of access. You do of course have screens installed? It helps to drop a couple of ten baht coins in each bag as they appear to the fly to be eyes.

[unanimosity]

But where are the OP's flies coming from? The house will be littered with chopped up plastic bottle fly-traps and yards of sticky paper and sticks and STILL have flies buzzing in and out.

Flies (maggots) hatch in organic materials and even in moist ground. Maybe a neighbour has a noodle meat ball factory and dumps the pretty foul effluent nearby; saw that in Udon once. Rotting fruit and vegetation? Any banana plantations nearby? A poorly managed compost heap (usually a farang thing)? Moobahn garbage pile nearby? Restaurant waste bins?

Find the source!

I come from Perth, Western Australia, 100 flies, heck man, that's nothing, sometimes I'd be carrying that many on my back, we tend to get two large periods each year, the flies breed in the northern areas (for the aussies, Pilbara and Kimberly) during the cooler months, when it gets too hot they travel south, passing thru Perth metro area, then when it gets too cold they travel back north, so what I'm getting at is that they do not necessarily breed close to your house. Do what most aussies do, learn to brush (great Australian salute) them away, put screens on all windows and doors, you can also use rub on/spray on repellents, but killing them really is a waste of time, you kill a thousand, they are instantly replaced.

This brings up the fact that all flying insects tend to abhor cold so crank up your air conditioner and close all openings.

[jocko]

rub on/spray on repellents. Australian after shave works wonders

[unanimosity]

Do you have a cesspit? That could be the answer.

If no cesspit obviously ignore this

"If no cesspit obviously ignore this " Great Saturday morning laugh. Thanks.

Not sure how effective this is but it sounds fairly easy and if it fails you can eat the basil.

There are about a million kinds of basil and new varieties being introduced all the time. Basil is a beautiful fragrant plant that grows easily in most climates. It even tolerates the dry, Texas heat pretty well.

Most people know fresh basil is delicious in pesto, tomato based dishes, and salads but did you also know that it is one of the best ways to keep flies out of your house? Just plant basil next to the doors, use as a foundation planting mixed in with your flowers, or plant in containers. The flies will stay far away.

You can grow basil in containers by your picnic table or on your patio and cut a nice size bunch of it to decorate the blanket with when you go to a remote picnic spot. As an added bonus, mosquitoes don't like it either. Choose your favorite, all the basil that I have tried works equally as well.

This corresponds with the fact that flies hate and will avoid peppermint, and basil has a bit of a mint aroma. If you eat outside, lay unwrapped strips of peppermint chewing gum on the edges of plates and flies tend to stay away.

[briboy]

in N.W. N.S.W my Nan used to leave some of the washing water in a bucket especially for controlling the flies, worked great, Pop used to use what he called a Q.L.D fly vale, cut a hole in the back of your pants and that kept them away from his face, no use killing them as each 1 you kill 500 come to its funeral....

Edited July 13, 2013 by briboy

[hellodolly]

Try putting Listerine in a plastic spray bottle. Spray it around all openings and a bit around the house. Of course needs repeating treatment.

[Mudcrab]

But where are the OP's flies coming from? The house will be littered with chopped up plastic bottle fly-traps and yards of sticky paper and sticks and STILL have flies buzzing in and out.

Flies (maggots) hatch in organic materials and even in moist ground. Maybe a neighbour has a noodle meat ball factory and dumps the pretty foul effluent nearby; saw that in Udon once. Rotting fruit and vegetation? Any banana plantations nearby? A poorly managed compost heap (usually a farang thing)? Moobahn garbage pile nearby? Restaurant waste bins?

Find the source!

I come from Perth, Western Australia, 100 flies, heck man, that's nothing, sometimes I'd be carrying that many on my back, we tend to get two large periods each year, the flies breed in the northern areas (for the aussies, Pilbara and Kimberly) during the cooler months, when it gets too hot they travel south, passing thru Perth metro area, then when it gets too cold they travel back north, so what I'm getting at is that they do not necessarily breed close to your house. Do what most aussies do, learn to brush (great Australian salute) them away, put screens on all windows and doors, you can also use rub on/spray on repellents, but killing them really is a waste of time, you kill a thousand, they are instantly replaced.

same as the fly attracting trap things you can get from bunnings etc. I used one once...and once only. I think I was the only person with flies...it seemed to have attracted the flies from the whole neighbourhood to my place.

[Frank James]

The Big Five in LOS:

1. Mosquitoes ( a cause for grave concern, with the dengue plague this year)

2. Flies (is there a continent on Earth where these are not found?)

3. Ants (several varieties, with the tiniest ones <almost invisible!> being the worst)

4. Gnats (ever had a battle with one that insists it is going to fly up your nose, no matter what!?)

5. Flying termites (these hatch out en mass all in one night, and go crazy for two hours, then seem to suddenly vanish.)

Thank God for lizards and bats. DO NOT kill these!

[ataloss]

Your wife is most likely doing a superb job of cleaning.

But you both forgot ....

the dog needs cleaning too, and when clean & dry, spray the critter with a diluted 3% solution of Hydrogen peroxide (aval at Makro drugs).

After mama has cleaned the floors spray with a diluted 3% solution of Hydrogen peroxide or as the wise restauranteur mentioned above a diluted spray of haiter.

It works.

BTW do not coat your body with these poisonous insect repellants, these are essentially blood or nerve agents (yep!).

A quick spray of Windex is all you need, undiluted, around your ankles and other sensitive spots does the job, and a narrow spray will, with practice, knock the insects out of flight. Test your skill set while on the porch putting back a cool one, or two, or....

[ableguy]

To get flie out of your lounge put a pile of cow shit in the kitchen

[swissie]

I have done extensive research on this subject. I believe I can offer a remedy.

- Flies don't like cold temperatures. So I spend my days in the refrigerator. Next to the benefit of living in a Fly-free-zone, I never have to reach too far to grab a bottle of beer.

- Fly's in Thailand are unionized. Daytime work is ok, but strictly no night-time work. So, come sunset, I crawl out of the refrigerator. The Fly's are gone, only to be replaced by Mosquitoes. (They are not unionized, they work around the clock!)

Not to worry. Mosquitoes don't like temperatures above 95 degrees Celsius. So I will have myself built a finnish-sauna for nighttime-use and during the daytime, I still will take refuge in my refrigerator.

Thailand is a perfect place to retire.

Cheers.

[mikecwm]

Apparently ziplock bags hung up with water in plus a few small coins works.

Seems the scattering of light from the water/coins disturbs the flies very complex eye and they prefer to be somewhere else.

[Tim207]

Even when I rented, I installed screens on the rental! First I had the landlord give written permission for me to do so and the right for me to keep my screens when I left. Before I moved in and signed a lease.

When I built my house we built the windows and doors to the same specifications as the size of the screens, The hardest part to that was to have my Thai neighbors and family to close the doors, it took a while but open doors are no longer a problem, I also use fly paper in the outside kitchen to control flies, it looks unsightly but very effective and after getting rid of the first hordes of flies now with so few flies stuck to them they do not look so bad.

We also placed a garbage can with a proper lid, in which to place the garbage and take it to the garbage bin in front of the house every night. We have the problem mostly under control, but the whole family must work together to effectively control our fly problem.

Cheers:

Lot's of flies outside my house but with the screens very few get inside. Getting my sons to close the doors though is a different ball of wax and has now become my full time job. I seem to remember my parents always telling me SHUT THE dam_n DOOR when I was a kid so I hope there're enjoying the payback where ever they are.

ever seen one of these? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2FQvfNGbt0

it would solve the people leaving the door open problem.

[thelongshoot]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have been away for a few days but started testing a few things today. Right now I have the upside down big water bottle traps around the house. Each trap has different bait..... one has old fruit, another chicken and another sweet water and wine. They have been out for 4 hours and so far, I have caught just one of the little bastards and im sure he stumbled in there by mistake. Whatever happens by the end of the day, at least I can kick the sh1t out of the little sod but thats little sollace given that there are hundreds of them bombing around the property right now, laughing at me and my gay traps.

The house is spotless. It realy is mega clean, so i dont get it.

I have a swatter, but havent developed the art of it yet. I was previously a good squash player but im waiting for muscle memory to kick in. Untill then, im going to try a few more things suggested. Im off to Makro in a minute to buy zipper bag, fill them with water and 10 baht coins. Im gonna stock up on Basil plants also as suggested.

They realy are driving me nuts.

On the bright side, they retreat in the evening. Brighter side more, i love the house so its not all doom and gloom.

[dao16]

Even when I rented, I installed screens on the rental! First I had the landlord give written permission for me to do so and the right for me to keep my screens when I left. Before I moved in and signed a lease.

When I built my house we built the windows and doors to the same specifications as the size of the screens, The hardest part to that was to have my Thai neighbors and family to close the doors, it took a while but open doors are no longer a problem, I also use fly paper in the outside kitchen to control flies, it looks unsightly but very effective and after getting rid of the first hordes of flies now with so few flies stuck to them they do not look so bad.

We also placed a garbage can with a proper lid, in which to place the garbage and take it to the garbage bin in front of the house every night. We have the problem mostly under control, but the whole family must work together to effectively control our fly problem.

Cheers:

Lot's of flies outside my house but with the screens very few get inside. Getting my sons to close the doors though is a different ball of wax and has now become my full time job. I seem to remember my parents always telling me SHUT THE dam_n DOOR when I was a kid so I hope there're enjoying the payback where ever they are.

Haha...I always think of the revenge aspect when I try to get the kids to turn off lights or unused fans. Has taken years, but is better now. I am sure my parents find that HILARIOUS.

[cape]

Flies are a nuisance

But red ants are worse

Any recipes for ridding my high rise flat of ants?

They seem to float in on any breeze and they can bite at night

[NanLaew]

But where are the OP's flies coming from? The house will be littered with chopped up plastic bottle fly-traps and yards of sticky paper and sticks and STILL have flies buzzing in and out.

Flies (maggots) hatch in organic materials and even in moist ground. Maybe a neighbour has a noodle meat ball factory and dumps the pretty foul effluent nearby; saw that in Udon once. Rotting fruit and vegetation? Any banana plantations nearby? A poorly managed compost heap (usually a farang thing)? Moobahn garbage pile nearby? Restaurant waste bins?

Find the source!

I come from Perth, Western Australia, 100 flies, heck man, that's nothing, sometimes I'd be carrying that many on my back, we tend to get two large periods each year, the flies breed in the northern areas (for the aussies, Pilbara and Kimberly) during the cooler months, when it gets too hot they travel south, passing thru Perth metro area, then when it gets too cold they travel back north, so what I'm getting at is that they do not necessarily breed close to your house. Do what most aussies do, learn to brush (great Australian salute) them away, put screens on all windows and doors, you can also use rub on/spray on repellents, but killing them really is a waste of time, you kill a thousand, they are instantly replaced.

Since the lifespan of a fly is 15-30 days, that means these Aussie flies must fly helluva fast to get from the Pilbarra to Perth and back before they croak.

Maybe they are different.

[NanLaew]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have been away for a few days but started testing a few things today. Right now I have the upside down big water bottle traps around the house. Each trap has different bait..... one has old fruit, another chicken and another sweet water and wine. They have been out for 4 hours and so far, I have caught just one of the little bastards and im sure he stumbled in there by mistake. Whatever happens by the end of the day, at least I can kick the sh1t out of the little sod but thats little sollace given that there are hundreds of them bombing around the property right now, laughing at me and my gay traps.

The house is spotless. It realy is mega clean, so i dont get it.

I have a swatter, but havent developed the art of it yet. I was previously a good squash player but im waiting for muscle memory to kick in. Untill then, im going to try a few more things suggested. Im off to Makro in a minute to buy zipper bag, fill them with water and 10 baht coins. Im gonna stock up on Basil plants also as suggested.

They realy are driving me nuts.

On the bright side, they retreat in the evening. Brighter side more, i love the house so its not all doom and gloom.

You haven't found the source yet? Do you have any soft, wet soil in your yard or in a neighbours yard? Maybe someone's drain field from a septic tank is working overtime due to the recent rains? Get the septic pumped out anyway and see if they diminish.

[Stradavarius37]

Take a shower once in a while

[SurinBeach]

Being an ex/current squash player who's getting driven mad by the flies and now considering moving house, I've found I have about a 50% hit rate on the flies with a cheap fly swatter.

Bought cheap ones from Tesco/Lotus, 6 thb each, technique hold in one hand, pull back with other, keep body/limbs still and let the spring of the swatter beat the fly in the race !

Also going Basil route outside ie lots of plants, gonna try Lavender also but from what I've read it wont grow in Phuket so might buy other products like Lavender Oil etc...

We have a problem in the surrounding area of say 2 miles, go a few miles down the road and ZERO flies ...

Doesn't help lots of dogs hence S**T around too I guess ...

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have been away for a few days but started testing a few things today. Right now I have the upside down big water bottle traps around the house. Each trap has different bait..... one has old fruit, another chicken and another sweet water and wine. They have been out for 4 hours and so far, I have caught just one of the little bastards and im sure he stumbled in there by mistake. Whatever happens by the end of the day, at least I can kick the sh1t out of the little sod but thats little sollace given that there are hundreds of them bombing around the property right now, laughing at me and my gay traps.

The house is spotless. It realy is mega clean, so i dont get it.

I have a swatter, but havent developed the art of it yet. I was previously a good squash player but im waiting for muscle memory to kick in. Untill then, im going to try a few more things suggested. Im off to Makro in a minute to buy zipper bag, fill them with water and 10 baht coins. Im gonna stock up on Basil plants also as suggested.

They realy are driving me nuts.

On the bright side, they retreat in the evening. Brighter side more, i love the house so its not all doom and gloom.

[PoorSucker]

I think your house is haunted and you need an exorcist.

[evadgib]

i can assure you that your flies are not random. They are there for something. Is your sewage backed up? Leaky pipe? Take a good look around.

Where are the previous occupants? Do you have a new patio?

[smartconsulting]

Just spray the house down with bug spray and exit for the day. Stop opening your windows and use your AC

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[tim armstrong]

Find the source is indeed the solution. The cesspit post maybe on the mark. If you have either sewerage tanks in the ground or some system of drainage pipes near your house check the access covers to see if they are loose. If your neighbour is also affected check what vegetation or garbage is around that maybe attracting them. To test this out walk away from your house until there are no flies. If it only takes you 100-200 metres to be fly free then something is attracting them to your place. Dettol, water and olive oil spray helps as well.

[mickjn]

I have found out the best thing to do is rip the arse out of your rompers.It will not stop them but it will keep them off your face

[vincent13]

I think the advice about finding the source is spot on. I live in a rural area and see literally one or two flies per day. And that's with throwing vegetable and fruit scraps straight into the garden!