Best way to rid your house of flies?

Yuck. We have a fly infestation. We have an indoor rabbit, and they seem to be breeding in the poor thing's cage. I've had the kids change his bedding regularly, but the flies are everywhere.

We use NO pesticides. I don't know how to get rid of them. Tried swatting, there are just too many, and they just keep coming.

today I made a pan of water, sugar, Dr. Bronner's Soap and let it sit. Now, these little fuckers will land on ANYTHING that is food. Not one has gotten into the stuff. I've already tried a spray bottle with sugar, salt and soap, this worked in the past for flies, but these seem immune to it.

They are small and black. They don't bite humans (thank God) but they are just disgusting. I do NOT want them in my house anymore.

Any suggestions?

 

I have no idea but flies are a bitch. We get them too because my family is obsessed with sitting in rockers on the back porch so the door stays open. When I cook I'm cooking for about 10 people (usually) so they come in and try to smell shit. Sometimes I get so mad at the flies for bugging me i can't see straight. Sorry I dont have advice for the flies but I feel your pain sister. <3alicia

 

i got this electronic device, ya plug it intothe wall, & it sends a signalthrough all the house wiring that messes with insects nervouse systems..it takes about 2 weeks to take effect, but it makesany bugs feel a severe nervousness so they dont like being there..
i got it because my buildings always infested with ants & roaches & they were constantly spraying piosions with no effect
since i got it (well 2 weeks later) its extremely rare that i ever even see 1 bug in here, even though the rest of the building still has problems
it costs about $20 ithink, & if u pm me & remind me lil later i'll try to find where ya can get 1
its safe completely, but if u have any rodent pets, they will not like it (it works on rodents the dsame as insects)

 

im not sure if you mean the tiny flies.. fruit flies.. or the bigger stupid ones.. shingle flies is what we've always called them. the really slow moving ones that come in looking for warmth at the change of a season..

but for fruit flies, i found this :

take an empty jar and wash it out really well. you dont want the smell of pickles or anything lingering.. just a clean, odorless jar. put a small piece of banana inside, and cover over the top of the jar with plastic wrap. then you poke very tiny holes in the plastic so the flies will be able to get at the banana.. supposedly they arent able to fly back out, and you can just empty out the jar whenever necessary. just dont forget otherwise you will have their maggots crawling around in there, and they will get through the holes in the plastic.

 

rabbits aren't rodents

 

oh god. Fruit flies are a bitch too.

 

have you tried flypaper? they come in little rolls you hang from the cieling. its not very attractive but its effective. we had an infestation recently, and we put our garbage can out into the outside hallway (i live upstairs in a duplex, so the outer stairs aren't heated). The cold seemed to help.

 

i use this thing called a fly swatter... don't know if you've heard of it??? sometimes it works.

 

You are simply dripping with cheerfulness.

 

clementinexo...perhaps you should actually *read* the post before responding. You just made yourself look like an ass.

Maggie, I am in the same boat..our daughter has a rabbit and our neighbors have goats. Ug. I just go on big swatting sprees..like yours, they keep coming, but it makes me feel better anyway. lol

 

my dad lives on a farm, and in the summer when the farmer spray manure the flies ocver the whole of my dads ceiling i was round there once and my dad rushed to the kitchen and said 'oooo the sun is going down let me get the vacume'
i was really confused to why that had anything to do with cleaning.

Dad rushed to suck up all the flies with the vacume.
he said when the sun is going down the flies are blind for a few seconds while their eyes adjust to the dark.

dont know if this will help you, but its a fun story

 

I like to vacuum my flies too. We live near a chicken farm and we get those dumb little black flies. when they come inside they just sit on the ceiling in my kitchen or on the front windows and door and it was too gross squashing them all and having to wipe up after so, yeah the vacuum thing works real good.


Also I leave my coffee out all day in the summer and there are invariably five+ flies in the drink by the end of the day...

Then there are the reliable but gorey fly swatter sprees when I just can't take it any more and don't feel like hauling out the vacuum.

I'd wash that cage out myself though every so often (I know how my kids clean :tongue: )and make sure there are no lingering larvae, if you think that is the root of where they are coming from.

 

This also works really well with wine or beer!

You could also try using citronella candles, as insects generally don't like the smell - you can get these from garden centres or DIY shops (Homebase or B&Q in the UK, sorry I don't know whether you have these in the US) or from the internet, and you can get them in tealights up to garden flares for barbeques and what not. If you want to make your own (cheaper and more fun!) this website has a good recipe: http://searchwarp.com/swa11423.htm

You could also check http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/1386 or http://frugalliving.about.com/od/cleaning/a/060804.htm for some useful tips. Personally I favour the duck method!

Hope this helps - I really don't like flies either!

Good luck!!

 

lavender essential oil works well, just put some drops on pieces of cloth or something and hang them anywhere you have a problem (also, in windows and doorways where the flies might come in)


-peace

 

Ive heard of another herb that repels flies. For the life of my I cant remember the name, but Id try googling herbs that repel flies and see if anything comes up. Its supposed to be perfectly safe and obviously natural. Good luck!

 

Fly paper's always a handy thing to have, works for me. Otherwise, if you want something a bit more eco - invest in venus fly traps! Get a few big healthy ones, and stick at least one in each room of the house! they'll eat them all up!