Flies

[bishgeo]

Any body have a good home remedy for getting flies to leave deck. Ever since I put a roof on it the flies think it's a party pavilion.

 

[trikefreak]

I have some family that swears by this, but not tried it myself:

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/amazingly-effective-nontoxic-fly-repellant/

 

[sigmo]

Flies are attracted to smells from a very long distance. Make sure there is nothing on, near, or hiding under the deck to which they're attracted.

Does the cat kill birds and leave the bodies under the deck? Or maybe just do his business under there? ;)

Of course the food we have out attracts flies. They love sweet stuff. So there's no way around that part.

So the second part of the equation is to make sure there's nothing in the area to allow them to breed. Manure, rotting garbage, dead critters, etc., give their maggots something to grow in. If there's a constant nearby source of new flies, they'll be everywhere. Police the areas you control to eliminate those maggot factories.

Pay special attention to maggot farms that are downwind from the deck if the breeze is slow enough that the flies can fight the wind to follow the scent of your food on the deck. Higher winds are actually your friend when it comes to flies. :)

When you can't control the maggot factories in the area, at least find out where they are. Set up fly traps between your deck and the sources of the flies to intercept them and attract them away from the deck.

You need traps that attract the flies more powerfully than anything on or near the deck.

Just plain fly paper or fly strips work fairly well.

Electric bug zappers work at night, but they also kill beneficial bugs. Again, you want the zapper between you and the source of flies, not right there on the deck where it attracts them to you.

We tried bags of water at a local gun range that is near a municipal landfill, and saw no effect. Just too many flies from too much maggot breeding material nearby.

We're still working on that problem.





Tabbed in.

 

[GaryHibbert]

Hey

Re:  your fly problem.  I have the perfect solution.  Only problem, is that all the tree huggers around will be staking out your place.  There is a product out called Konk.  Don't know if you can get it down there--I buy it at Peavy Mart.  It is meant to be a timed spray in cattle barns, pig stys, etc.  I just use it like a can of raid.  It will kill (wthin 15 seconds) any, and only, flying insect.  Spray your maggot farms, and--no flys.  Just make sure the wind is blowing in the right direction--this stuff is pretty deadly.  I had a wasp nest under the hood of my tractor and I sprayed it down.  One wasp just happened to fly into the airborn spray and within seconds, it was doing the funkychicken on the hood, Within 3 minutes I was scraping the nest off and onto the ground.  They never came back.  Like I said, works great, but is deadly---doesn't harm people or dogs.  Your call.    Just me saying

Gary

 

[GaryHibbert]

After doing some reserch, I discoverred that the Konk I recomended is the mild version--designed for (wait for it) flies.  So should be pretty safe to use.  Hasn't killed me, Lady Linda, 2 labs, or a cat.  I would, however, keep the lid on my smoker closed.

Gary

 

[matt-n]

Take a soda can and cut the top off, push it in or whatever works. Put some maple syrup in the bottom and take a piece of notebook paper and roll it into a funnel. Tape it around the soda can just like a V. They will go down in and not get back out. Just like any animal trap. Set it on a ledge or hang it up.