house flies and new construction

[Cars&Classic]

has anyone ever had an issue with house flys? I seam to

it has happened twice now first time was almost exactly 1 year ago house was brand new and within a week of moving in we noticed an incredible amount of flys in the kitchen and living room which are like one big open room.

we used fly strips within 24 hours the strips were covered with flys, 20-30 each maybe more. literly 100s of flys.

within 2 weeks they were pretty much gone so we just thought it had something to do with the new construction and that they got in while the house was being built.

now almost exactly a year later we end up with the same problem again. and we had not seen any flys to speak of since last year.

seams to be a seasonal thing. this is a rather large home 3800 sq ft + 1200 sq ft basment + 1100 sq ft garage I never really see them in other parts of the house or garage,

looking on line it talks about old food, pets and a few things like that. this was a brand new 400k house so no issues with stuff laying around when we moved in. (also no flys at our previous two homes) We do have an african grey parrot, but again no issues at the previous houses, it was only when we moved in here so it seams to have something to do with this home.

i called orkin a few min ago and got some dingbat that makes me feel like that call was a waist but we will see if i get a call from a tec.

no flys in or from the garage either. most everything in the kitchen was new. but that seams to be where they are.

 

[djjsr]

Re: house flys and new construction

I live in a farm community and usually in the fall when fields are being harvested, the grain elevators are busy and the weather starts cooling off, the flys are around. I think they're looking for warmth and are also attracted by cooking smells. (I guess that's "aroma" if your wife is a good cook)

I could be wrong but it seems to happen around the same time every year. Check your screens for a good fit and no holes. I think flies find a way in and go out to tell all their buddies.

 

[rlitman]

Re: house flys and new construction

No, rodents are attracted to the grain spilling off the elevators.
Flies feast on the dead rodents. You need the rotting flesh to support the maggots, to cause the wave of flies to appear.

Flies are then attracted to the smell of rotting meat (but also lights, and other things).

 

[bugnout]

Re: house flys and new construction

Took possession of my place in Feb and in April and May had tons of flies in the house. Took care of them, but still see a couple every once in a while. Remains to be seen if we will have another outbreak next spring.

These are big house flies, never really had a problem with them before. We live in the woods and have lots of biting deer flies up here, but none in the house. Not sure where these house flies came from. Maybe brought in with materials.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Re: house flys and new construction

If it were outside I would suggest a funnel trap (large, upside own funnel mounted in the bottom of a fine mesh screen box). The problem is the "bait" dog/horse manure.

If you make one, be certain there is a door to dump the massive quantity of dead flies out of.

 

[Gary S]

Re: house flys and new construction

Flies, rodents, and other pests will look for a warm place to get inside when the weather turns cold in the Fall. If this has happened both years on a newly constructed house, you have a hole somewhere that they are coming in. Your contractor missed something during construction.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

Re: house flys and new construction

I think you should try to identify these flies.

Are they the common iridescent or black 'poop' flies that hang around fresh dog feces?

or are they somewhat larger slow moving fuzzy black flies?

The first type of fly typically like warmer weather and depending on your climate are probably not the ones you are having trouble with. The second one is often associated with dead mice. Mice seek shelter indoor this time of year and often end up dead in a wall somewhere. This is possibly where they are coming from.

 

[SuperSocket]

Re: house flys and new construction

Was your house constructed by members of the mob? Just a theory I am going on... lol


No, but seriously, just get some bait and bait stations and let them all die off.

 

[VWPORSCHEGT3]

Re: house flys and new construction

you might want to try the hanging Vat of fly stink, as i like to call it. they get in but cant get out, after a week you have to empty it just becuase of the fly carcasses being over an inch or two thick... there about the same size as a glass Ice tea dispenser.... i dont know where to find them now,maybe a feed store

 

[Buckgnarly]

Re: house flys and new construction

Are they cluster flies? I never saw the big dumb things until moving up to VT. Different than a common house fly. Read about their life cycle, they have nothing to do with being attracted to food.

 

[cgall]

Re: house flys and new construction

Had this same problem 2 times, went on vacation in August and had someone go over and get mail, water plants, etc. They called us and said your house is full of flies. The next year, the flies were confined to the basement laundry room. Turns out the flies were laying eggs in the trash cans in the garage, maggots were crawling out and finding cracks into the basement from the garage. I caulked up every joint I could find and got one of those large wheeled garbage containers and have had no more flies.

 

[kbs2244]

Re: house flys and new construction

Do you have screens on the stove vent?

 

[Falcon67]

Re: house flys and new construction

All I can tell you is that they have been rather bad this year. I have them in the shop and have been fighting them all summer. I have a pest strip that did pretty well and needs replacing - it's specifically not for home or continually occupied space use. No mice or smells, they just come and go. On warm afternoons they collect around the door on the warm west wall. Week before last I'll bet I killed 20 on Saturday. This week is cool, only one or two seen.

Tried a bait bag - it worked real well but after two days I could not stand the smell anymore. And I think all it really did was bring in more flies. We're close to open fields, so there's plenty of breeding area and food.

We also get 1-2 in the house every day, no matter how careful we are on entry/exit.

 

[Steevo]

Re: house flys and new construction

The house we just sold had a front door that was under a stucco overhang, with landscaping around it.
No dead animals or feces anywhere, no garbage or other attractants for flies.
But on hot days, there would be dozens of ********* flies on the walls, the front door, circling in the shade of the overhang, etc. As soon as it cooled off at night, they disappeared.

 

[niget2002]

Re: house flys and new construction

We get flies about twice a year. I always attributed it to the time of year and living close to a lake. They last for a week or two and then disappear again.

We do have animals, so that may be part of our problem too.

 

[MScott]

Re: house flys and new construction

Are they cluster flies? I never saw the big dumb things until moving up to VT. Different than a common house fly. Read about their life cycle, they have nothing to do with being attracted to food.

x2 on Cluster flies. We have them in the fall and early spring. Big, slow and dumb; as mentioned they are not attracted to food or dead animals.

 

[loveoftiki]

Re: house flys and new construction

Do you live in Amityville? Growing a beard, keeping a fire going 24-7 in the fireplace, notice any rocking chairs rocking by themselves?

 

[randydupree]

Re: house flys and new construction

get yourself a gal zip lock baggie,fill it with water and then hang it over the door.
Staple it or hang it from a string,whatever.
Something about that water in a clear bag will run the flies out.
True story.

 

[nti06]

Re: house flys and new construction

i have not recently taken the opportunity to study the life and times of flies, but are they attracted to bug zappers? one of those might kill off a few thousand.

 

[Bojans]

We have the same issue at our vacation home in the UP. The flies were so bad when we would get up there in the spring or fall we would be using the vacuum to **** them up. So far the 2 things that have helped are:
Ortho home defense max. Spray all around the outside of the house, foundation, windows, doors, etc. This alone knocked the fly population down by 75% or more

Bug bombs 2x per year only in the basement. This got us down to the point of only having a few flies in the house.

Good luck

 

[cowboyjosh]

Have you checked your attic for any dead birds, squirrels, or whatever the hell else might find a way in and die? Reason I bring this up some folks I built a house for had a fly issue and it turns out after they had a new roof installed (from hail damage) there was some loose facia board and squirrels set up housekeeping in the attic, they'd die and fly's would then find their way into the living space.