Soooo many flies!

11 years ago

My husband and I moved from the city to the country last year. We are living on about 9 acres - it is currently covered in very tall grass, with 3 creeks and some stands of trees (along creek). The surrounding area is farmland/forest/open grassland. The thing is though, we have SO MANY FLIES. If you are outside, you are constantly slapping at them. They seem to be mostly house flies with the occasional biting fly. They are driving us crazy - you can't sit or eat outside without getting mobbed by flies (happens anywhere on the property). We started putting up those bag fly traps early this year, but even though they fill with flies, it doesn't seem to make a dent. Our trash has a lid on it at all times as well. A few questions for you all:

1) We are building a straw bale house on the property and there is currently a pretty large pile of discarded bales that sat out all winter. We didn't have these last year and the flies were still horrible, but could this be a source?

2) Would mowing the grass help at all? It is a lot of grass, but I would be happy to mow if it would reduce the flies.

3) We have a dog whose waste we aren't currently picking up (she seems to prefer a specific area that is well out of the way) - could just one dog be generating this problem?

Please help! I'd love to spend more time outside, but they drive me crazy.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
call your COUNTY extension office.. to discuss if this is normal for your area.. and for LOCAL suggestions on dealing with such ...

it would also be time.. to look for a screen tent ... see link .. and develop a long term plan .. for an attached screened room on the house ... what many call.. a florida room ... because .. if anyone knows bugs.. the FL peeps grow them prehistoric.. lol ..

you moved to God's country.. but the country being the country.. involves all kinds of things from mother nature ... and not all of them good.. lol.. i moved to suburbia also .. it was somewhat startling ... but i would NEVER go back ..

i do not see where mowing the lawn back a ways would NOT help ... but i am not talking acres.. just back 50 or 100 feet ... what you are taking away ... is their daytime hiding places ...

and i hope the dogs fave spot.. is 50 to 100 feet away ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link -- the first in particular
tdscpa
11 years ago
In my neighborhood, that is an annual occurrence, starting about this time of year. My infestation has just started in the last week or two.

That is a signal to put up new fly strips, throw away the leftovers from last year in the fly traps and refill them, plug in the bug zapper, and buy a new flyswatter.

Also find a new plastic cup to keep them out of your beer can.
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Kimmsr
11 years ago
Somewhere there is a lot of fairly wet garbage or maybe animal manure that is the source of your flies. The adult flies lay eggs in a suitable habitat that hatch and become maggots that live on decaying organic matter, which then develop into the adult flies.
Find and elimnate the source.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
become maggots

==>> oh yeah.. move your garbage away from the house.. walk the extra few steps.. to get it away from the house ... like 50 feet ... down wind to ...

ken
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
If this 'farmland' includes livestock then that's a very likely source. I grew up in a rural village in the middle of the NYState dairy belt. Even though we didn't have dairy cows right next door (more like a few miles), we knew darned well that the hoards of flies at our house came from those farms.