Cluster flies

[Trumo]

Anyone else had this problem before?

 

In one of our rooms, we've had about 10-15 large flies all congregated round the window. They just turned up within the space of a couple of hours. They seem lethargic because they just sit there rather than frantically flying around like normal flies, even though they look the same. They do fly around a bit if you get close enough, but you have to get to within about a foot before they move, unlike normal flies. I've got rid of a few out the window.

 

I found out what they were by looking online, and it turns out they normally cluster in much larger groups than 10-15 (hence the name) under roofs and loft spaces, and they are actually hibernating hence the lack of activity. They emit a pheromone (that you can smell) to signal to other flies to come and join them in this hibernation. Apparently, they don't carry the sort of diseases normal house flies do because they don't hang around the same places.

 

Thing is, now that I know about this, I can actually smell this pheromone. On one site it's described as 'sickly sweet' rather than unpleasant, and that's how I'd describe the smell too. It's definitely not something that you'd normally smell in a room, and it's definitely not a smell associated with something rotting.

 

I've spoken to our local environmental health department who will send somebody round to check it out, but in the mean time I'll just have to nip out and get some flypaper or something.

 

If anyone has experienced this, how did you deal with it? 'Burning them all to hell' is a bit drastic.

[Flying Pig]

Do you have any dead bodies buried around your property?

[Trumo]

I was very careful abo...no, I don't!

 

*wipes brow with that quick save*

[lifetime fan]

Had a problem with them last year, Maybugs too.

[Trumo]

Bump.

 

Pest control confirmed that there were no flies in the loft, so they had only gathered in that one room. The number had more or less tripled in the space of a couple of days, but the pest controller cleared them all out and put down some chemical agent. He did however say that while the smell of the pheromone will clear away within a day or two, the pheromone itself will still be there for much longer, so it is possible that a new fly cluster will be attracted to it by around March or April of next year. If that happens, we'll need to call pest control again. I've cleared away 2-3 dead ones since, but there's no activity. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

Had a problem with them last year, Maybugs too.

 

They're also called 'cockchafers'!

[WaltonRed]

I suggest you bury the corpse that you've got hidden under the bed

 

Its time to say goodbye

[GR10 LFC]

We had them in our house when we first moved in. The house had been empty for a few months, with the windows locked in a slightly open position. They kept coming out of holes in the frames of the window. We got pest control out who said they couldn't do much about them!

 

Kept clearing them away. They did return the following year but we kept windows completely closed. Never saw them again the following year or since.

[lifetime fan]

They're also called 'cockchafers'!

 

 

I could have tolerated them a bit more if I had known that.