thunder flies

[sweetdor]

ohhhhh my god have you seen how many thunder flies are about my whloe house is covered i have never seen so many ,.....have you got them in there thousands where you live???????

[earthakitten]

None in Northants sweetdor ... Yet!!! xx

[sweetdor]

earthakitten.....truely i have never seen so many ive had to close all the doors and windows,.....i just cant believe how many there are........pointless creatures

[sweetdor]

and im in bedford....

[Catso]

What's a thunderfly?

[earthakitten]

You're not that far away sweetdor. Oh how I hate them , I just know they will get into my hair and make me feel dirty ! I'm now on the watch for them ! xx

Catso ... they are minute black things, so small you would'nt know they were a fly, that's if they are a fly ? You don't even realise they have landed on you until you look . I suppose they are called lots of different names around the country. I could call them a few names !!! xx

[josaphine32]

I was going to post this.....i have 1000s of them (oxford) They are driving me nutts, i just tried jungle insect repellent but it aint doing no good......im so god dam itchy

[sweetdor]

they really make you feel lousey.........im so glad im not a cat or dod.....lol

[sweetdor]

i was gonna try that repellent,but after your post i dont think i'll bother

[Cetti]

Do you all live near fields, particularly cereal crops as this is where your little visitors are coming from? (If it's the minute wriggly things I'm thinking of)

They're called Thrips or Cereal Thrips. Tiny little black flies that are a real pain this time of year but the good news is that they are shortlived so will soon leave you in peace.

[sweetdor]

thanks cetti
i do live nr.a wheat field so thats wher there are comming from....thanks for your reply

[Cetti]

Glad to have helped sweetdor.

I first came upon these little darlings when I lived in the Cotswolds. Our white bathroom would turn into a wriggling, black mass at this time of year making me close all windows till the crops were harvested. Very hot but very necessary!

[sddsddean]

I live in Northants too Earthakitten and we've got thousands as well, and we back onto a wheat field. Hopefully they'll be gone in a few days.

[heathfield]

None in the immediate locality - usually don't turn up till harvest time. But widely-travelled white van driver friend is going nuts about trying to keep the front of his firm's vehicle clean!

[earthakitten]

What's wrong with me ? Why have I been left out ? Haven't seen any, although we back on to a very small wooded area, no fields in the immediate vicinity. I suppose my time will come ! xx

[Elfin]

I've had one of the little blighters permanently entombed in my laptop screen for the last 2 years!! They are so small, it must have somehow managed to squeeze in through the edge of the LCD screen and settled bang in the middle of course. Most annoying but at least it will be remembered!

[dvisor]

I've got one too in my laptop screen! We used to have a little carriage clock with a tiny mechanism. When it packed in I tried changing the batery, but it still didn't work. Turned out one of these little blighters had got caught in one of the cogs and stopped it working. Apparently, they're also responsible for setting off the alarms in a nearby factory. If there'as a miniscule gap, they'll crawl into it. I've heard them called thunderblight, as well as thunderflies, but I've only ever really come across them in these numbers around Oxfordshire.

[Marden8]

I have these thrips too. Hundreds of them. They stick to you and everything else.
Solutions as follows:
Only active this time of year during sunshine so keep windows and doors closed.
They do not like circulating air so put a fan on.
Hide away your lap tops as they love to crawl inside the screen!
Fly spray kills them but use in small bursts.
They will be gone as soon as your local farmer harvests his wheat field!

Good luck.

[jonney12345]

I have thousands here is Hertfordshire. Lovely little creatures.!! I wait until they swarm on my windows and then I go at them with strips of masking tape. Works for me. A nice cool bath gets them off of your body and out of your hair too. I think they should be called Labour flies, as they annoy everyone in the country and are no use at all.!

[cambsgruff]

We have just been infested with these little *******, treatment we are using is by www.victorpest.com its called flying insect killer and is poison free using mint oil so is safe around pets and children.