Little Black House Flies

[Palustris]

We are being plagued with these things So are our neighbours so the source is not in our house. Problem is that normal Fly killing spray has absolutely no effect on them. We are using sticky fly paper and a 'zapper'. Anyone any suggestions as to what insecticide we could use, inside the house. Bring back DDT?

[Tilly2]

They might be fruit flies. Have a google.

[jennyjoan]

I am tortured with them too - they fly around the windows and I try and kill them with a fistful of toilet paper.

[Jackdaw33]

Can you still get fly papers? Well, I never. Although others may disagree with this, I find that hair spray is the best deterrent. It glues their wings together so that they can no longer fly and drop to the floor. A quick hoover up and job done.

[Canary42]

I still use flypapers.

[10ClarionSt]

Yes, you can still buy flypapers. Most hardware shops sell them.

[Jackdaw33]

Haven't seen one in nearly sixty years. Do they still contain arsenic so that you can soak them and poison the MIL?

[BAKERS DOZEN]

Hadn't see fly papers for over thirty years but spotted some in Aldi a few weeks ago. £1.99 for ten rolls. Wish I'd bought the whole box now instead of just one packet.

[Biccylova]

Cover up all fruit and veg, half fill small bowls with vinegar covered with clingfilm with just one tiny hole in the centre, put them on window sills's and the flies will go in and drown in the vinegar, I have to do this every year, it works.

[douglas9401]

Really, what about the old saying 'You catch more flies with honey than vinegar'? :-)

[sunny-dave]

I use a hand-held electric vacuum cleaner and suck the little *** to their doom ...

[Palustris]

These are not fruit or vinegar flies so they ignore bowls of vinegar. At the moment we are spraying them with Mr Magic window cleaner which paralyses them long enough to be able to crush them.
All food in this house is covered or put away.
By the way I have just Microwaved one of the flies (by accident) for 10 minutes on maximum. It flew out of the oven unharmed.

[douglas9401]

Superfly Guy.

[snags]

How 'big' is your plague? Cluster flies?

https://www.rentokil.co.uk/blog/the-strange-life-of-cluster-flies/#.WyD2lhknYnU

[tamborine]

Clear polythene bags containing 2 copper coins in water, sealed & hung outside doors and open windows keeps flies out.

[tamborine]

[Palustris]

They could well be cluster flies, but they are not coming out of our attic. I have checked and there are none up there. So far each time we have put up the fly paper we have caught over 50 in a day, plus the ones I manage to swat.
The electronic fly gadget has not caught a single one in three weeks of operation.
We think they are coming from the 500 tons of chicken manure in the field next to the house. However we do not want to get into a neighbour dispute as we are selling the house and would have to declare it.
Thanks anyway folks.

[tamborine]

I live on a farm with horse manure about 10mts away & have penned chicken layers nearer my house.

I use the water bags & rarely have flies indoors.

[Old_Geezer]

I've discovered I've an issue with flies en masse in the g arden. Not sure why but suspect the neighbours' cats have a paw in it. Sprays seem less appropriate in the open :-( With the number of webs around one would've thought the flies wouldn't stand a chance.