[OT] Flies in Conservatory

[Donwill]

What do people use to get rid of them, Electronic Zappers? Feromone glue traps? sprays? Any recommendations based on experience please. Don

[John Whitworth]

Shut all of the doors and windows - pull up the blinds, and fry 'em! ;-)

[JimK]

personally I'd avoid sprays; zappers work best at dusk/night when they are the only source of UV; fly papers work but are unsightly....

I went down the route of trying to reduce the number in the immediate vicinity by using baited fly traps in trees around the garden - google "Red Top fly catcher" for an idea. You can make your own from plastic

2 litre pop bottles and some raw mince.....

Jury is still out on whether it has reduced the number in the conservatory but the traps are full of dead flies every year..

It is amazing the variety of dehydrated insects we hoover up, I wonder whether some of them wouldn't be attracted to the baited traps in the first place? different bait? any entomologists in?

Cheers JimK

[Dave Liquorice]

Not all insects are attracted to UV... there is one small fly (about

3mm long) we get that just relatively slowly "floats" about the middle of rooms that isn't. Blue bottles, moths, midges, etc are attracted.

A home made fly trap inside the conservatory is likely to be more effective than trying to reduce the exterior population. For a bait I'd be tempted to use sugar solution rather than mince. Mince would only attract those insects that want to lay eggs in carrion etc. Plain water with a drop or two of washing up liquid to destrory the surface tension might be just as effective.

[Andy Cap]

Should your efforts fail. you could always....

C

[Bob Hobden]

"Dave Liquorice" wrote ((snip))

Try leaving a (small) glass of red wine overnight in the room. They will happily drown themselves if it's the same ones we get.

[Lobster]

Have you given him a name?

David

[Tinkerer]

We have some window transfers that (I believe) came from Robert Dyas. They are of a sunflower and are about 3.5 inches in diameter. The flies are attracted to them, land on them and , within a couple of minutes are dead. Get the right ones though as there are similar things which are supposed only to act as a deterrent and are totally useless. These are very efficient and still work after a couple of years.

[Donwill]

Unfortunately, by the time it gets to nightfall there is usually none left. :-) Cheers Don

[spamlet]

If you mean the little brownish fruit flies, any yeasty sweet solution in a jam jar will trap them.

The thinner, black soil flies or 'fungus gnats' are harder. But I discovered they are almost magnetically attracted to sunflower oil. If you cut circles of plastic with a slit in to fit round your plants in their pots, and paint sf oil on both sides before you do so, most of the black flies will stick to the sf oil which becomes a very sticky glue that is almost impossible to dissolve. Other way is to paint yellow cards with this and dot them about the greenhouse.

If on the other hand you lack the patience for this: I find the most satisfying method is called Henry, and he comes equipped with a long thin snout which even these fast little beggers cannot get away from.

That's the most satisfying way with fruit flies too: bake some bread; leave it to cool in kitchen with Henry at the ready. Very soon all the fruit flies in the house will be in the kitchen, and soon afterwards in Henry's dust bag.

S