too many flies!!

the flies seem to be attracted by the puddycat food,
both indoors and out. there's 14 of the buggers! cats
I mean. more like 14 million flies. and they also are attracted
to the dogs land mines. only one dog. numerous landmines.
I have read and believe that fly zappers are useless. is
there any way of getting rid of these flies? any ideas or
suggestions are most appreciated. thanks much!

Bill

 

There is tale of a old farmers way, that used water and vinegar.
Take a 10% ratio, vinegar 10 water 90% in a zip-lock bag, closed. Hang one bag on the wall or at 6 feet from the floor for every 100 square feet of floor space.
It sound like an off the wall joke, but it does work.
I don't know how, but it does.


Travis

 

it sounds frugal enough, surely. a lot less than those
goofy zappers. ok, so ya keep the zip lock bag closed.
alright. I don't get it, but I'll sure try it. thanks

 

I can relate to the bazillion flies...we have 8 cats and 2 dogs so we have that same problem during the warm months.

We use good old fashion fly stips. Though they don't look very nice, they are cheap and work great.

Do let us know how the vinegar and water work though...I can't see how it would, with the bags closed.

 

Maybe you should use something like a fork to puncture small holes in the baggies above the liquid mix so the fumes can escape.

My very first suggestion would be daily clean up of food and animal waste. Water poured on where the waste was on the ground will help to dilute it. That way the flies can't lay their eggs.

Now, for anyone who knows me well, I RARELY recommend commercial chemicals, but when I was in New Orleans after Katrina we were plagued with flies in the kennel areas. Someone gave me some Bayer QuickBayt Fly Bait and the flies literally dropped before my eyes as soon as they contacted it. They also make it in fly strips. Once I had found something that worked, a really wonderful local vet donated a nice supply to us.
http://www.flycontrolcenter.com/Housefly.asp

It's supposed to be safe around livestock.

Newt

 

I'm sure the flybait is something like we used back on the farm. You put what we had in a tray in the horse or cow barn..it attracted the flies with scent and once they landed on it..that was it..they weren't going anywhere. Had to sweep off or dump the dead flies every day.

 

Gunguy, this was pink in color, though they list it as red. It was like tiny flakes. Fantastic stuff!

Newt

 

Yep...sounds similar..IIRC it was reddish pink.

 

to all of you who posted, I thank you much!

so far, nothing has worked 'great' but...I have yet to
try some of the more practical ideas. it's my mom's house.
she's 85 and I live here and help with this and that and
make sure someone is around all the time. she has had
a few falls. nothing drastic and hopefully that won't
happen. I bought a dang zapper against my better
judgement and never plugged it in. the instructions
are much more clear than the box. not good for the house
or garage, which has a natural gas water heater. Mom
wanted to try it. I read the instructions from INSIDE the
box and never plugged it in. guy at home depot said
"oh sure. perfectly fine for the house" my fault for
listening to a guy at home depot. no offense to home
depot employees

some know more than others. more than me. I should
not have purchased it. it's going back manana.

I may try a big spray bottle full of cheap vodka and just
start shootin the buggers down. all other ideas mentioned
will be put into action when I get the supplies.

I knew the zapper was a bad idea and bought it anyway.
thanks again. will be checking back!

Bill

 

Bill, thanks for the update. So sorry this has been so frustrating for you. I'd love to know what you try and what works.

Newt

 

GG, remember the cotton tubes hung between gates for the cows to pass under. We soaked the tubes lightly with diesel fuel, so when the cows passed under them to the next field, they had to rub their backs on the tube. Worked like a charm. No flies on their bodies. Diesel fuel didn't seem to do any damage as it wasn't in a large amount.

 

Yep, didn't know what was on 'em. We didn't have cows..just horses. But saw plenty of 'em on surrounding farms.