Fly problem in my kitchen....

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

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Absolutely no idea where they keep coming from but over the past week we've noticed flies in our kitchen over near the window.

We've never had flies before, we empty our bin regularly, there's no rotting fruit, food etc left out, all work surfaces are clean and tidy but they just keep coming back. There was about 7 or so one morning so I opened the window and a few flew off but then I ended up hoovering the rest and emptying it out into the bin outside.

Sure enough later in the day, a couple more appeared and then by the next morning there was even more. Got rid of them and the same happened again so I can only imagine they are nesting (!?) somewhere in the kitchen.

We're moving out of this flat this weekend anyway so i'm not too bothered in the long term, but I can't understand where they are coming from. The only thing I can think of is there's something dead behind the kitchen cupboards or something but we can't smell anything off or "dead".

Whats going to be the best way to get rid of them? We've moved most of our stuff out so won't be there much during the week and will be going back on Saturday to give the flat its final clean etc but I don't want to walk in to an absolute swarm of flies that have gathered whilst we've been away.

Anyone any useful advice? Or am I doomed?
 
Flies don't make nests.

There may be something you have missed somewhere. Are you talking fruit flies or larger ones? If they keep appearing it could be that maggots are hatching somewhere from a while ago.

Try putting up a load of fly paper strips.
 
They're just like your average black fly, they don't look like fruit flies.

I have no idea where the offending rotting piece could be if there is one!!! If its under the kitchen units I am doomed as it's nigh on impossible to get under and have a look!

Will have to go gung ho with some fly killer I guess!
 
Had the same problem a few weeks back myself. My place was near empty as I just moved in, which meant I could easily survey the whole room. I couldn't find their source at all, and believe me I put a lot of effort into just that. After 7-10 days they just stopped. Probably something died under the floorboards and they were finding a way up.
 
I was about to suggest it could be under the floor and they're hatching down there then making their way up via a gap near the kitchen window area.
 
I also had this problem in my old flat, left a bin bag on the kitchen floor all day after I forgot to take bag out with me when I left for work in the morning, picked it up when I got home in the evening and there were maggots crawling around underneath and something in the bag had leaked. Blasted the floor and surrounding areas with bleach and disinfectant and managed to get most of them (so I thought) but some had crawled under the fridge, kept getting flies appearing for about a week.
 
We keep getting these tiny ones in the kitchen, been driving me insane this weekend! Never used so much spray to kill the evil things!
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
They're just like your average black fly, they don't look like fruit flies.

I have no idea where the offending rotting piece could be if there is one!!! If its under the kitchen units I am doomed as it's nigh on impossible to get under and have a look!

Will have to go gung ho with some fly killer I guess!
Click to expand...

They like normal size ones yes?

Tiny black flies come from plants. The insect lays its eggs in the soil of pot plants and they hatch out in the moist soil, usually after watering.
You can control these by putting a little detergent in when you water the plant and also get some gravel to put in the pot at the base of the plant - this makes the top layer too dry for the eggs.
 
Check all of your cupboards. We had this issue back when I was a student. We couldn't track down where they were coming from. In the end at the bottom of one of the cupboards was a polythene back of potatoes that had almost turned to a black mush underneath a load of other stuff. One of the most disgusting things I have ever seen in my life.
 
I'll have to have another look in the cupboards and under the sink too, looks like i'm in for a treat doesn't it! I'm dreading what its going to be like when we go back one night this week as they seem to come back quite quickly in numbers.

We don't have any form of plants in our kitchen so doubt its to do with them. They aren't small they are just regular flies that you see all the time, just a lot of them - they sound like cluster flies from reading online though!

If they are under the floor or under the units I take it there isn't much I can do is there? We check out on Tuesday next week.
 
There have been a ton of flies around here lately, just in general. I swear the spray only annoys me more than it does actually kill flies. I prefer the back end of a flip flop.

Satisfying.
 
Just purchased 2 Venus Fly traps to try and deal with our problem. Had a Venus fly trap when I was younger and really like them so seemed a good excuse to buy one and deal with them.
 
Are they fungus gnats? Do you have plants in your kitchen?
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if you have plant's
submerge the pot in cold water see if anything comes up to the surface

fly larvae live in the soil feeding on the fungus and roots

fungus gnats can also breed in your plug holes etc so put bleach down them and down the overflow bit
 
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window said:
Fly paper, or if it becomes a long term problem invest in a UV fly zapper.
Click to expand...

+1

I use fly strips, Rentokill jobbies from Wilkinson.

Hang in kitchen, the one in the picture has been up about 10 days, scores of the damn things have met their end via it! - Its quite satisfying in a somewhat sadistic way to see them stuck to it..... :eek::p:D
 
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