flies

Malroth

Am I the only person who rages out when a fly lands on me?
Then I settle down and it comes back and lands on me again.

sleeping is even worse. I know it is going to land on the tip of my nose over and over and I am too tired to get the fly swatter.
How am I suppose to make the world a better place when a solitary insect makes me want to stick my head through mirrors?

PJ_Soul

I get mad at insects too. It's the mosquitoes that really bring my rage and ven-- [what the FUCK? As I'm typing a fly landed on my fucking computer screen!! That is eerie man; there wasn't a fly in here until I started this post)-- gence. But flies do too. Not specifically when they land on me, but no one likes a fly wiping their poop-and-corpse-goo-covered feet on them. Their presence in my home especially pisses me off, because they are where MAGGOTS come from. Just one of those fuckers get into your kitchen garbage can and then next thing you know you're investigating a strange rustling sound coming from your trash can.

hedonist

Ants piss me off. The few times they've invaded our home, I've Windexed their asses with a mix of indignation and strange level of satisfaction.

ldent42

I can't tell you how much I hate the flies. I've gorilla taped the shit out of the screens and yet somehow they still get in here. Last year it was so bad that I resorted to hanging fly strips in my bathroom & cleaning my cats business out of the box every couple hours (when there was business to clean). I had tried googling it but apparently late summer flies are just a thing. I can't figure out how they get in so I can only fight them once they're here.

PJSiren

hedonist said:

Ants piss me off. The few times they've invaded our home, I've Windexed their asses with a mix of indignation and strange level of satisfaction.

Windex? Really??? This works??? We have been living with sugar ants since we moved into the place we live now a little over a year...and it's ridiculous, we can't get rid of them....

PJ_Soul

PJSiren said:

hedonist said:

Ants piss me off. The few times they've invaded our home, I've Windexed their asses with a mix of indignation and strange level of satisfaction.

Windex? Really??? This works??? We have been living with sugar ants since we moved into the place we live now a little over a year...and it's ridiculous, we can't get rid of them....

I thought the only thing that really works is the stuff that the ants carry back to their nests and it kills the lot of them. Otherwise, their friends just keep on coming.

hedonist

PJ_Soul said:

PJSiren said:

hedonist said:

Ants piss me off. The few times they've invaded our home, I've Windexed their asses with a mix of indignation and strange level of satisfaction.

Windex? Really??? This works??? We have been living with sugar ants since we moved into the place we live now a little over a year...and it's ridiculous, we can't get rid of them....

I thought the only thing that really works is the stuff that the ants carry back to their nests and it kills the lot of them. Otherwise, their friends just keep on coming.

Yup, it's worked for us! I've also heard that toothpaste acts as a barrier, but the Windex gets 'em good. Of course, it's best to get the handful of "spotters" right off the bat before they get word back to their brethren.

PJSiren

hedonist said:

PJ_Soul said:

PJSiren said:

hedonist said:

Ants piss me off. The few times they've invaded our home, I've Windexed their asses with a mix of indignation and strange level of satisfaction.

Windex? Really??? This works??? We have been living with sugar ants since we moved into the place we live now a little over a year...and it's ridiculous, we can't get rid of them....

I thought the only thing that really works is the stuff that the ants carry back to their nests and it kills the lot of them. Otherwise, their friends just keep on coming.

Yup, it's worked for us! I've also heard that toothpaste acts as a barrier, but the Windex gets 'em good. Of course, it's best to get the handful of "spotters" right off the bat before they get word back to their brethren.

Thanks for the tip....Will have to try this.,...

deadendp

I have a venus fly trap. It helps. I have come home to a post-it on the window glass, "Fly." (As in, trapped between the glass and screen.) My husband particularly hates flies.

PJSiren

Aside from the damn ants I mentioned, the willamete valley has been invaded by Stink Bugs since last fall...and they get in the house through tiny cracks and crevices....we can't figure it out but we have a stink bug catching jar for my daughter and I and my bugs is crazy and gets them with his bare hands and we just dispose of them back outside, because if you smash them that's when they release the stink....we have found dead ones in the house though...thanks to our cats...and Pearl eats the dead ones when she finds them if we don't get them picked up and thrown out in time.....it's disgusting....lol

Leezestarr313

Gah. The big shithouse flies make me gag, I don't want them to touch me. Sometimes when you smash them, blood comes out. Yuck. We had some in the basement the other day. They were lethargic and huge. We killed a lot and diminished the rest with fly paper strips, now they are gone. For fruit flies, when a problem arises, I set out traps made of plastic bottles with a weird, devilish mix of vinegar, sugar, water and soap. Works nicely. Ants... I think we have several kinds around here, we're in the sticks. Tiny reddish ones, medium / normal sized blackish ones and I've seen carpenter ants too. We sprayed a barrier around the house and porch, set out the stuff they take to their nest and kill "manually" on occasion and sight. In the garden, a wonderful Northern Flicker takes care of them on a regular basis. And one day I saw a toad sitting in the sunroom. It was too lazy to move, just sat by the crack on the floor and ate them when they came out there

RKCNDY

Get some diatomaceous earth, and sprinkle around your house, sweep it under the baseboards inside, it will literally dry out the ants and kill them. Same with other critters like silverfish.
It's a natural pesticide that is made naturally from the earth: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html

It doesn't wash off when it rains either, I sprinkled it on my roses and it got rid of the aphids, but my roses still have a powdery coating on the leaves. At least I'm not using weird chemicals!

Amongst the Ani

RKCNDY said:

Get some diatomaceous earth, and sprinkle around your house, sweep it under the baseboards inside, it will literally dry out the ants and kill them. Same with other critters like silverfish.
It's a natural pesticide that is made naturally from the earth: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html

It doesn't wash off when it rains either, I sprinkled it on my roses and it got rid of the aphids, but my roses still have a powdery coating on the leaves. At least I'm not using weird chemicals!

Diatomaceous earth is one of the few things that will kill scorpions as well. Scorpions have a soft belly so when they climb into a crack and get it on their stomach it kills them. I use it religiously as well in the yards and around the base of the house.

northerndragon

Best ant killer around:
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Borax
Soak a cotton ball with the solution and put in a bottle cap. Ants come to feast on sugar water, take poisonous solution back to nest, kills them all and unless you drink large quantities of it very safe for you and your pets.

Amongst the Ani

When I lived outside Palm Springs I had a dirt roundabout driveway. One day I went out and had 3 or 4 massive ant hills going around the driveway. I sprayed and sprayed and they would not go away. The hills might move but they wouldn't be evicted. I got fed up and went and bought a few gallons of the cheapest vodka I could find. I filled those ant holes and saturated the ground between them. I then re-created the Iraqi oil fields from Desert Storm. Had these little infernos going for about 20 minutes. I don't know if it killed them or they just figured out I am crazy and went to the neighbors house but they did leave.

I will try the borax recommendation this summer. Not as mush fun burning inferno's but probably safer.

shetellsherself

I can't stand it when the outside light at the front door is left on at night (out of necessity bc, you know, it's dark and nobody needs to break a leg on the steps) and somebody opens the door and in come the moths! I can't stand moths! Flying right at my head. Hanging out at the lamps. Disgusting. Otherwise I'm very tolerant of little innocent home invaders and am more likely to set them free or shoo them out the door than squish them. Moths on the other hand get quickly squished and flushed. Yuck.

I might add... If it were possible to shoo a moth back out the door I would but they don't respond to shooing. They fly and flutter in such a haphazard way there is no way to herd a moth.

2-feign-reluctance

I have one worse. Japanese Beetles.

northerndragon

Put a yellow bulb in, it doesn't attract the moths and there is still plenty of light to see by. My house had one on the back deck when I moved in and the difference was noticable

Amongst the Ani

Either that or buy a bug zapper and put it away from the door. We have one due to the mosquito's and it made a huge difference as well. Just get the real kind that makes them explode. The newer ones that cook them as they approach aren't as much fun.

markymark550

Amongst the Ani said:

When I lived outside Palm Springs I had a dirt roundabout driveway. One day I went out and had 3 or 4 massive ant hills going around the driveway. I sprayed and sprayed and they would not go away. The hills might move but they wouldn't be evicted. I got fed up and went and bought a few gallons of the cheapest vodka I could find. I filled those ant holes and saturated the ground between them. I then re-created the Iraqi oil fields from Desert Storm. Had these little infernos going for about 20 minutes. I don't know if it killed them or they just figured out I am crazy and went to the neighbors house but they did leave.

I will try the borax recommendation this summer. Not as mush fun burning inferno's but probably safer.

Should have done this:

https://youtu.be/IGJ2jMZ-gaI

Amongst the Ani

That was awesome. I loved the 2 ants on the outside of the mound as he was doing it not sure what to do.

Hobbes

Had an ant problem a few weeks ago. I put down lemon juice where they were coming in. Didn't kill them, but it kept them from coming back. Basically anything with a strong odor will disrupt the ants pheromone trail, thus disorienting them. Peppermint, vinegar, even coffee grounds.

For fruit flies, I use apple cider vinegar. Put a dish out filled to the brim. Drowns 'em.

I usually have a rosemary plant right outside my screen door. Keeps away the flees.

Leezestarr313

We have used DE before too! Should get another bag. Thanks for the reminder!

PJ_Soul

Leezestarr313 said:

Gah. The big shithouse flies make me gag, I don't want them to touch me. Sometimes when you smash them, blood comes out. Yuck. We had some in the basement the other day. They were lethargic and huge. We killed a lot and diminished the rest with fly paper strips, now they are gone. For fruit flies, when a problem arises, I set out traps made of plastic bottles with a weird, devilish mix of vinegar, sugar, water and soap. Works nicely. Ants... I think we have several kinds around here, we're in the sticks. Tiny reddish ones, medium / normal sized blackish ones and I've seen carpenter ants too. We sprayed a barrier around the house and porch, set out the stuff they take to their nest and kill "manually" on occasion and sight. In the garden, a wonderful Northern Flicker takes care of them on a regular basis. And one day I saw a toad sitting in the sunroom. It was too lazy to move, just sat by the crack on the floor and ate them when they came out there

I have tried to kill the fruit flies using an apple cider vinegar and dish soap mixture, and it didn't really work. It got a few, but not nearly enough.... Whoever told me about doing that forgot to mention that it needed something sweet though. Next time the fruit flies invade I'll add some sugar and see how that works!

Leezestarr313

I even put a piece of apple in there and let it rot away. I cut a large bottle in half and then put the top back in upside down. So they have a narrow entrance that they don't find out of. This way you cannot really smell the rot in there either.

rollings

I have punched a fly or two

It's not as satisfying as it may sound though.
It just moves them through the air a little.

oftenreading

PJ_Soul said:

Leezestarr313 said:

Gah. The big shithouse flies make me gag, I don't want them to touch me. Sometimes when you smash them, blood comes out. Yuck. We had some in the basement the other day. They were lethargic and huge. We killed a lot and diminished the rest with fly paper strips, now they are gone. For fruit flies, when a problem arises, I set out traps made of plastic bottles with a weird, devilish mix of vinegar, sugar, water and soap. Works nicely. Ants... I think we have several kinds around here, we're in the sticks. Tiny reddish ones, medium / normal sized blackish ones and I've seen carpenter ants too. We sprayed a barrier around the house and porch, set out the stuff they take to their nest and kill "manually" on occasion and sight. In the garden, a wonderful Northern Flicker takes care of them on a regular basis. And one day I saw a toad sitting in the sunroom. It was too lazy to move, just sat by the crack on the floor and ate them when they came out there

I have tried to kill the fruit flies using an apple cider vinegar and dish soap mixture, and it didn't really work. It got a few, but not nearly enough.... Whoever told me about doing that forgot to mention that it needed something sweet though. Next time the fruit flies invade I'll add some sugar and see how that works!

Balsamic vinegar works great! A little left over red wine works, too, but for that you have to be prepared not to drink all the wine, and who wants that? Leeze is correct that a chunk of fruit, like a peach, is a good attractant.

I put the mix in a glass jar and cover the top with plastic wrap, then poke a few little holes in it. They can crawl in but never manage to find the holes to crawl out. Their own little Hotel California.

Hobbes

rollings said:

I have punched a fly or two

It's not as satisfying as it may sound though.
It just moves them through the air a little.

Damn fly. Hiya!


Maybe you should try this method, Rollingson....

ldent42

oftenreading said:

PJ_Soul said:

Leezestarr313 said:

Gah. The big shithouse flies make me gag, I don't want them to touch me. Sometimes when you smash them, blood comes out. Yuck. We had some in the basement the other day. They were lethargic and huge. We killed a lot and diminished the rest with fly paper strips, now they are gone. For fruit flies, when a problem arises, I set out traps made of plastic bottles with a weird, devilish mix of vinegar, sugar, water and soap. Works nicely. Ants... I think we have several kinds around here, we're in the sticks. Tiny reddish ones, medium / normal sized blackish ones and I've seen carpenter ants too. We sprayed a barrier around the house and porch, set out the stuff they take to their nest and kill "manually" on occasion and sight. In the garden, a wonderful Northern Flicker takes care of them on a regular basis. And one day I saw a toad sitting in the sunroom. It was too lazy to move, just sat by the crack on the floor and ate them when they came out there

I have tried to kill the fruit flies using an apple cider vinegar and dish soap mixture, and it didn't really work. It got a few, but not nearly enough.... Whoever told me about doing that forgot to mention that it needed something sweet though. Next time the fruit flies invade I'll add some sugar and see how that works!

Balsamic vinegar works great! A little left over red wine works, too, but for that you have to be prepared not to drink all the wine, and who wants that? Leeze is correct that a chunk of fruit, like a peach, is a good attractant.

I put the mix in a glass jar and cover the top with plastic wrap, then poke a few little holes in it. They can crawl in but never manage to find the holes to crawl out. Their own little Hotel California.

I did the same thing. I think I used soda and bits of a random fruit in an old tupperware, plastic wrap over the top, poke hhole with a fork, a few hours later bunch of bugs stuck in there, put the lid over the plastic wrap give it a good shake and dump it down the toilet.

rollings

Hobbes said:

rollings said:

I have punched a fly or two

It's not as satisfying as it may sound though.
It just moves them through the air a little.

Damn fly. Hiya!


Maybe you should try this method, Rollingson....

ah yes, hobbelson...."there's a fly in my soup" aka chopstick fly soup

Malroth

Leezestarr313 said:

Gah. The big shithouse flies make me gag, I don't want them to touch me. Sometimes when you smash them, blood comes out. Yuck. We had some in the basement the other day. They were lethargic and huge. We killed a lot and diminished the rest with fly paper strips, now they are gone. For fruit flies, when a problem arises, I set out traps made of plastic bottles with a weird, devilish mix of vinegar, sugar, water and soap. Works nicely. Ants... I think we have several kinds around here, we're in the sticks. Tiny reddish ones, medium / normal sized blackish ones and I've seen carpenter ants too. We sprayed a barrier around the house and porch, set out the stuff they take to their nest and kill "manually" on occasion and sight. In the garden, a wonderful Northern Flicker takes care of them on a regular basis. And one day I saw a toad sitting in the sunroom. It was too lazy to move, just sat by the crack on the floor and ate them when they came out there

Those big green ones will get tangled up in my hair somehow. I'll just stand there hitting my head making grunting noises.