What is with the flies?

[Mama Runner]

What's a 'cluster fly'??? It sounds like fantasy Orkin 'facts' to me! Those poor little critters are just trying to make it for next year, after all.... Mary

I looked it up, nasty little boogers. Definitely not just a fancy Orkin word. He has been doing an awesome job! I'm allergic to bites and stings, I go into anaphylaxis. So I trust him. But I still try to educate myself on things. Some of the photos I've seen on the cluster flys are out of this world. I never knew that many flies could be in one place at a time.

 

[Mama Runner]

We are plagued by stink bugs here, they hang on the window screens waiting to get in. They smell awful if you smush them, hence stinky.
I have heard that those tree shaped air fresheners in Vanilla scent repel flies. Never tried it but not expensive so why not?

The air fresheners do help. I used them all summer. I ran out once, and realized how much they helped.

 

[Folly's place]

MUST try the vanilla air fresheners! Mary

 

[Coop de Grass]

What's a 'cluster fly'??? It sounds like fantasy Orkin 'facts' to me! Those poor little critters are just trying to make it for next year, after all.... Mary

Nope! Cluster flies are a real thing! I discovered them during our 14th year in our older home. They produce an endless stream of flies indoors... They lay their eggs in attic space - I think - or close to the house... They are a pain in the neck and have a different shape.

https://www.thespruce.com/cluster-fly-description-2656663

This is what I did when we were invaded...

 

[Birdsong 82]

We are plagued by stink bugs here, they hang on the window screens waiting to get in. They smell awful if you smush them, hence stinky.
I have heard that those tree shaped air fresheners in Vanilla scent repel flies. Never tried it but not expensive so why not?

Just remember to never squish a stinkbug. Not only because well they have a terrible smell but that smell is what attracts more. Self stick them in a mason jar of soapy water but if you squish them expect more to be there. I’ve been dealing with those things for like seven years

 

[Birdsong 82]

Yep I was just looking up cluster flies. They said they are different than regular flies because cluster flies mainly eat nectar. And don’t feast on mainly garbage like your normal fly. I don’t know if it’s true but I was reading how they aren’t a health hazard to humans as much because they don’t lay eggs in our food. But that doesn’t make them any less irritating

 

[Birdsong 82]

And also saw a couple of videos of homemade fly traps that are safe around chickens on YouTube