obey our [fly] masters

[juldea]

So, everyone remember how the last apartment's kitchen was overrun by ants?

This one's got flies.

All of a sudden. We don't know how. But there are - seriously - hundreds of flies in the kitchen. Mostly clumped on the two windows. And we have no clue how they're getting in. The windows are closed. Hrm.

We're heading out shopping to buy something, anything, to try to deal with this. Pet-friendly is going to be difficult, though. :P

Oh, and for reference - the flies are kind of shiny and iridescent. It's possible that they're hatching from somewhere inside the kitchen, too... We recently threw away an old plastic trash can that was disgustingly molded on the inside.

Comments

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Our old house got infested with the flies from hell. They had laid a ton of eggs on the ceiling and hatched from there into little maggots that got into everything. It was grotesque. It turned out they had come in in some very old oatmeal (still sealed in its little packets! they just ate right through the paper) and spread from there. It's also possible that they had come in through a hole in the wall made by the previous cabinet installers -- it was *behind* the cabinets and I didn't want to pry them up to have a real good look.

Throw out everything you question, and look up. I only noticed the infesetation the first time when something...ewww...dropped from the ceiling into soup I had just made.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Nope, nothing on the ceiling.

A little 'net investigation has caused me to suspect that they are fruit flies, born of something in the trash. The maggots I cleaned up earlier last week were just the beginning... And now I wonder where the rest are.

Now we have a trash can with a lid and multiple fly strips. Hopefully we will get this cleared up soon.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

Where were the maggots?

We had a little fly problem in our Japanese apartment. Turns out we had a sink trap where flies LOVED to lay eggs. Didn't even know we had a sink trap at all until this happened. After that it was easy to control, though. Just like other bugs -- no food out EVER, dishes wased right after use, counters and floor cleaned obsessively for a few days.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

They were under the trash can and recycling bin, on a wall under a window and next to the fridge. It's possible that the eggs are behind the fridge, which would suck. The trash can has been changed and moved, and the recycling bin has gone out twice since then with no obvious maggot problems.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

That'd be a good place for them to be. I doubt anyone's cleaned it in forever.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Jen cleaned it before we first moved in, when there was no trash can... Behind the fridge is another matter, though.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

I meant behind the fridge would be a good place.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Oh. Right.

[kishpa.livejournal.com]

If I were you, I'd take the pets out for a day and set off a bug bomb and then move the fridge, stove, etc and clean behind them with something that has ammonia OR bleach (not both - you'll die :P) and just try to get rid of any possible presence

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Nod... that's a possibility, if the fly strips don't deal with the problem well enough.

[crimson5.livejournal.com]

It's a bit more expensive, but you might want to consider setting the bug bombs off twice, say a week apart. I don't think bug bombs kill the flies currently in egg form. But I could be wrong in that regard.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

Oh God.

[theviper.livejournal.com]

you probably had indian meal moths...i have them in my house. they're a pain in the ass...and i can't get rid of them because my mom will not clean the house. we kill them whenever we see them, and they dwindle for a few weeks, but then they all reproduce all over again. :(

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I dunno, they look a lot like the fruit flies I saw pictures of online. ;)

[nemoalia.livejournal.com]

oh ick

We've got slugs.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Ew. At least flies don't get under your feet too much. If I had to worry about stepping on slugs...!

[nemoalia.livejournal.com]

Yeah but we never see more than two at a time... hundreds?! shiver

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Yes. It's ewie.

[tragicstory.livejournal.com]

I suggest flypaper for the pet friendly solution. Its silent, quick and you get to watch the lil fuckers suffer.

Also check the kitty's bowl because if it has wet food and isn't wasked daily/often, flies love to lay eggs in that.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Nod, flypaper is what we got.

And yeah, I'm going to start washing the wet food bowl more often. They haven't been eating much... perhaps this is why.

[theviper.livejournal.com]

open the windows and let em out...you may not get rid of the problem, but you'll get rid of them. they especially love to try and get out when it is sunny outside.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Well, we were under the impression that they came from outside, and so opening the windows would just let more in...

[sammid.livejournal.com]

WoW...So not a good thread to read when you're already sick to your stomach!DAMN
I have nothing useful to add,just that was all really nasty! :)

[isaiahblake.livejournal.com]

Somehow, I think the video for 'help me i am in hell' fits this post better than 'The Wretched.'

That video's fun.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Well then, I'll just have to check out that video, then.