Brown bin problems: tiny flies

[unapam]

How does one deal with the swarm of small flies that have made the brown bin their home. These are not the normal houseflies. I am told that they are fruit flies

That's not the worst of it. I live in a terraced house and when I brought it through the house some of them stopped off in the kitchen. I have sprayed and sprayed but they just keep coming - they seem to be immune to fly spray.
I have had to stop using the brown bin which goes against my green ethos. Any ideas?

UPDATE: I contacted the help line at Fingal and they said to pour boiling water into the brown bin. I tried it..but it did not work.
This bin is not going to be collected until the 26th Aug. I can't bring it through the house with those clinging to and in it.

[ireneo]

Hi
First spray a lot of fly spray into your bin and shut the lid to kill whats in it, then get a quarter of a jar of jam and top it up 3 quarters of the way with water. stir it up and leave it on top of your bin obviously without the lid and they`ll go in there and drown before the get into ur bin. Its great for wasps too. Just keep emptying the jar and refill every 2-3 days
It worked for me!
Good luck.....

[dtrc]

If you have young kids and don't like using fly killer try hairspray it 'fixes' the flies and you can then just hover them up.

I have also used the old fashioned fly sticky tape that hangs from the ceiling, its not prety but it does the job, hang it near a door or window and it gets them on the way in.

If you have a compost bin in the garden (I do and it was infested with fruit flies) Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co.Co. Environmental Awareness Officer Suggested keeping it covered with grass or shredded newspaper as it keeps the smell down and doesn't attract so many flies!

Hope this helps

[Naillij]

My compost bin (and house) full of wasps!!!!!!
horrible horrible things. cant take the babies into the garden and cant even leave their bedroom window open for naps...

[Tribesman06]

I had the same problem with wasps. I know they only last one season and are then supposed to move on or die but with small kids it was either the wasps or the kids. With that in mind I did the enviromentally unfriendly thing.............I found the nest in the garden and late at night (when the wasps are least active) I poured a litre of petrol on the nest. No need to light it because the fumes destroys the nest. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa

[happiness]

jam jar with some jam and water in it.works for me as when they go into it they usually get caught in the water and hey presto it cheap and a way of getting rid in one piece.

[unapam]

Right - I am going to try the jam jar solution. Thanks for all your replies

[Naillij]

have jam jars full of wasps but still thousands (well maybe a slight exaageration!) of them round the place. had scout round last night and couldnt find the nest, have to get hubby to look, apparently some nests are 'ariel' in bushes etc, but some are in the ground and only have tiny hole entrance so you have to watch and see if you can see where the wasps go.... Fun

[TheBear]

Originally Posted by Naillij

have jam jars full of wasps but still thousands (well maybe a slight exaageration!) of them round the place. had scout round last night and couldnt find the nest, have to get hubby to look, apparently some nests are 'ariel' in bushes etc, but some are in the ground and only have tiny hole entrance so you have to watch and see if you can see where the wasps go.... Fun

They're a pain, but as you can see, the jam jars work. Empty them out and start again.

As the season comes to an end, the wasps get weaker and they fly slower. It's possible to just swat them with an open hand at this stage to knock them out, and then dispose of them. Obviously, don't try this when they're full of life, as they may take exception to it. :)

[Chris P]

Hi unapam,

According to "Go M.A.D. (Go Make A Difference -- 500 ways to Save the Planet)," natural fly deterrents include lemon, cloves, pine and cedar oils...and bats.

Regards
Chris P
Admin

[cathy]

hi ya, can I recommend you wrap your food in the bio bags.I think they are €4 for about 35 of them.They are the only type of bag allowed in the brown bin.They go to compost in about 18 days.This stops the smells, dirt etc.I think it helped for us .Best of luck,
cathy

[sparklesreid]

Let me know how you get on

[biddy1]

Empty a bottle of cider (if you can bear to waste one) into a bucket, wasps love apples and will go Kamakazi for the bucket. Leave it at the end of your garden and they wont go near the house.

[saundra]

[quote=unapam]How does one deal with the swarm of small flies that have made the brown bin their home. These are not the normal houseflies. I am told that they are fruit flies

That's not the worst of it. I live in a terraced house and when I brought it through the house some of them stopped off in the kitchen. I have sprayed and sprayed but they just keep coming - they seem to be immune to fly spray.
I have had to stop using the brown bin which goes against my green ethos. Any ideas?

UPDATE: I contacted the help line at Fingal and they said to pour boiling water into the brown bin. I tried it..but it did not work.
This bin is not going to be collected until the 26th Aug. I can't bring it through the house with those clinging to and in it.[try vinegar in the bin]

[cler]

Heard a similar solution for getting rid of fruitflies this weekend - pour some white wine vinegar into a glass then wrap the top of the glass with cling film and pierce several times. The fruit flies are attracted to the white wine smell, crawl through the holes in the cling film and then are trapped inside and killed by the vinegar. This is good for flies in the house as the cling film will also prevent flies being spilled everywhere if the glass is accidentally knocked over.

I'm going to try it tomorrow.