FLIES ... so many flies
We recently put an awning over our back porch for shade and rain protection. Soon thereafter, our back porch and entire back yard area is SWARMING with flies - big fat house flies and those little black house flies that fly around in jerky circles all day long. We have a garden with dirt and vegetables, and the flies seem to be breeding and sleeping there and spending most days swarming around on our back porch, and when possible, inside our house. We live in NW Berkeley and do not have pets. Even though they do not usually land on people, the flies are dirty and can carry diseases. I am a grown-up with some life experience and I have never seen flies this bad, save possibly in a barnyard. I am grossed out and frustrated.
The flies are clearly attracted to the environment under the awning. We have tried excessive fly swatting (tough w/ full time jobs and little kids), diy traps, essential oils and sprays, and fans. Nothing helps much if at all. There are hundreds and hundreds and they have totally taken over our yard. YUCK! Please help! Is there anything we can do that is non toxic and will actually work? Must we remove the new awning? Thanks in advance for any advice.
Parent Replies
Hello - we have a similar problem! I am curious if people on BPN have solutions. It is so frustrating. We even tried getting a bug zapper, but the flies won't go near it. I tried sticky fly paper and traps, cleaned out our green bins with bleach, nothing seems to work. I have the slow jerky fliers in my front entrance way and they always get in the house when I open the door. I always have about 3-5 flies out there. Hope to see if people have suggestions.
Living with flies in El Cerrito
Wondering if the awning is catching some rain from our recent showers and providing a place for them to get water? Flies breed where there is food (Compost bins, dog doo, garbage cans, etc.) and water available. Also check your neighbors’ yards. Maybe breeding elsewhere but flying to you for the shade.
if there is no obvious source for either, I would call a professional exteminator.
We had this happen a couple times last year and people on BPN suggested there must be something dead, like a rat or something, nearby. We never found one but eventually the flies went away so I think they were right. It's weird that it seems to be the awning attracting them but is there anywhere nearby something could have died, coincidentally?
I'd recommend having Planet Orange come out and use their botanicals spray. It's higher strength but safe for kids, people, pets, etc. I had ants, and I JUST COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE. One spray later...no ants and now I use their monthly service ($65 well spent) to avoid the ants.
Planet Orange San Jose will come out to Berkeley. They are great. Do it for your sanity.
Having the exact same issue. Here's what I found. The large flies are most commonly associated with animal poop and are more active when the weather is warm. You say have have a garden. Are you using organic or animal fertilizer? Could be the source. Or they could be coming from one of your neighbors if they have a dog and don't clean up afterwards. The flies will travel up to a mile. And yes they do spread disease. Nothing says they do or do not spread covid. (At this time I was be very cautious and assume they do.)
As for the little black files they are swarmers. They like to be out of the sun where the air is still. Under an awning is where they would love to be. I don't know if they spread disease. Fly swatters and fly strips are of very little help. You need to do something to disturb the air under your awning. Turn on a couple of fans to disturb the air the small flies will be gone. As for the larger flies start with your garden. If it's organic or manure in it you will need to cover it. Then look in your neighborhood to see who has dogs.
Best of luck, I know exactly what you are going through. At our house it's been flies or ants. It's about that time of year for the Argentine ants to invade at our house.
It sounds awful and unfortunately I don’t have a solution, but there is a Bay Area gardening group on Facebook and so many of the folks know a lot about the bugs around. I would be surprised if people in the group didn’t have some ideas.
Good luck.
same problem here in alameda. happens annually with some years worse than others. this year it’s thick. i buy a big bag of diatomaceous earth (DE) and spinkle it all over the dirt/lawn area outside our back door where a zillion swaem up when i walk through. it seemed to work quickly. DE can be found at the feed store or online. i buy it by the gallon bag size to use in my chicken coop for kite abatement. not poisoned as it kills bugs by acting as a desiccant. DE needs to be food grade not swimming pool grade. pool grade will not work. it has the consistency of baby powder so avoid breezy days when spreading. i hate flies too.... ewwww 🤮
https://www.com/blogs/learning-center/diatomaceous-earth-natural-fly-repellent
Hi, I have scoured and scoured the Internet for this answer and the best I have been able to find is that they are attracted to the wind current that comes from overhead, or in our case we also have a tall fence that is close to a door and the dog run and they swarm there also. Nobody has seemed to figure out a good way to get rid of them. We bought a bug zapper and those things are so fast it's near impossible to get them. It's so weird because we've never dealt with this until we updated our house with an overhead and fences. I feel your frustration.
Hi,
I have to tell you that it may not be your awning. We've never had flies around or in our house before this spring. I've lived here since '92 and snidely told my east coast friends that we don't even need screens for our windows in the Bay Area. Well, this spring, it seems since the SIP, we now have flies - in the house and buzzing around our front porch. Karma, maybe, lol. Sorry, I can't be much help, but did want to save you from tearing down your awning.
Good luck!
The plastic bag style fly traps sold at the hardware store (just add water) work great. We used those back when we had chickens, and we never had a fly problem as long as we had one of those out. In my experience the DIY recipes online with the plastic bottle and such are finicky and never worked as well.