They are crazy here, too. It hasn’t been a serious problem in the house, but I’ve swatted several. Outside though, it really seems like there are a lot more. Every time someone opens a door I’m calling for them to get in or out and close the damn door.
I’ve experienced this fly thing as well. No idea where they come from, either. But about once a summer, I get a plague of dozens of flies that seem intent on tormenting me.
I have noticed that they seem to eventually find their way to the big window in the living room, looking for a way to get out. So…I keep my vacuum cleaner handy, wait for a few to congregate, and suck them up as they buzz by the window pane. I’m sure there’s some scientific reason for it, but they don’t seem to be able to escape the vacuum cleaner. All I have to do is empty the canister (outdoors, of course), and I’m ready for the next round.
I am curious if the flies survive incarceration in the vacuum cleaner.
Nope. I very seldom have one fly out of the canister. It’s really a pretty effective way of getting rid of them. They’re usually all gone in a day or two. Not to mention that it’s a very satisfying way of killing the little bastards.
I think they come in on fresh veggies and fruit. Or a fruit tree out doors. Maybe a house plant.
Those would be fruit flies. I was surprised to learn they can survive in Arkansas winters.
Yes, this is what is it. They congregate in my kitchen between the blinds and the window until it gets dark out and they decide to fly around the light above my computer. Really annoying.
If the op has that many flies then they will be laying eggs and multiplying rapidly. You will have to bug bomb the place to get ahead of it. After that it will highly useful to check windows for eggs or there will be another wave of them. Vacuum them up.
What does a fly egg look like?
Haven’t seen any more. It’s turning out just like last year, a few days of very annoying flies, and then nothing. It’s just weird.
Don’t they lay their eggs in organic matter?
Yes, by the time they re flying around & annoying you, they are mature enough to be laying eggs. Those will all hatch about the same time, so in about 2 weeks you will be fighting a new generation of flies.
Like a white or brownish grain of rice, maybe a bit smaller.
Usually laid in a dark, damp place – compost bins, your kitchen garbage pail, etc. Usually not places you look into much.
Sorry but bumping again, the flies seem to be back!! I just killed 5 of them and another 4 or 5 are swarming around the dining table light. Damn it’s annoying!!
Yeah, we’ve got some too. Big house flies. For some reason some of them fall into the cat’s water bowl and die there, floating on their backs.
But why? Why all of a sudden a bunch of flies around? I noticed that the last time I bumped this it was July. Is there something about this month?
I had a huge swarm of them a week ago in my back yard. It was like the fly version of cicadas. I had just cut back a bunch of vines and they seemed to like the pile I threw them in.
I’m still going with dampness. For the last four years our July has been above average in rain. And short-duration FlyFests.
Fly Family reunion, maybe. They do it in July because they’ve lost lots cousins in that month.
I have two five month old kittens competing for best flycatcher of the house. They’re evenly matched, and better still, eat all they catch.
Some cat video dubbed houseflies ‘sky raisins’. That’s what I call them now.
Perhaps these are your culprits: Cluster Flies – Information, Images & How to Get Rid of Them