There aren't many creatures on the planet I truly can't stand, in fact even flies don't bother me so long as they are outside my home, and not inside. When they are inside the home they seem to be constantly buzzing around your food, landing on your face, arms, legs etc, walking across the television screen or trying to fly into your fridge.

My Husband hates them even more than I do, and the moment we have one rogue fly doing its level best to drive us crazy. my Husband is chasing it around the room frantically trying to either swat it with a paper, or clap his hands together in the hope of ending up with some kind of "fly sandwich" left in the middle. If all this fails, (which not surprisingly it usually does), he resorts to the chemical fly sprays that I detest even more than the flies themselves. Now I have inhaled a load of poisonous vapour too, plus somewhere in the room I will shortly have the corpse of a fly, just waiting for me to tread on it in bare feet when I am next passing by. Even in death these creatures manage to drive me mad.

The lucky flies that manage to avoid being part of the "fly sandwich" or the "gas victims", have a nasty habit of deciding to die on my window ledges, again leaving behind dried up bodies for me to have to remove later, yuk.

Now there are many methods of getting rid of flies, some not so popular today due to the nasty side effects, e.g. Fly papers, a sticky strip of paper hung from the ceiling that the flies are first attracted to, then stick to, can't escape and die. Sounds great in theory, until you realise that:

1) You will end up with essentially a long sticky strip of dead bodies which looks awful,

and

2) Unless you have very high ceilings, every tall person who visits will have to keep their wits about them if they don't want to find a sticky strip of dead fly corpses wrapped around their face, (believe me, it happened to a friend of my sister's at our house many years ago).

Then as described earlier, we have the horrible chemical sprays that can't do us any good to inhale if they are capable of killing flies too. Of course there are the old fashioned fly swatters that look like small square tennis rackets. If you are lucky enough to hit that agile little bug with one of these, it will leave a squished version of itself embedded in the mesh that forms the top of the swatter itself, and you are the person who will need to get that clean again!

Having thought this through I decided I would write this article to give you some ideas of less messy alternative methods of getting rid of the flies in your home, and so my usual research began in earnest.

Invest in a number of Carnivorous house plants such as Venus Fly Traps and Pitcher plants. These are very attractive to look at, plus they do a steady job of attracting, capturing and digesting flies. I wouldn't say they were the most efficient in terms of the quantity of flies they consume, (which is why you might need quite a few of them), but they don't leave any mess behind, (apart from a few dried remnants of the fly that might be left in the trap of the Venus Fly Trap once the trap re-opens after it has digested all the juicy bits.

You must have seen these in your local butchers shop or in commercial kitchens etc. These brilliant gadgets have a UV light within them that attracts the flies. The moment the fly hits the bulb it is instantly zapped / electrocuted and drops like a stone into the tray below, out of sight until you next empty the tray or change the glueboard. Some of these electric fly killers are even designed to look like wall lamps, so once in your home you would never know what purpose they were for if you were simply a guest.

The vendors of the D11 HyGenie (see image right), give it the following write up:

"Indistinguishable from a wall light, the HyGenie D11 is ideal for lobbies and dining areas. It is virtually silent in operation and trapped insects are hidden from view. Kills moths, wasps and mosquitoes as well as flies. 1xT11G Lamp and 1 glueboards supplied. Comes with mounting kit. Mains operated with 2 metre flex. You will need a high enough mains socket or an extended flex.

The Hygenie covers a room of up to 269 square feet/25 square metres"

*****

Then for the smaller areas such as a domestic kitchen there are zappers such as the EnviroZap which are affordably priced and not too intrusive. The vendors of these products gave the following description:

"Fly Killers for the Kitchen: EnviroZap

High performance electric grid fly killer (zapper) at a very low price. Perfect for the kitchen. With 2 Year guarantee (except lamps),

The EnviroZap is designed to cover an area of 40 sq m. As with all our fly killers, it comes ready to use with a standard 240v plug and two 8 watt lamps.

With tool-free maintenance and a self cleaning killing grid AND a 2 year guarantee (except the UV lamp), the EnviroZap is exceptional value "

*****

The vendors of the Hystand (see image right) gave it the following write up:

"The HyStand is a free standing, discreet uplighter unit, designed to look like a lamp. It is suitable for public areas, especially where a wall mounted unit isn’t suitable. It comes ready for use with 1 T11G lamp and 2 glueboards"

*****

The Focus F1 INSECTOR-O-CUTOR I love this product because it not only gets the flies, but apparently moths, wasps and mosquitoes too, it is well worth the money just for the insect controlling abilities of so may varieties. The vendors give it the following description:

"The Focus F1 INSECTOR-O-CUTOR's has excellent area coverage. It is ideal for all kitchens up to 45 square metres. A real value for money unit with high performance and robust quality. Kills moths,wasps and mosquitoes as well as flies. 1xT11BGX Lamp and Mounting kit supplied. In order to render the lamp shatterproof, you may wish to purchase a Re-usable FEP cover."

*****

The Portable Rechargeable Insect Killer not only looks quite attractive, but can be taken from room to room without needing to be plugged in, a definite bonus if you want to sit outside on your patio and enjoy a glass of wine without being pestered by flying insects. The vendor of this product gave it the following write up:

"Portable Rechargeable Insect Killer

Use anywhere!

Portable, cable free insect killer for indoor and outdoor use

Rechargeable battery delivers over 5 hours use from a single charge

Powerful 12 Watt UV light and 1,500 volt killing grid

Collection tray for hygienic disposal of dead insects

Mains adaptor included for continuous use indoors"

*****

Solar Powered Insect Killer How about a gadget that will charge up in the day time using solar power, and then kill insects at night. A great solution for mosquito problems etc. This item is incredibly cheap to buy, and they even offer a deal on if you buy more than one at a time.

The vendors give it the following description;

"Solar Powered Insect Killer

Use anywhere! Charges by day, kills by night!

Portable, solar-powered insect killer attracts and kills mosquitoes, midges and biting flies - indoors or outside

"Easy set up and operation makes the solar powered insect killer ideal for use in the home and for travelling

High energy Twin solar cells and a rechargeable battery pack deliver maximum power Portable Carrier handle and mounting stake for set up in gardens & campsites Great indoors Stable base for easy set up on table tops and sills Effective Kills light sensitive flying and biting insects without poison sprays"

*****

Value Flying Insect Killer FKV is another very inexpensive product for home use, and this particular model can keep an area of 50 sq.ft clear of flying insects. The prices on these start at under £20 GBP, and the very low wattage version for small rooms is under £10 GBP.

The vendors gave this model the following write up:

"Value Flying Insect Killer FKV

Kill flying insects without chemicals!

Insects are attracted to UV light and killed by electric grid.

This unit can keep areas up to 50 sq.ft. clear of flying insects.

Hygienic and odourless.

Ideal for small rooms.

Minimal running costs."

*****

Bug Zappa!  For those of you who simply can't resist the satisfaction of hurtling around the living room chasing these little critters in order to bash their tiny brains in, then I recommend this gadget as a great compromise. It comes in the form of a bat, but also has the zapping ability due to being battery powered. The vendor gave it the following write up:

"Bug Zappa!

Effective, battery-powered unit zaps any insect from mosquito up to wasp-size

Safety switch minimizes the risk of misuse by children

Soft-grip rubber handle and durable design including LED indicator

Cleaning brush, carrier handle and zip up cover supplied as standard

Requires 2 x AA batteries (not included)"

I hope this article has given you a few ideas of alternative and more hygienic ways of getting rid of your fly problem, and certainly with less effort than the vain attempts to kill them yourself normally produce. However, if you are still not convinced you could always go back to doing this...........