Flies in the attic/in the converted attic

Flies are also capable of learning and like to be warm in winter, so some species of these insects have discovered human dwellings in order to “hibernate comfortably”. Not nice for people with houses whose facades are warmed by the sun and are in a natural environment; but it is a nuisance, not a disaster with terrible consequences. This annoyance can be kept to a tolerable level with cleaning, a few tricks and preventive measures for the future:

Flies in autumn, winter, spring

The following flies like to nest in the warm interior for the purpose of overwintering:

Block fly, worm fly, Pollenia rudis

The fly, officially christened "grey-yellow cushion fly", is called "cluster fly" in English-speaking countries, precisely because of it their habit in large clusters = accumulations in (undeveloped) attics and similar rarely used rooms to show up. As a consolation, the fly swatter on the insect is supposed to fill the room with fragrances, because crushed buckwheat flies smell like buckwheat honey. The thick black fly can easily be confused with the normal house fly; but it is not a normal house fly (house fly, Musca domestica), it belongs to the family of "true flies" and is more likely to be seen as a single specimen.

The obtrusive overwintering guest belongs to the family of blowflies, which after the Old High German "to throw" = to smear, sully were named because they have an unpleasant preference for odor-intensive organic substances have. Not the stuff people want in their homes, which is why many people find bow ties gross. This is not absolutely necessary with the normal house fly, the passion of which was already described in Brehm's animal life as The housefly described as “snacky” is sugar in any form, even from other people’s fruit is not hygienic disaster is.

The “cluster flies” that tasted a bit stranger didn't smell any corpses in the attic either; they're after nothing but hibernation. The flies do not take any more food in the winter hiding place and they also do not reproduce.

How to recognize the worm fly:

• Just under an inch tall (a bit larger than house flies)
• The golden wings overlap at rest (housefly: wings remain separate)
• Black bristles on the middle of the body, finer golden hairs on the sides
• Pattern of silvery gray and black spots on abdomen
• Sluggish compared to the lightning-fast houseflies

You have a good chance of being visited by flies if your house facade is exposed to the sun for part of the day. When the first night frosts threaten, the flies gather on such warm facades in order to set about moving into their winter quarters from there; through the open window, mini gaps in the facade, through roller shutter boxes or under bricks. And the block flies come back because good experiences are obviously passed on to the next generation entomologists have studied that several generations have the same winter quarters over and over again approach.

Other indoor fly species

Other potential attic guests include the stable or eye fly Musca autumnalis (which are light behind and usually not as numerous as the cluster flies) and the stalk fly Thaumatomyia notata (tiny, yellow-black flies with a preference for tall buildings, next to a church e.g. B. are usually spared the visit).

If the worm flies don't "hibernate" peacefully, but frolic about vigorously, it's because of a series of warm, sunny weather Autumn-winter days, or you have turned on the heating, or spring is slowly approaching and the flies are waking up from the hibernation. The flies then become active and orient themselves towards the light, if that comes from outside in the spring you can get rid of the flies by opening the window or skylight.

Dealing with the fly plague

Honestly, with unfinished, unused attics, the easiest way is to just let the flies hibernate and wait for them to fly in the spring. Then you can include the attic in the spring cleaning, "armed" with a really good vacuum cleaner (can be borrowed from the nearest rental equipment center at the hardware store). In this way, you can pretty quickly get rid of any fly residue, even in cracks and corners, after subsequent cleaning A wipe with a hygienic cleaner will make your attic shine as if a fly never went there had.

Simply letting flies overwinter in the attic is not possible because flies bring dangerous germs into the house? That's right, flies pick up germs with their trunk and feet when looking for food; if you live right next to a rare tropical disease hospital, these germs could be dangerous. Just kidding, normal flies of course just bring normal germs from the environment with them - and those are germs that are buzzing in the air around you all day anyway; in addition to the more than ten thousand different types of bacteria that live as a microbiome on and in humans. If the flies in your attic don't have to fight their way through puddles, these are - like any life Humidity dependent - germs are either dead or in non-contagious permanent forms after a few hours encapsulated. If you realize that in terms of contagion, the nearest supermarket and the nearest subway are a hundred times more dangerous than flies, the flies in the attic are getting quite a bit harmless.

Unfortunately, the flies remain dormant in winter quarters only when winter temperatures remain low. Bright winter sun wakes up the flies in the middle of winter, light shines from the lower part of the house and Warmth through the attic access, or the flies have an adjoining room that is heated in winter anyway "boarded". Of course, if the flies are active somewhere near you or head from the attic towards the living room, you have to take action, you have the following options:

• Flies that have just entered the house can be tackled with any available fly trap
• If you don't want to kill the flies because of the dramatically declining insect numbers, take them biological fly traps that are emptied outdoors: jars with fruit residues and perforated foil cover
• Worm flies, with their sluggishness and habit of gathering in heaps, are an invitation to a sporty quarter of an hour with the fly swatter
• With the windows/roof hatches open, a large proportion of the winter guests will escape from the violent attack to the outside
• If the early control fails because the "influx" was not noticed in time, the attic should be visited occasionally with the vacuum cleaner
• Because some of the flies usually die in the winter quarters (the drier the rooms are, the sooner)
• Unremoved dead flies attract pests that really only move in when there is carrion in the attic

combat

Even the "panic press" hardly dares to call for "fighting flies", but there are situations in which flies hibernating in the attic cannot be tolerated. For example, when your own harvest dries there:

• The entrances can be secured with anti-insect adhesive strips (contain contact poison + attractant).
• Overwintering flies can be destroyed with UV insect traps
• They catch most flies at a maximum height of 1.5 m
• The traps should not be visible from the outside, competitive lighting should be avoided
• They work best in really dark environments
• But they need regular maintenance: Depending on the version, empty and clean the drip tray or replace the adhesive film

If it's more about "a few bouquets of herbs" that are hardly worth the effort, the following measures are conceivable:

• If the items to be dried have been hanging for a while, finish drying in the oven at 40 °C and pack them up
• Wrap medium-sized quantities loosely in thin paper bags to prevent crumbs
• Finish drying in a room that the flies have not yet discovered
• and let the flies hang a "bouquet of sacrifice" in the attic before you attack them with traps or simply let them hibernate

preventive measures

There are theoretically, first of all the normal measures that are part of life for many people in summer so that they don't "go down in flies". What is meant are people who live in the country, natural gardens with a variety of Cultivating plant species, having a barn or flower meadows or forests next to you, and the measures look like this:

• Fly screens, used here in winter and in front of all openings in the attic
• Targeted use of scents, various essential oils can drive away flies
• Fragrance lamps in the attic occasionally need to be refilled
• Experience has shown that most flies avoid lavender, peppermint and eucalyptus
• Air more frequently in autumn, flies are very sensitive to drafts
• During the critical time, do not leave food lying around in the open, especially not near the attic
• essential oils etc can be sprayed on the outside of the facade
• With light facades, however, it is essential to check ev. Test discoloration
• You can support this defense with anti-fly plants such as lavender at the bottom of the facade
• Combined with an insect hotel in the back garden, this can even keep “traditional guests” away
• Repair + maintenance of all windows, doors, hatches, roofs that keep insects better in good condition
• Simple cleaning always helps when flies often cavort in certain places
• Rubbish bins should be sealed tightly and emptied more often
• If there are increased numbers of flies, automatic door closing devices reduce the entry of flies

However, you should not let anyone talk you into the idea that you can make a house "insect-proof" (with particularly innovative, particularly expensive fly screens, etc.). Not older houses anyway, but even in a new building you will not always be able to exclude all uninvited winter guests.

For every person on earth there are approx. 1.5 billion insects (not an estimate, there are actually smart/crazy people who do the math); Human/insect encounters are therefore “not entirely improbable”.

But it's very similar to what burglars do: if your living room table, weighing tons, is made of solid gold for everyone to see (a plethora of uncovered flies (sniffing out food (leftovers) on the kitchen table and countertops), a greedy burglar (a greedy insect) will gain entry no matter how you like your house to back up. If in your house you can only get what experience has shown you can get in such houses, but Access/approach is not easy at first glance, burglars/insects prefer to move on to the next house.

Be careful when using insecticides

You can use insecticides in many places around the "overwintering guests":

• Sometimes it is advised to spray the facade with long-acting contact insecticides
• Also fly window Gauze can be thoroughly "insecticided"
• As well as the attic entrances in the direction of the living area, including the nets, curtains and seals attached in front of them
• But "long-term effect" is relative, and overwintering is not tied to a specific date
• Experience has shown that the use of insecticides therefore tends to be less effective

The use of insecticides should therefore be carefully considered; because it has a number of disadvantages for the user:

• The funds are not only poisonous for insects, Raid z. B. contains DEET, de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_(insect spray), other means pyrethroids, de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethroids
• Many of the remedies "stink to high heaven", and unfortunately also strongly downwards towards garden users
• Flies in the attic can die in abundance in inaccessible places
• Dead flies attract other pests
• Improper, excessive use of insecticides has already made many insect species resistant
• Every use of insecticide creates further resistance
• Avoidable missions contribute to the fact that at some point there are no more funds available for really critical cases

Special situations and measures

If you have pets that are fed near the fly shelter, in the spring you should either pass that food elsewhere or put it away immediately after eating. When the first warming sun shines and awakens the hibernating flies, all they want to do is get rid of their eggs to ensure the survival of the species, cat food e.g. B. is great for this (applies to any type of food or food supply, of course).

If your roof has just been re-tiled or insulated, a sudden "fly infestation" can be a sign that the work hasn't been done quite as it should be. In this case, check the entire layer structure together with a competent person. Even a roof truss that has not been converted into a living space that has been freshly z. B. was insulated with aluminum-laminated glass wool insulation + vapor barrier film is not so tight that never again an insect can get through, but mass immigration should be prevented by such a layer of insulation become. Such a density is even more necessary if the attic is to be covered with a thicker layer of insulation for living was expanded, where many flies come in, a lot of heat also goes out, this usually has to be improved become.

Learn more about home pests