[philmcc17]

Some pest control advice required...

My wife and I have just moved in to a property in the Scottish Borders with around 6 acres of land, which at the moment is mostly overgrown grassland and brush, with an acre of sycamroe trees and an acre of lawn around the house. All was seeming lovely however we seem to have been invaded by swarming flies.

We managed to locate a source of the problem in an old very wet and lawn clipping heavy compost heap which seems to have been a bit of a breeding ground for flies with literally hundreds and hundreds of the things crawling all over. Every time I get at all near I end up with my own personal 200 fly cloud which then chases me around the garden landing on my head, face etc. Altogether not terribly pleasant.

Of late a second swarm of flies has started to meet me every day as I reach the front gate which is well away from the main problem.

We have tried turning over and raking out the compost heap to see if this made any difference, although it hasn't seemed to. Similarly we tried burning a bonfire over the ground the flies seem to be breeding on in order to at least cook out any eggs hiding in the soil. I've also placed a couple of red top fly traps in the area, which have trapped thousands of flies, but does not seem to have fixed the problem.

My latest theory is that all the overgrown land isn't helping the problem (lots of grass, nettles and dock growing to about 5 ft tall) so have been busy hacking it all down with a brush cutter.

So after that ramble has anyone got much experience with dealing with flies in these large numbers? I accept living in the great outdoors there will always be bugs and beasties about, but at the moment we can't so much as hang out laundry withough being mobbed.


(apologies if I've posted in the wrong place)

[Scotsdumpy]

Im not sure if you can eradicate them entirely, unfortunately this is fly season! They will start to disappear soon - honestly!
if they bother you too much perhaps invest in a midge net - otherwise you will find that you get used to them....
we live in the middle of a sitka plantation and this year has been one of the worst. The humid conditions seem to have helped the fly population.

[Fleecewife]

Are the flies in the compost heap the same kind as the ones that chase you around? 

Here, also in Scotland, this year we have black medium sized flies which circle your head, try to settle in your eyes, and generally drive you to distraction.  They tend to be associated with tall growth - trees and such, and annoy livestock too.  Apparently the way to deal with them at the time is to use two hands and clap the flies to squash them.  They don't move very fast.  I'm stuck with the run around screaming option, flapping my hands and getting in a really bad temper 

A compost heap I would have thought would have had fruit flies and other very small flies in large numbers, but they don't usually chase you around (not fruity enough  )  To deal with those, turn over the heap as you have done, restack it, cover with a tarp or similar, and let it rot down completely.  Fully rotted compost is lovely stuff and doesn't attract flies, rats or anything annoying.  Not being your heap, you won't know just what has been put in it. Citrus peel doesn't rot well on a heap, so would continue to attract fruit flies. Too much cut grass turns to a foul sludge which certainly attracts flies.
Another option would be to prepare the trench for your next year's runner beans, by digging it deep, filling with all the stuff from the compost heap, then filling it back in.  By the time you plant the beans, the stuff will have rotted down to a state useable by the plants.

Then of course there is the Scottish midgie - give blood; visit Scotland - they cause many Scots to spend the evenings locked behind closed doors.  The kind of insect repellent you apply to the skin will help, as will a really smokey bonfire, and a strong wind.

Then there are mozzies, which do lurk in clouds.

It has been the worst year we've had here for the larger devils which feast on your eyes, but the midgie and mozzie season is only just getting into the swing of things.

I bought a beautiful midgie head net with attached hat, but felt sea sick the instant I put it on - probably just me.  I also bought a plain midgie net, but can't use that either     It is really worth while getting at least an ordinary net; they cost just a pound or two and would give you time to sort out the basic problem.  Get the kind which specifies being for midgies, because the mozzie ones will let midgies through.

[Marches Farmer]

If you're sure the compost heap is the main source of the flies make a mental note to compost in sealed plastic bin liners in the future.  We had a fly explosion here earlier in the year but the cool, windy conditions we've had over the last few weeks have knocked numbers right down.  For us the flies from cattle muck heaps are the worst - look deceptively lazy but so hard to swat.  The lazy brown ones that like the pig muck stay on the heap and are a good source of protein for the chickens!

[philmcc17]

Thanks fleecewife - we feel slightly happier that we're not on our own. the flies which chase us around don't seem to be the same ones from the compost heap which (touch wood) seems to have been slowly improving on the fly front.

That being said the chase me around when I do anything on the land flies have got decidedly worse. They seem content to fly in my ears at every opportunity but are at least slow enough you can lap and squish one or two of them with a bit of luck but one the swarm landing on me gets bigger than about 50 flies I call time on being manly and run inside squealing... clearly I'm still a bit of a city slicker!

[Backinwellies]

Jungle formula!

[SallyintNorth]

Citronella?  I've recently bought some 'NaffOff' to carry around with me.  I spray it over any sheep that are particularly plagued, and over myself (well, my hat) also.

[Carse Goodlifers]

We have plenty of flies up with us this year and we don't have any compost heap or grass clipping heaps at all.
I think the weather is the main culprit but no midges 
Plenty cleggs though 

[pgkevet]

Around here it's horse flies.. they laugh at naff-off and smile serenely at jungle formula.. and stinging bites.