CLUSTER FLIES UK!!! Flies in my loft, flies around my windows!!! This is a cluster fly INFESTATION!

What To Do About Cluster Flies (Polleniarudis)
WHAT ARE CLUSTER FLIES?
Cluster Flies are a common pest species in the UK. They are mainly a pest in rural locations, but we have dealt with them in towns and cities over the years. They are mainly a rural pest because of their life cycle, which is a pretty GRUESOME to say the least. It's an amazing life cycle, non the less.
They are a parasitic pest species of fly that live in and on earthworms. The larval stage (Maggot) of the cluster fly lives inside earthworms from Spring until the end of the Summer.
At the end of the summer the adult cluster flies leave their hosts, killing the poor earthworm in the process!
In the Winter, after feeding in fields and grasslands they would usually start to 'cluster' together (hence the name Cluster Flies) in hollowed out trunks of trees, under bark, abandoned mouse nests, etc. But, in the modern world, cluster flies have realised that there are much safer harbourages to be found! These new safe cluster fly overwintering places are, annoyingly for you, in homes, caravans, etc..

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU'VE GOT A CLUSTER FLY INFESTATION??

In late Summer or Autumn you may notice hundreds, or even thousands, of cluster flies sunning themselves on the sun facing side of your house before they crawl into your loft or even holes in your window frames!
They may re-emerge if temperatures fluctuate, but as average temperatures drop, they will take up more permanent residency inside.
This process will happen again in the spring as they start to wake up to carry out their life cycle again for another year.
Amazingly the offspring from these flies will nearly always come back to the same overwintering place, but usually in higher numbers!

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, you may notice cluster flies sunning themselves on the side of your house. This will nearly always be on a south-easterly facing wall, where they can get the most energy from the weak spring or autumnal sun.
You may also notice the flies inside bedroom windows, this is where they have found a way in, but cant get back out, as they get confused by the glass in the window. If they can find a way back out to sunbathe they will usually leave a calling card in the form of brown faecal matter around the window frames.
You may also see them up in the loft, especially if there is a light up there, as cluster flies will be drawn to this on warmer days thinking its daylight.
Sometimes you will also notice a strange pungent smell! This is caused by pheromones (chemical smell signals) that are designed to tell other Cluster Flies where the best place to cluster is.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Very little. The task of 'proofing' your house to keep them out would never be viable and very likely to be impossible, as one tiny hole missed would render the operation futile.
Repointing around window frames may help, but they nearly always find another clustering site not too far away, like your loft.
You could use a normal fly spray, this will kill all the Cluster Flies that it touches, but it won't affect the ones hiding away from the spray.
Old fashioned fly papers can have a small effect on the population, but highly unlikely to stop further infestations, or to have any effect at all.
You could also wait for a very cold day and try to vacuum them up while they are docile, but again it's not very effective.

WHAT PROFESIONALS DO AGAINST CLUSTER FLY INFESTATIONS.

We have numerous ways to deal with large numbers of cluster flies in your house or loft.
The usual way that we treat your cluster fly infestation is to carry out the procedures in this YouTube video.
This is how we get rid of cluster flies as a professional pest control company:

1. We use highly residual insecticides around windows and other resting or 'clustering' sites, such as window frames. These 'professional use only' insecticides are specifically designed for use on flies, specifically resting flies. The insecticide we use also has a long residual effect, that means it keeps killing the cluster flies for a long time.
2. We use large insecticidal smoke generators or sometimes 'single release' fogging aerosols to kill cluster flies in lofts and other large volume areas infested by cluster flies.

We must also look for evidence of bats at your house, as the use of insecticides is highly restricted in those circumstances. If this is an issue we will take you through your options on what to do if bats are present.

We hope that you enjoy this video. Please feel free to subscribe to our channel for more pest and bee related videos to come in the future.

Thank you for watching and your continued support,
The Pest Interceptors.
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