Flies
 

I always expected flies in Oz but this many??!! Is it just SA suffering from an invasion of the little bastards? Can't go anywhere without getting covered. An Irish fella who has lived in the area for many years told me that this is by far the worst he's ever known it. Any theories people?

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Okay up here in the Sunshine State!

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Good, coz that's where I'll be sometime in January once I escape the evil clutches of the in-laws!

:D

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Muhahhahahahaha <evil laugh>

Unfortunately my in-laws are also here.... literally across the road as luck would have it :eek:

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Just don't talk too much in case they fly in your mouth, :D :D

Don't know about flies, but to keep the mossies away eat a clove of garlic a day........and it keeps away leaches in case you go off the beaten track....

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There was a thread about this a while ago. Something to do about bushflies coming in from the interior. Apparently its the female flies trying to get protein from your sweat to develop their ovaries, they are also hoping that you will have a dump so they can feed off it :scared: The excessive numbers this year could be down to the strange weather we have had the past 3 months. The bloody bastards are all over the place in Sydney as well.

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l don't know why people complain about spiders, l love spiders compared to flies, if a spider sees you it quickly crawls out of your way and leaves you alone, while flies follow you around in packs of hundreds crawling over your face in your eyes and mouth, really pissing you off, l wish they could all be exterminated. :mad:

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We are pretty lucky up here in SE QLD, not having those flies that seem to land on peoples faces all the time. I see it on the TV, and would hate to live in an area that had them all the time.

I heard they get them over in Perth area aswell ?

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Hirundo neoxena - Welcome Swallow :

http://www2.abc.net.au/science/birds/img/wswallow.jpg

Encourage these little cuties around your house - superb fly catchers. They like to nest in a cool dry spot with a clear drop of at least 2 metres to the ground - where safe from cats etc - and with nearby mud and water. Perfect spots are on the top ledge of a window under the eaves. They especially like garages and such where their is a high narrow gap they can fly through. A bit of mess when building their mud nests and poop on the walls but a small price to pay to keep the flies down and for enjoyment watching them from the verandah of an evening.

They migrate from Qld to the south during mid spring.

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The worst flies I have experienced were whilst walking round Cressbrook reservoir not far from Brisbane so they do occur there as well.

G

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That's 150km Inland West of me, I stick to the coast area now :)

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I suspect the coasts, especially where there is a breeze, are better any way flywise.

G

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Yep we get em in Perth too, although it seems as though they come early over here, around the start of Nov just when you get a few warm days.
Im guessing they all hatch in the warm weather then we get a colder snap for a few days and most of them die off. There normally gone by the end of the year, (at least at the coast and in the city) not sure about inland though.

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Known as the national wave, flapping your hand in front of your face.

You could always get one of those attractive hats with the netting....I think not.

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You have no pluck - a few old designs, a touch up or two, a bit of marketing and a you would become a fashion czar not a follower of fashion:

http://www.boont.com/rogers/wedpix/wed.veil.jpg

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I rest my case.

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A bath might help

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No too unhigeninic, your'e wallowing in your own dirt a good fly attractor........shower with good ol soap and water, deodrant, aftershave (a nice one that doesn't keep away the birds as well as the flies) For those not used to showering just follow the instructions, :D

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Keep Flies Away. Deter flying insects from your home


Flies are attracted to food and rubbish/garbage. So keep all food and rubbish tightly covered, clean your rubbish bins with disinfectant regularly especially in the summer months.

Do not keep piles of manure or rotting compost, rotting fruit or vegetables near your house as they attract flies.

Put up fly screens over windows or doors. Fly screens can be a fine mesh that allows air through but does not allow insects. You can also buy tape screens that hang over your door that you can sweep to one side as you walk through.

At night many flying insects are attracted by light. So if you leave your windows open at night and have your lights on then you are going to attract a multitude of unwanted visitors around your light bulbs. If you have to leave a light on and you window open then make a home made fly screen out of some very fine mesh or netting and tape it over the open window. The finer the fabric the better. The mesh will stop the insects in their tracks.

As a general rule flying insects do not like smoke. So light an incense stick or a candle to drive them away from an area. There special candles that contain citronella that also deter certain flies.

If you are trying to deter flies from congregating in a particular area then leave a dish out containing molasses and black pepper. It will deter the airborne menaces.

To stop wasps, hornets or bees in their tracks give them a spray with some hairspray. Please be careful where you are spraying hairspray though as it is not nice stuff to be spraying around. If you do hit a bee or other insect then do quickly put the creature out of it's misery as spraying it with hairspray is not killing it, it is merely disabling it.

There are also a few natural herbs that deter flies. Put sprigs of elder, lavender, mint, pennyroyal, rue or southern wood in vases, or hang them up to keep flies away. Rub the leaves frequently so that the smell is released.

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Lots of useful advice there to keep you busy! :)

The reason Aus has so many flies has been attributed to the lack of the 'right' sort of native dung beetles. With the introduction of lots of hooved animals to the country, the flies suddenly found they had a super abundant source of food and multiplied. African dung beetles were subsequently introduced to deal with the huge amounts of sh*t left by cattle and sheep and the ecological balance was restored......well no, not really....though it has partially worked. Nevertheless, if conditions are just right, they still reach plague proportions in some areas.

Having said that, there were many areas of the East coast where I didn't really notice them at all, when I was there. Whether that's the case throughout the year, I don't really know. :)

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We've had relatively few flies here this year. Maybe it's less bad the closer you get to the coast. We went up to the Hunter to play golf and noticed there were more flies up there. It's bad enough as it is trying to hit the ball straight ahead, let alone having 5 flies buzzing in your face.

Having said that, the day before yesterday it was a bit stormy and there were more flies at the beach....but yesterday there were none.

We visited Perth last year and thought there were significantly more flies over there.....but maybe they were having an off-week.

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'GI FLY'

Now I’m not claiming to be an expert entymologist? but being forced to acknowledge their existence I have come up with my own hypothesis on the pesky beasts.

Prior to your arrival in NSW/Victoria etc the Australian Federal government will allocate to you your own personal fly, on leaving the airport on arrival you will immediately be greeted by your fly who will introduce him/herself to you by trying to kiss you in both ears your eyes and mouth, if you happen to have freshened up with some perfume/aftershave lotion prior to leaving the airport terminal he/she will most probably bring along a few friends to greet you as well.

When you enter a shopping mall, any shopping mall (provided it’s air conditioned) your fly appreciating your need to shop alone will wait outside until you leave the mall. Now don’t worry (I know what your thinking) What if I leave the mall via a different entrance/exit to the one through which I arrived – Don’t worry your fly will know (amazing isn’t it) but he/she will greet you at what ever exit you choose, don’t ask me how they do it! (Remember I’m no expert – just an observer) Or how they know! But they do, believe me they will be there, and again (ladies) if you should try a few of those perfume testers while in the mall, your friendly fly will bring along a few friends for a quick sniff too.

Okay so you’re going to be travelling while, and some distance too! Wait for it….. Yep you’ve got it, wherever you go, go on try it, jump in the car drive for a few hours, stop anywhere you wish and your fly will be there to meet you guaranteed. (Again don’t ask me how he or she does it – remember I’m no expert – but they do).

As part of my research (cycling around the town of Parkes) I noticed that any amount of perspiration by you will encourage your fly to invite a few friends around for a whiff, now even though you may be riding your bicycle at speed against the wind, your fly can and will hover in a wind buffer zone approximately half an inch in front of your face landing on your noise, eyes and mouth at the exact moments just when you need all your concentration navigating the roads and traffic, - oh and if your wearing sunnies’ he/she will land and walk about on the inside of the lens resulting in you smacking yourself in the face, at worst falling off the cycle or loosing your sunnys to a passing vehicle.

If for some unfortunate reason you may take a deep breath, say while cycling and swallow your fly or if you accidentally or intently should kill your fly – please don’t worry you will immediately be issued at no cost to yourself a replacement fly.

Some good news - I have noticed that on crossing the state boarder into Queensland your fly will not follow, it seems they are not too keen to live in Queensland, my theory on this is frogs/toads, of course, they eat fly’s – Now don’t worry if you come to Queensland you wont be followed by toads, in fact I don’t think you are issued with one up here, not one but about a hundred or two, mind you, you wont notice them until the wet weather – huh! Wet weather in Queensland I hear you say, put it this way I’ve felt pretty much at home over the last few weeks – oh and don’t forget the frogs and toads they’re on the patio, the drive way squashed on the road and I’ve even seen them provide footie practise for the local kids. :D

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Fly-wise I'm fine, but I definitely have that problem with mozzies.... even with the anti-venom (aeroguard) on last night, I've still been bitten a dozen or so times :(

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Have a garlic clove a day, seriously will keep them off you. Eat an apple or parsley afterward so it doesnt keep everyone else away
:D

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:) Yeah I heard that, same with Vitamin B6 apparently.... might have to give it a go!