One of the women in work was saying yesterday that she liked Canberra ...but the only problem there is the flies ...Loads of em! I thought it was a wind-up but checked on-line anyway. I came across this: http://the-riotact.com/?p=6488. It looks like I'm going to have to start saving all my wine bottle corks

PS: http://the-riotact.com/ looks like a good Canberra resource.

Yuk - the Sydney area is notorious for flies Paul

Surprisingly Brisbane hasn't got that problem. Mozzies and roaches are pretty bad though

But flies are more disgusting than mozzies . It looks like my younger son might not be getting the dog that I'd promised him.

why not ? Because there's too many flies in the area?

I'm thinking that while my wife and I are away at work, the dog will be doing it's stuff in the garden, attracting swarms of flies to welcome us upon our return. I'll have to first see how bad it is when we get there. I've been waiting years to get another Ridgeback so I'll be quite disappointed if it turns out to be impractical.

Flies aren't that much of a problem - only in the stinking dry heat of summer for about 8 weeks and then mainly when you are cooking/eating outside.

Light a few candles/smoke - and spray the aerogaurd.

Aw c'mon Sas they are pretty awful for at least 6 months of the year you must admit. Worse this past year because of the demise of the dung beetle due to the drought.
Wouldnt worry about the dog poo issue paulry, everyone else's dogs will leave enough in your neighbourhood anyway so may just as well get a dog of your own.

Welcome to Canberra, the fly-infested dog-shit-strewn capital of Australia!

i don't agree with you Q here.

I really don't get bothered with flies unless eating outside whn really hot and as for dog Sh*t - well I really have yet to see it on the streets....must be your area Q

I have seen it on occasions on the grassed area of parklands but never on the streets around where I walk.

Heavens, walking into Civic from Ainslie every day especially in the summer the flies darned near drive me bonkers - look like a mad woman waving my arms all over the place and swearing at the little buggers. I dont know why they love me so much but they seem to spend an inordinate amount of energy trying to get into every orifice open to the sunshine. I dont eat outside any more, it is just too stressful shooing them away and retrieving them from my lunch.

I am disappointed in Canberrans and their dogs - that same walk will always take me past piles of doggy do (I'll count them next time) and I doubt any inner Northerners have a single clue about pooper scooping and even though there are fewer roaming dogs than there were even 10 years ago there are always piles on our nature strip and pretty much everyone else's on my daily walk as well. From memory we dont even have any designated dogggie doo bins do we? I dont have a dog so not foremost in my consciousness.

You must have been getting ours then. I'm surrounded by dairy cattle, horse agistment, stables etc round here and I was amazed how few there were this summer gone. Even the Xmas bugs were very scarce.

Get on to the local council about it. Better still take matters into your own hands, and while out walking, mark each offence with a small flag crafted from a kebab skewer or such like. Take a photo as evidence and then contact the local newspaper. They'll use it on a slow news day.

I dont think Stanhopeless would be in the least bit interested in dog poo, he's more interested in the big issues like climate change and human rights. Good idea though, will need a big bag of kebab skewers

Paul:Start practicing the good old aussie wave Love Ridgebacks,used to have one myself in Oz a long time ago!

Hi livinginreality, it looks like I'm definitely going to have to. I'm having mixed feelings about breaking it to the family.

Ridgebacks are amazing dogs with heaps of character. They have a great temperament too.

To the other posters, thanks for all your helpful information so far