by Richard Fagerlund
Scripps Howard News Service
Q: I have a problem with flies buzzing around my carport. The carport is located toward the west and there is little air movement. The carport is open on three sides. I have tried fly sticks that are hung and emit some kind of poison, but because of the openness of the area this does not work. Do you have any suggestions? There is no attractant that I can see; no garbage, no dead bodies and no fertilizer or sweet sticky stuff.
A: You have what are known as "little house flies." Their scientific name is Fannia canicularia. I also have these flies on my porch, hovering around and making a nuisance of themselves. These flies breed in organic material as do most of their near relatives. You are correct that they rarely rest, so swatting them isn't easy, nor is using flypaper or other fly traps.
I have a neat little swatter that looks like a tennis racket. The mesh of the swatter is coated with a sticky substance, so whenever I get the urge, I swing the racket through the hovering flies and nail a few. I probably have about 40 flies stuck to my racket right now and there seems to be fewer of them flying around now than there were a week or so ago. You can get refills for the screen, so you don't have to look at a bunch of dead flies every time you pick it up. I just pull them off with a pair of tweezers and dispose of them, though. It was probably the best 10 bucks I have spent in a long time.
If you can't find this gadget, e-mail me and I will tell you where to purchase one. My e-mail address is fagerlun@unm.edu.
(Send questions for Richard Fagerlund to University of New Mexico Environmental Services, Physical Plant Department, 1818 Camino del Servicio N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131-3500.)
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