is anyone else be driven nuts by flies? they are so lazy too! they dont seem to be bothered by my constant swatting, slapping, screaming...

any tips for keeping them away?

and before any accuses me of being a whinger for complaining about flies in the (apparent) summer, I am Australian - I am not a stranger to flies!

Hi, Are you talking about flies from Hongkong (in your avatar) or here in Switzerland? In my case having shutters down helps, just in case one of them gets inside I deal with it chasing around until it's splattered

ive changed my location - thks for the reminder!

We suffer, oh how we suffer. We are surrounded by agriculture and cows and cows are well known for pooing. I think we have more than our fair share of flies, dirty nasty useless buggers. I got some stickers for the windows which obviously have insecticide in them. They are fab at getting those that you miss with the fly swatter, when you get up in the morning there are generally two or three that you couldn't track down, dead. My recommendation is get some of those (and keep the blinds down).

Bug spray in large quantities. Become spray-happy. Douse yourself in the stuff and the flies will leave.

Install screens..



http://www.rollfix.com/fensterrollo.html

Dress up like a giant venus fly trap and run around your house screaming.

thankyou for your tips to my very lame complaint.

i have vented sufficiently now, and will be happy that we have flies because we are surrounded by fields and cows.

They are also present during warm days in the villages, town where there are no cows and dong. Here with have Limmat river close to Baden. Spending most of the weekend outdoors on the tennis court I have to scratch myslef and and up with blisters. Closing windows and doors or installing the nets will help otherwise prepare yourself to go to the pharmacy and get lots of anti-soars ointment.

Yes, this is the route we went. Had the Windhager Profi line installed in most rooms and the Morisibari beads on the doors - so the dogs can go in and out so less awkward than screens. We live near farms and there was no other option.

If you rent, then best to purchase the window mesh that can be removed.

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i've always found a candid complaint refreshing

i got here 7 months ago, so i'm no fly expert, and offer only my experience.

i closed all the windows and doors in the whole apartment, and drew the shutters as to leave only a small bit to let light in, and then went to work. when i got back, sure enough i found all the flies aggregating at the small bit of the window when the light streamed in. sprayed them, and waited for the buzzing to stop, then swept them. subsequently, i always closed all the windows and doors before i went to work, opening them only when i got back.

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These go to Eleven.

In Zurich??

Slight exaggeration.. im in Uster, same same..

Spiders! The bigger the better.

Hang clear plastic bags filled with water...even coloured water if you feel artistic and hang from open windows or baloconies....I lived in Cairo for several years and was shown this trick by egyptians...it works...the flies when buzzing around see there reflection in the water and its much larger than them making them frightend!...

I've found that when we're having a BBQ we get loads of flies in the house - probably the combination of food and doors open. I've become quite adept at catching them with my hands and then throwing them into a bowl of water - that works pretty well. Interestingly I was in the new Bauhaus shop in Zürich on Saturday, in the plants and garden section they have a nice selection of Honey Dew, Pitcher and Venus Fly Trap plants for sale....

No no no, Uster is where the cream of society live, it is actually proven fact that people who live in Uster are more intelligent, more stylish, are better lovers, are healthier and enjoy life more than those that live in downtown Zürich. I'm sure it's because you are so humble (another proven quality of those from the Oberland) that you didn't feel you needed to point this out.

Anyway, we too have more flies than we did in Zürich (I assume they recognise it's a better place to live too). My approach is to sit in the living room with a fly swat like Jonny Depp from "Fear and loathing in Las Vegas".

I think they use a shotgun in Texas

I agree that the flies are a real pest in CH. I think it's got a lot to do with the fact that the farmers seem to spray some kind of stinking cow/pig mulch all over the place before it rains (which almost means daily during summer). As I live in the sticks (couldn't afford anything in the city if you could call Zug a city) it's all the worse as the farmers are my neighbours.

Worse still, each time I get on my motorcycle I have to ride with the visor down or I get 'bug-faced' with all the flies - and the thought that they'd just been sitting on the cow pooh.... yeuch. Not much I can do about that but amongst other things, I have organised a job elsewhere as I have truly hated living here and instead of complaining again I am off to a place with people, life and way less cow-pooh & flies.

In my apartment I have managed to keep flies at bay by having fresh basil (usually live plants) at the windows & on my balcony. It has made a huge difference. Thanks again mom (she gave me the advice).

Occasionally it's also good to take a few leaves in your hands and rub them and leave them on the sills as it chases the flies off.