So the title says it all.
I’m going on two separate trips in a couple of weeks, and I’m worried that flies would enter my house. I don’t know why, but there seems to be more flies this year than the previous ones.
A lot of them enter my house through my exhaust fan in the toilet and in the bathroom, which is why I covered them with [air filter sheets](https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Aluminum-Removal-Filter-Ventilation-inches/dp/B0B8BSZVVN/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_2/358-2300839-6762346?pd_rd_w=6sDwS&content-id=amzn1.sym.bc57a5ab-9f02-4944-8c5c-9e1696e0d32c&pf_rd_p=bc57a5ab-9f02-4944-8c5c-9e1696e0d32c&pf_rd_r=1292XYCZVVP0B1CG7DD8&pd_rd_wg=IKXux&pd_rd_r=782d64a3-387a-4c09-a128-1506acf51b7c&pd_rd_i=B0B8BSZVVN&psc=1) to at least trap them. For some reason though, some very tiny ones are able to enter my house through my door or windows. At least when I’m at home, I can turn on my UV fly traps at night and spray on them.
My question is are products like [this](https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B01C2M6OM6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1) effective against flies? I don’t open my doors and windows a lot because those flies have been crazy since last week (the exhaust fans in my kitchen/living room area is always turned when I’m at home). I previously bought the repellant that you hang on your door, but I don’t think they’re that effective. I really don’t want to come back from my trips with flies inside my house.
Also, is it weird if I cover my exhaust from the outside? I’m planning to use the air filter sheets that I previously linked. I’m hesitant to do this because then, I’d be the only one among my neighbors who would have that.
6 comments
You need a gecko.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t worry about flies when you are not home. It’s not like you are going to keep food or garbage out for them.
Are you hiding a dead body?
Mostly flies just help themselves in when you open the door so you not being home and coming in and out of your place means less new fly meat to join your home. You can cover your exhaust fan if you want but generally if you don’t have any food out for them to get into and take your trash out – the ones that did manage to get in before you left, they’ll quickly die in a day or two.
Are these full size flies or small fruit flies? My house also has a problem with fruit flies every summer. I recommend buying a pack of Kobae Hoi Hoi which looks like an apple. Set one in the kitchen near the sink, one near the garbage and one in the shower room. They attract all the flies and kill them instantly. A home remedy I have is drink a beer and leave a little on the bottom. The flies are attracted to the smell and it kills them when they enter the can/bottle. Also keep your kitchen sink spotless before you go. They make babies in dirty drains.
If you’re getting tiny flies, are you sure they aren’t drain flies from any of your sinks/drains?
Based on what you are describing, I am assuming the flies that are bothering you are species of キノコバエ (“mushroom” flies). They are extremely small, so they can come through the screen on you windows, or even through the space between closed windows.
They love moist, decomposing things and are a nuisance around the rainy season. Mushrooms wilt and die after they become wet and become breeding grounds for these species, hence their name. They usually hatch in the morning, and die from the heat during the afternoon. They are not strong fliers, so they can be easily sucked in by the airflow created through any openings when you operate an exhaust fan in the house. So refraining from creating airflow into your house in the early hours, when they are just hatched and most active, can limit their infiltration into your house.
The product you give is really not that effective, as it only contains scents of herbs that insects generally don’t like. For these flies. insect repellent and insecticides to spray on your window screens are a better option.
https://www.earth.jp/products/mushikonai-spray-amido-360/index.html
And yellow flypaper is also effective. They are attracted to yellow, and once one is caught, the pheromones emitted will attract the rest.
You can also make homemade traps for the flies. Cut the bottom 1/4 of a PET bottle. Mix one part vinegar and one part water and pour into the cut bottle, about 2 centimeters in depth. Add some dishwashing detergent. The vinegar will attract the flies, and the detergent will immobilize them. It’ll remain effective for about one week.
There are also products like this.
https://www.earth.jp/products/kobae-hoihoi/
I’d also look at the kitchen exhaust fan itself. They are often dirty and greasy; a nice place for insects to thrive. A deep cleaning, or at least a can or two of brake cleaner going through it may help some.