Flies

[jeanw]

Hi everyone - I've been feeding a stray/feral colony for several years. Used to have some help with it but I do all of it now. There are sometimes as many as 38 cats ready to eat when I bring out the food. It's not at my house - someone else's house in the county. I'm working on getting them fixed and have rescued 5 who were sick or injured and have kept them as inside pets.

My question - even though it's early in the warm season it's already very hot here in southern Arizona. The flies have suddenly become a really massive problem. They've been bad for a week - today was the worst. The water bowls were disgusting and filled with gross leftover water and lots and lots of dead flies. The food and water are on a patio just outside the back door of the house.

Does anyone here know what works?

I read this today but have no idea if it would be effective - "Using lemons and cloves to keep common house flies away is an easy and fast remedy, as flies can't stand the smell of either. Use two lemons and cut them into halves. Then insert between six and 12 cloves directly into the lemon halves. Place the lemons, which almost look like a decoration, on a plate near your meal. No flies will bother you"

Then I just saw this - It says it's safe for pets and has a 30 day money back guarantee. Thoughts?

WHILE OTHER FLY REPELLENTS are not pet-friendly, don't really work and smell bad, the Pest Destruct Ultrasonic Fly Repellent works silently for the human ear, does not smell, perfectly eliminates flies and 100% safe for children and pets.

HOW IT WORKS - This Ultrasonic Fly Repellent works on a biological level by sending out ultrasonic waves to send unwanted flies and other unwanted guests back to nature. This means no dead flies, bugs or rodents for you to clean out of your house! One repellent covers an area of 100-800 sqft.

ENJOY LIVING IN A PEST FREE HOME - While This Ultrasonic Repellent is specifically designed to eliminate Flies, it also works on Rats, Mice, Bugs, Mosquitoes, Fleas, and Cockroaches.

 

[Avery]

A few quick thoughts. First of all, cats usually don't like the smell of citrus so I'm not sure using the lemons would be a good idea. Also, the ultrasonic repellent needs to be plugged in. Is there an outlet on the patio? It sounds like you are doing this alone, but can the person who lives in the house change the water periodically?

 

[fionasmom]

Those are good points. Some cats really react to citrus and immediately leave the area. I am assuming that you can't use those hanging fly traps as there is no place to hang them?

 

[Kat0121]

Hi everyone - I've been feeding a stray/feral colony for several years. Used to have some help with it but I do all of it now. There are sometimes as many as 38 cats ready to eat when I bring out the food. It's not at my house - someone else's house in the county. I'm working on getting them fixed and have rescued 5 who were sick or injured and have kept them as inside pets.

My question - even though it's early in the warm season it's already very hot here in southern Arizona. The flies have suddenly become a really massive problem. They've been bad for a week - today was the worst. The water bowls were disgusting and filled with gross leftover water and lots and lots of dead flies. The food and water are on a patio just outside the back door of the house.

Does anyone here know what works?

I read this today but have no idea if it would be effective - "Using lemons and cloves to keep common house flies away is an easy and fast remedy, as flies can't stand the smell of either. Use two lemons and cut them into halves. Then insert between six and 12 cloves directly into the lemon halves. Place the lemons, which almost look like a decoration, on a plate near your meal. No flies will bother you"

Then I just saw this - It says it's safe for pets and has a 30 day money back guarantee. Thoughts?

View attachment 416484

I've tried something similar to that and returned it. It did nothing. Flies are the bane of my existence. I'd suggest a bug zapper. The noise it makes as it sends the flies back to hades is quite satisfying.

This is an option too but it's not something you'd really want if the cats are fed near a house. It reeks which is why flies like it so much.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004RBDW/?tag=thecatsite