# Flies in cabin



## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

So, the cabin is actually a seasonal, eleven hundred square foot ranch house just off a county maintained dirt road, not a structure deep in the tree shadowed woods. It's caulked up tight, has quality Andersen and Norco windows, has a thermostat that is never set higher than 63 degrees, and by all standards is a structurally sound home. I never have fly issues in good old Michigan cold winter hunting seasons, deep winter, September, early October, spring or summer. Problems only occur with warm later October or November weather. I'm talking about shop vacuuming up to 50 a day in total, most from various windows. Last year which had a cold late October and November, I had no issue what's so ever. Observations seem to indicate the lethargic barely buzzing insects are in fact getting in through the window(s) framing. At least I think, but really don't understand how. I've jammed weather stripping into the interior window jambs/framing but they still find a path somehow. Very reluctant to use bug bombs. I'm just puzzled how they manage to make entry. Anybody else have this problem? Any insight? Any suggestions?


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## aphess223 (Aug 1, 2001)

Do a blower door test it will show the holes, my two cents.


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Get some food grade bombs and place them through out. You’ll need a shovel once the smoke clears!

Been there!


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

We have a fly problem, only much worse than you describe. Some years there are hardly any and some years the windows seem alive with them and we need to vacuum a half dozen times for a few days. It seems worse when there is full sun on the south side of the camp and the temps are in the upper 40s. If someone gets out there and turns the heat up a few days before season we get get them mostly under control by the first or second day. 

In our case, after years of unsuccessfully trying to figure out where they are coming from, we have resigned ourselves to living with them. One thing we have learned about them though, never ever turn on the light above the table when eating. FM


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## Hunters Edge (May 15, 2009)

Look around a southern exposed door for light showing openings. Window fly traps seem to work well at the top of the window. Especially if you have shades that hide the abundance of massed dead fly's on the trap.


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## grapestomper (Jan 9, 2012)

Do you have an attic opening in the ceiling. 
Pretty easy for them to get in their. Or you ceiling lighting.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Ear plugs can help sleeping , when a chorus line of flies are doing death spins on the floor. And another party is going on on the table.... And kamikazes are bouncing off the walls.
:lol:


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

aphess223 said:


> Do a blower door test it will show the holes, my two cents.


Not sure what a blower door test is. Have to look that up. Thanks.


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Forest Meister said:


> We have a fly problem, only much worse than you describe. Some years there are hardly any and some years the windows seem alive with them and we need to vacuum a half dozen times for a few days. It seems worse when there is full sun on the south side of the camp and the temps are in the upper 40s. If someone gets out there and turns the heat up a few days before season we get get them mostly under control by the first or second day.
> 
> In our case, after years of unsuccessfully trying to figure out where they are coming from, we have resigned ourselves to living with them. One thing we have learned about them though, never ever turn on the light above the table when eating. FM



Yeah, we have a rule about no Raisin Bran for breakfast...


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Hunters Edge said:


> Look around a southern exposed door for light showing openings. Window fly traps seem to work well at the top of the window. Especially if you have shades that hide the abundance of massed dead fly's on the trap.


Thanks. Yeah I considered traps until I can pinpoint entry point(s).


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

grapestomper said:


> Do you have an attic opening in the ceiling.
> Pretty easy for them to get in their. Or you ceiling lighting.


Good thinking on ceiling attic hatches, which I checked out early on thinking maybe they get in through soffit ventilation holes and via the attic they creep out the ceiling access. But not once have I found any activity in the closets where they're located. On the other hand, ceiling lighting is possible via the electrical box. Maybe I could caulk the box openings. Still seems like majority are using the windows as a route in somehow though. Thanks.


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Waif said:


> Ear plugs can help sleeping , when a chorus line of flies are doing death spins on the floor. And another party is going on on the table.... And kamikazes are bouncing off the walls.
> :lol:


Ha!..Kamikazes, with a couple adjectives thrown in, was a word used quite a bit this deer season..


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Like I mentioned earlier, just bomb it!

One my customers was the head exterminator at Wayne State. He gave me a case of them.

Swear they came out of light sockets...LOL 

Cluster flies looking for a place to winter-over and found one.


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## Rasputin (Jan 13, 2009)

You guys need bugasalt weapons! Turn your problem into an adventure!


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Shoeman said:


> Like I mentioned earlier, just bomb it!
> 
> One my customers was the head exterminator at Wayne State. He gave me a case of them.
> 
> ...


what brand are you using?


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Not sure. More than likely professional grade, but safe for the food industry. Gotta be out there!

Found a shyt ton of them one fall while replacing the roof. My god, it was disgusting! Those bastards by the hundreds


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

I had a problem with those Chinese ladybugs. They were in my place real bad. I discovered that they were getting in through the weep holes some of my larger windows had. You can't plug those holes, but I did put some copper wool in them and the problem was solved.

The other think I did for flies etc was to install a restaurant grade bug zapper that mounts on the wall in an out of way location. That really takes care of any wandering flies. Just leave it on a few nights when there are no other lights on.


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## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

Steve said:


> I had a problem with those Chinese ladybugs. They were in my place real bad. I discovered that they were getting in through the weep holes some of my larger windows had. You can't plug those holes, but I did put some copper wool in them and the problem was solved.
> 
> The other think I did for flies etc was to install a restaurant grade bug zapper that mounts on the wall in an out of way location. That really takes care of any wandering flies. Just leave it on a few nights when there are no other lights on.


50/50 mixture of Dawn dish soap sprayed around windows and doors get them to. West end of our house had them so bad you could not see the color of the siding. Dish soap killed them


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Thanks 


Steve said:


> I had a problem with those Chinese ladybugs. They were in my place real bad. I discovered that they were getting in through the weep holes some of my larger windows had. You can't plug those holes, but I did put some copper wool in them and the problem was solved.
> 
> The other think I did for flies etc was to install a restaurant grade bug zapper that mounts on the wall in an out of way location. That really takes care of any wandering flies. Just leave it on a few nights when there are no other lights on.


Thanks Steve


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Scout 2 said:


> 50/50 mixture of Dawn dish soap sprayed around windows and doors get them to. West end of our house had them so bad you could not see the color of the siding. Dish soap killed them


Wow!, that sounds like a whole lot of flies. Never realized the Dawn soap ratio was so high. Have used it actually at a much lower rate with some limited (temporary) success. Thanks.


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## Old Whaler (Sep 11, 2010)

Cluster flies have always been heavy at the cottage we borrow in the western UP in late Septembers. You just can't keep them out. Neighbor sprays the dirt and landscaping all around his cabin. He says they breed on earthworms, so you gotta spray where the worms are. Wish I knew what he used, but I don't.


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

Old Whaler said:


> Cluster flies have always been heavy at the cottage we borrow in the western UP in late Septembers. You just can't keep them out. Neighbor sprays the dirt and landscaping all around his cabin. He says they breed on earthworms, so you gotta spray where the worms are. Wish I knew what he used, but I don't.


You are exactly right. They are cluster flies For many years they were horrible in the fall I started using a company called bug blaster out of Green Bay Wisconsin. They spray inside around the windows and doors and also the exterior My flies are minimal now but on occasion they congregate around the window with the most light. I believe my place is sealed really well and for the life of me I can’t see where they get in. Also bombing it will help you also. I ve done that too


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## Stubee (May 26, 2010)

I get plenty of those at my Canada camp. Like incredible amounts. Years ago on a different cabin I built myself I was able to stop them by caulking every window frame etc. That place was T-111 fir including soffit and that did the job. In Canada I caulked even more but it didn’t stop them. I’ve got aluminum soffit there and watched them climb past all the siding & windows they couldn’t enter and go in where the soffit meets the fascia and perhaps the siding. They then somehow find there way insider, I think past my pine ceiling. So I spray the bejeezus outta the soffit & soffit meets stuff area with Home Defense, in September. It cuts them down by probably 95-98%. 

Once they’re in a bug bomb is needed + strategically located flypaper!


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## giver108 (Nov 24, 2004)

As mentioned previously, you have cluster flies and I think it is impossible to keep them out. I used to have a pest company spray my house in northern WI late summer and that would greatly cut down on them but not 100%. The key is you have to get it done before they get inside. Usually mid to late August is when you want to have it sprayed. You can also do it yourself for much cheaper if you have a tank sprayer that can reach the eves and soffits. The chemical the pest control company used was called Demand CZ and you mix it with water.


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## StevenJ (Feb 11, 2009)

Steve said:


> The other think I did for flies etc was to install a restaurant grade bug zapper that mounts on the wall in an out of way location. That really takes care of any wandering flies. Just leave it on a few nights when there are no other lights on.


I also use a non-professional bug zapper with a blue light and hang it in a corner of the main cabin.

I also have cluster flies and ladybugs and various assorted insects. Lately I got a bunch of grain moths.

Cluster flies are more annoying rather than a health risk.

The bug zapper usually gets them attached to the device rather than all over the floor by the windows. It then gets cleaned by by an air compressor nozzle or canned air every once in a while. 

This is the type:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I0G0JXE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&fpw=alm


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Stubee said:


> I get plenty of those at my Canada camp. Like incredible amounts. Years ago on a different cabin I built myself I was able to stop them by caulking every window frame etc. That place was T-111 fir including soffit and that did the job. In Canada I caulked even more but it didn’t stop them. I’ve got aluminum soffit there and watched them climb past all the siding & windows they couldn’t enter and go in where the soffit meets the fascia and perhaps the siding. They then somehow find there way insider, I think past my pine ceiling. So I spray the bejeezus outta the soffit & soffit meets stuff area with Home Defense, in September. It cuts them down by probably 95-98%.
> 
> Once they’re in a bug bomb is needed + strategically located flypaper!


Incredible how they manage to get in. I'm not sure there's any points left that I haven't caulked so at a minimum I think spraying and bug bombs are on the agenda. Thanks.


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Tj


StevenJ said:


> I also use a non-professional bug zapper with a blue light and hang it in a corner of the main cabin.
> 
> I also have cluster flies and ladybugs and various assorted insects. Lately I got a bunch of grain moths.
> 
> ...


Thanks again, Steve. I'm finding out this problem isn't unique to my place.


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

When all else fails I resort to this


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Steve said:


> I had a problem with those Chinese ladybugs. They were in my place real bad. I discovered that they were getting in through the weep holes some of my larger windows had. You can't plug those holes, but I did put some copper wool in them and the problem was solved.
> 
> The other think I did for flies etc was to install a restaurant grade bug zapper that mounts on the wall in an out of way location. That really takes care of any wandering flies. Just leave it on a few nights when there are no other lights on.


My grandparents were vacuuming up those damn ladybugs for years! Probably 15yrs ago they appeared. They were ALL over the exterior of the house. Then, there were a ton of them inside every year, pretty much all year. Never got rid of them really. They're reduced though.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Don't mean to sound like a jerk but I pictured walking into the place with flies everywhere like the scene from silence of the lambs with the moths, and had a pretty good laugh! My dad and gramps had told me a story about a hunting cabin with a dirt floor they stayed in decades ago. I want to say it was in the UP. Thousands of flies inside.


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

StevenJ said:


> I also use a non-professional bug zapper with a blue light and hang it in a corner of the main cabin.
> 
> I also have cluster flies and ladybugs and various assorted insects. Lately I got a bunch of grain moths.
> 
> ...


Similar to what I use. I like that I can hang mine on the wall like this one.


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

sureshot006 said:


> My grandparents were vacuuming up those damn ladybugs for years! Probably 15yrs ago they appeared. They were ALL over the exterior of the house. Then, there were a ton of them inside every year, pretty much all year. Never got rid of them really. They're reduced though.


Vacuuming the live ones into a shop vac and killing them elsewhere is the best option once they get in the place. If you kill them in the place I guess they can emit some sort of scent which will attract more of them.


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

sparky18181 said:


> View attachment 614039
> 
> 
> When all else fails I resort to this





sparky18181 said:


> View attachment 614039
> 
> 
> When all else fails I resort to this


Now we're talking....


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

sureshot006 said:


> My grandparents were vacuuming up those damn ladybugs for years! Probably 15yrs ago they appeared. They were ALL over the exterior of the house. Then, there were a ton of them inside every year, pretty much all year. Never got rid of them really. They're reduced though.


We had a problem with lady bugs too, for a few years or so. We would often find them grouped together in a ceiling corner. Up to a couple dozen in a clump. Made for easy vacuuming. Then they just disappeared. Haven't been a issue for some time. Now, it's just flies.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

My camp, barn and blinds also have cabin fly issues. Once it heats up they come out of every hiding place. I like building a hot fire in the wood stove and opening up the top portion of the windows cleans them out pretty good. Shooing the fly catchers and chickadees out is another issue. Don’t forget to remove your screens prior to using the open window method. The birds will tear them up feeding on the fallen flies.


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## Ronnie D (Dec 8, 2020)

One other thing to check is to make sure the sink traps are primed before you leave your cabin. During summer the water in them will evaporate and leave an open path to the septic tank or drain tile. Use a 50 50 mix of cheap dish soap and water to pour in the drains.


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## Stickman8474 (Oct 7, 2017)

Ronnie D said:


> One other thing to check is to make sure the sink traps are primed before you leave your cabin. During summer the water in them will evaporate and leave an open path to the septic tank or drain tile. Use a 50 50 mix of cheap dish soap and water to pour in the drains.


Huh...never thought about that. The fact that the issue occurs on and off, with most years no problem and then all of a sudden it's a major **** pain, gives the idea some added weight. Though usually there's RV fluid in the traps by late September, there may be occasion (like when the weather is unseasonably warm), that it might not be put to use until mid or even late October. I suspect the invasion could be a combination of things but I never considered the open trap gateway. Good call, thanks..


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