We are into our third month of owning a static van. We were absolutely delighted with it and travelled the 5 hour journey many times now since purchase. This weekend when we arrived our van had loads of flies in it, some dead and some still buzzing around. We can not figure out how they got in, all air holes/grilles have mesh over them. Took ages for my husband to chase them and hoover them all up. We went out for a few hours and came back to the same again. All doors and windows were shut and we have turned van upside down looking for their entrance.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this or do you have any advice for the best way to get rid of these unwelcome visitors. Any help greatly appreciated.
You will get flies this time of year in most statics/tourers. They come in key holes, boiler flu infact anywhere. They will go in light fittings - you need to take out the bulbs and make sure they are fly free, corners of cupboards & wardrobes etc. Then when you are sure they are all gone buy Fly trap window stickers by Rentokil - we get them from Tesco's. It wont stop them but it helps reduce the numbers.
Out of curiosity, what type of caravan have you got? We had a problem with one of our private owner caravans, we complained to the manufacturer but to no avail. The strange thing was that the surrounding caravans had no flies at all.
The problems of flies we had were in a range of makes & models, but the worst were the BK Bluebird Sherborne & Swift Chamonix (2 of these).......
the flies were coming in through the gaps around the eves, then into the Holiday Home (via the roof space) through either the halogen light fittings OR the air vents themselves.
The one "stock answer" I was given was that the manufacurers could not put the fine mesh in the roof due to a) cost and b) problems with the gas ventialation for the homes (small mesh could potentially block up).
But you would have thought that in this day & age, they would have a solution to this....if they could be bothered.
That is better than the response we got from Willerby, i received a very informative copy and pasted letter on the habitat and behaviour of cluster flies.
Well done dealing with the posts earlier in the year by the way, was watching with bemusement and admiration at your keeping cool.
Yes, keeping my cool........but the keyboard took the brunt
I know a few "watchers" out there were seeing it develop with amusement, and I have found that when you get silly ones like I had to deal with, they usually end up digging a great big hole for themselves in anycase !
Hi all, in reply to earlier post it is an ABE ALLERTON static van that we have. Perfect in every way except for the flies. We are going back down this weekend (to remove the dead bodies) we are armed with sprays papers and traps. Have also purchased some fly mesh will let you know how it goes.
Yes, the mesh should work......but the manufactures did point out to me that if anyone did do this, it was at their own risk (noting the Gas Safe regulations).
We have them in our van too. We own a Willerby New Horizon. Not had it long. we Noticed every time we visited the van there was around 40 dead flies in the lounge area and same in the master bedroom. We think they have got in through the Velux Windows. We have bought new filters and hubby has filled all round the window with clear sealant. Fingers crossed when we go this weekend we may have cracked it.
I have the same fly problems. I fitted fly screen over all of the vents earlier this year and thought that the problem was solved, except this weekend we went to our Willerby Granada and found literally 1000's of dead flies waiting for us. I have done everything possible to stop them getting in like sealing any small gaps, fitting mesh over all vents.
We cleaned up all of the dead flies with the vacuum cleaner and went out for 2 hours. On our return hundreds more dead flies. I can't stop them getting in but when they do get in the product I have sprayed around the caravan sorts them out.I borrowed a set of ladders from the site and investigated the roof. What I found up there has given me hope that we can sort out the problem.
The Willerby Granada has a tiled effect roof with a capping strip running the length of the caravan on the ridge. Underneath the cap is some soft rubber sponge which has perished and I think will need replacing next spring. When I took my aerosol can of insect killer and sprayed under the cap loads of cluster flies tried to escape.I hope that I have found the weak point in my defences against the flies and will post the results next spring when I replace all of the seals.
All i need to do now is get some sense from willerby's customer services (fat chance)
Definitely cluster flies and always a problem in the countryside; they live in meadows and come indoors when it gets cold. You'll probably have them at home but they hide in the attic.
No foolproof defence except fly paper and a strong hoover.
Hi, We have a Willerby Aspen with the dreaded repeat visitor cluster flies in the roof space. Sounds just like yours. Did replacing the material under the capping under the ridge do the trick? Did Willerby help with your problem. Any advice would be truly appreciated. Thank you!
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Topic: Flies
