Hi all, On a recent trip away in our caravan on a farm site we were plagued with flies. Despite the fly screens being used some flies managed to get in when we opened the door to get in and out. The fly spray we bought had a limited effect and i wasn't sure how good it was for our dog to be breathing this in. Has any one got a electric fly "rapidzap" or anything else they could recommend for use in a caravan to easily get rid of unwanted flies. Thanks in advance.
I highly recommend one of these electronic fly swatter - I bought the biggest one.
I would advise covering food and drink, and cleaned crockery and cutlery etc., as it splits insects into bits on contact, not something you want in your tea etc.!
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
Quote: Originally posted by franbee on 22/7/2024
We have the tennis racquet one, good for zapping mozzies.
We love the sizzling sound when you get one of the b.....s. LOL!
Not sure if it is an old wives tale but apparently mint helps keep them away. Problem is once they are in, they cannot get out. Don't think there is anything you can do to prevent them entering the caravan when you open the fly screen.
We were plagued with flies at one site a few weeks ago and they were nearly impossible to get with the tennis racquet style zapper as they were a particularly speedy variety. We tried fly spray but the smell was awful and lingered for ages and it triggered my asthma so we gave up on that. We were looking around a supermarket and spotted an insect freezing spray. It is completely free of anything toxic, it just momentarily stuns the insects to give you time to kill them and we found that this, in conjunction with the zapper, worked well.
I have a real hatred of flies and bluebottles in confined spaces, really can't stand them buzzing around me all the time, sooner or later I HAVE to deal with them!
I've used an assortment of electronic bug zappers over the years (UV light/High Voltage mesh type), and one thing has struck me, house flies and bluebottles are NOT very suicidal and co-operative! The bug zappers work much better with assorted other flying things, even Mozzies, but house flies and bluebottles need the electric tennis bat or old fashioned rolled up news paper! - and yes, there is a sadistic pleasure when you finally get one and it goes 'pop' in a puff of smoke!
I don't like fly sprays much, firstly you need to spray and evacuate the room PDQ to avoid breathing vapour, it settles on worktops, tables, utensils etc., so if anything to do with food, they need washing/wiping down before use. I'm certainly not happy with my dog being anywhere near the stuff, and usually they're labelled as harmful to a number of creatures that are not your target! And I find the lingering smell pretty unpleasant. If you have a true infestation, perhaps little alternative, limited numbers I find the electric tennis racket the best solution, but it's a wildlife hunt, they don't co-operate and you need to tire them out until they settle - then ZAP!
I've got a small plug in UV bug zapper that I leave running overnight, that seems to deal with all the annoying little bugs (including Mozzies) that find their way into the van past the fly screens, and because it's otherwise dark, the UV light is far more effective at attracting them than in daytime.
In a tent or awning, I've used good old fashioned sticky fly papers! - Just make sure they are WELL out of reach and you are NOT going to get your hair touching them!!!! Pretty grim sight when you come to take them down, but effective.
Quote: Originally posted by franbee on 22/7/2024
Ooo, pixie, I need to look for that stuff! Was this in UK supermarket or abroad?
It was in the UK. My husband and I are at odds about where we got it. He thinks maybe B&Q and I think it was a mainstream supermarket like Tesco. I have put a picture below. It says it is for crawling insects but it worked on flies for us. It stuns them for about 30 seconds which gives you time to kill them.
Electronic fly killers are fine if you don't think about the thousands of insect parts that get scattered over a wide are when the insect hits the killing grid. A better option is to use a glue board based machine that still uses the UV light to attract the insects. The new LED versions have a low energy consumption and come in many shapes and sizes. The older tube versions lose efficacy and replacement tubes are going to be difficult to obtain in the future. Houseflies do not react very well to a standard lamp in a fly machine, but a simple yellow fly paper works well.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
Quote: Originally posted by davetom on 23/7/2024
Thankyou all for your replies. I did try a battery powered tennis racket type but found that the flies were mostly quicker than i was.
Never had a lot of luck swiping them in flight, but if you harass them enough they tire and then settle, THEN you zap them! Bit of a typical predator hunting technique! .... who'd have though splatting an annoying bug could get so technical!
Get yourself a whippet…they are awesome fly catchers 😂
On a serious note, I feel your pain as they are disgusting and annoying, and drive me insane with their buzzing until they are dispatched. I’m not quick enough with the tennis racquet and the spray is a no no for me with the dogs. I’m just grateful that if one does get in accidentally it doesn’t last long with the whippets around lol x
------------- “It is great to be a blonde. With low expectations it's very easy to surprise people.”
Vango and Outwell Tents > VW Camper and various Vango and Outwell awnings dependent on stay location and duration > Bailey Pegasus Grande SE Brindisi and Vango Air Awning.
Found our Nivana ❤️
Flies are bad enough, but there's little worse than settling down to sleep in the pitch black and then hearing that high pitched whine of a mozzie in your ear. We then put the light on, get up, and do a sweep with the torch until we find it. Then zap...
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: flies in caravan
via mobile 22/7/2024 at 6:51am
.... who'd have though splatting an annoying bug could get so technical!
