You’re probably unwillingly cohabiting with quite a few flies in your house at the moment, right?
It’s only natural that as the warmer months set in and the temperatures begin to rise, flies will do their best to make their way into your home for a number of reasons.
Most common house flies will enter to feed on rubbish or moisture, as they are attracted to decaying organic matter such as rotting meat. Fruit flies are on the look-out for sugary substances and tend to feed more commonly on over-ripened fruit and veg, spilled fizzy drinks and alcohol. Drain flies require moist climates and organic materials, so will be attracted to drains and kitchen sinks – where they will also lay their eggs.
There’s no denying that flies tend to become a nuisance in the house, and although they may seem harmless in small numbers, if not dealt with, this could lead to a larger infestation which isn’t great news considering they can spread bacteria such as Salmonella, typhoid and E-Coli.
Getting rid of flies can feel impossible at times – but there are a few simple hacks for doing so.
Most common house flies will enter your home to feed on rubbish or moisture / Credit: Pixabay
Remove incentives and clean thoroughly
This one probably goes without saying and may seem a little self-explanatory rather than a hack, but removing each of the aforementioned incentives for each type of fly from your home should always be the first step to tackling the problem.
Enhanced, frequent, thorough cleaning can also eradicate fly breeding spots too.
Red wine
Red wine isn’t necessarily everyone’s choice of summer drink and it may actually sound like a bit of a waste too if you’re a wine enthusiast, but as bizarre as it seems, this rich tipple actually does a great job at getting rid of flies from your home.
Simply leave a container with a bit of red wine in the bottom – and watch the flies drop in.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar – which is a vinegar made from fermented apple juice – has numerous benefits, is extremely versatile, and can be used for multiple different things, including the eradication of flies from your home.
All you’ll need to do is take the cap off a bottle of ACV and leave it around the house, wherever your fly problem is most severe.
The flies will then be able to get into the cap, but will become trapped and can’t get back out.
Milk, sugar & pepper mixture
As mentioned, a lot of common house flies love the taste of sweet mixtures, so if you combine a pint of milk, raw sugar and two ounces of ground pepper into a saucepan and then simmer for 10 minutes, that should do the trick.
Then pop this mixture into a bottle to attract the flies, so you can once again trap them and stop them from getting back out.
Getting rid of flies can feel impossible at times – but there are a few simple hacks for doing so / Credit: Flickr
If any of these natural remedies just don’t seem to be working for you, and your fly infestation looks to be getting more substantial and potentially out of hand, then you may need to call in experts to help.
There are a number of pest control companies in Greater Manchester available to contact.
Once you have successfully managed to eradicate the flies from your home, it’s essential to keep the area clean.
You’ll want to make sure your wheelie bin is clean and all rubbish is bagged correctly, as well keeping the lid of the kitchen bin down and tight at all times, especially during the warmer summer months.
Although not ideal from a waste perspective, when temperatures really start to soar, it’s advised that you aim to change your bin more regularly – sometimes up to twice a day – and if you think that flies are especially attracted to your bin, you can even sprinkle baking soda on top of it as this will kill any larvae and remove odours.
And last but not least, if you’re a pet owner, you may want to remember to dispose of any food left in your animal’s bowl, as this is also a popular contributor to fly infestations.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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The man saving Manchester’s city pigeons from ‘stringfoot’
Daisy Jackson
A man has been patrolling the streets of Manchester to save our city’s pigeons from a condition known as ‘stringfoot’.
We all walk past hundreds of the birds every day in the city centre and they often get a bad rap – but one now-viral TikTok account is hoping to change all that.
In a series of heartwarming videos, one man has been heading out in his free time to treat pigeons afflicted with the dreaded ‘stringfoot’.
It’s a common sight now to see pigeons missing toes or walking around Manchester on deformed feet, which is often caused when the poor birds become tangled up in foreign matter.
Sometimes this is bits of string, plastic, thread, hair or a number of other things usually dropped by humans.
But with quick intervention from Tom, he can save these pigeons from a life of limping around town.
He’s been heading out armed with bags of seed to lure groups of pigeons close to him, before carefully catching the afflicted animal and carefully cutting away the material around its foot.
He uses things like stitch pickers to remove the thread, before cleaning up the pigeon’s foot with saline spray and antiseptic and gently releasing them again.
Tom said he started helping pigeons ‘sort of by accident’ when a bird with stringfoot came up to his flat.
In one month alone, he was able to catch and treat 15 pigeons, saving them from infection and injury.
And the account is getting lots of love and driving awareness for stringfoot and changing people’s perception of pigeons.
One person wrote on one of Tom’s videos: “We did pigeons so wrong as a society. Thanks for helping!”
Another said: “Pigeons Are NOT TRASH, they are a birds, who need help like cats, dogs and every living animals.”
And someone else commented: “These sort of videos make me cry because we’re so mean to pigeons, this might be the first time someone’s done something kind to them.”
You can find out more on how to help pigeons in your area HERE.
Benjamin Šeško quote resurfaces as Manchester United switch sole focus to pursuit of Slovenia star
Danny Jones
Slovenia striker Benjamin Šeško is now considered the primary transfer target for Manchester United for this summer window, as per multiple reports, and with the links only growing stronger as a quote relating to him and former RB Salzburg forward Erling Haaland has cropped back up.
Now on the books at the franchise club’s German counterpart in Leipzig, Šeško is one of the most highly sought-after talents in Europe at present, showing not only huge potential and a unique profile but already some impressive returns when it comes to goal contributions.
Although Haaland is ahead in terms of numbers, they do bear some resemblance in terms of height, physicality and speed for their size, and while they barely came across each other in the Red Bull setup – Šeško being loaned out to fellow Austrian side Liefering – they have drawn plenty of comparisons.
In fact, according to the 22-year-old himself, some feel he might just be “better” than the Norwegian phenomenon. At least that’s what some teammates and former colleagues are claimed to have said.
The retired defensive midfielder elaborated that Šeško was arguably the more natural all-round athlete, detailing that he has always been “smooth with the ball, very good technique, good finishing, and he jumps so high; very, very good with the head – it’s unbelievable.”
Aufhauser went on to add, however: “Erling was mentally a monster and better at the same age. This is the last five, 10 per cent that Benji has to get.”
It was also noted that while the emerging prospect may have just edged out the now fully-fledged Manchester City superstar in some departments at an early age, the big number nine always managed to find the back of the net more often.
He’s certainly kept that up in the years since then…
A 2022 quote from Šeško is all well and good, but Haaland has proved plenty of paper in just a few short years at the Etihad.
It’s also worth noting that the two attackers are not just pretty equally quick in a straight line, but both as tall as each other, clocking in at exactly 6ft 4in, with the Man City man barely three years his senior.
On the other hand, Šeško is known for keeping up multiple sports besides just football (basketball, in particular),
Besides their position, he told Amazon Prime Video Sport that he believes there is a lot of value not just in being sized up against the likes of Haaland but in trying to take cues from other pros in training, having also named a previous Red Devil himself as a key role model: one Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Most of this talk probably sounds all well and good to most United fans, but another key stumbling block in terms of a move for the budding young goalscorer is RB Leipzig’s supposed asking price, as the Bundesliga outfit is said to value him in the region of £70m.
Nevertheless, The Athletic now writes that INEOS and head coach Ruben Amorim are now solely focused on trying to sign Šeško, having previously narrowed it down to him and Premier League-proven Ollie Watkins.
Even if they get it done, the question is, will the confident forward suit English football as much as Watkins or dare we say Haaland – and furthermore, if they do, what might this mean for Manchester United’s current centre forwards?
Emily Sergeant -
14th June 2021 
