I periodically have real issues with flies and mozzies getting in the house and whilst I have a fly swatter, my eyes can no longer accommodate to the speed with which the fly gets about, so I must use sprays.
I’d love to see a proper test of fly sprays (rather than a buying guide which is generally OK but not specific enough). Reason being I have two cans of Mortein Power Guard, which costs more than a lesser spray but which to me seems no more effective. It does not kill in seconds as advertised.
Thanks for that link. The Fast KNockdown is the other product I was using prior to buying the Power Guard. The latter works eventually but not as efficently, and as for one spray… HAH! But that applies to all of them. IN the real world (ie not in an enclosed space like a box) more spray is required to achieve the same end. Once the current is done, I guess I’ll go back to fast knockdown.
Have you tried sticky yellow sheets? We don’t use any toxic sprays here, and find the yellow sheets, fly swat and vacuum cleaner can deal with unwanted flying insects. We catch any wasps and release them outside, they do a good job on spiders and some other insects.
Where can I get them? I tried last year at Bunnings and they had flypaper which was actually a clear tape, and it was so lightweight (even with the weighted container at the bottom) that more of it ended up sticking to other things and not a single fly was caught.
I don’t mind wasps around the place, much to the general horror of the neighbours… ditto spiders… but they do a good job of keeping other insects away. I just don’t want them inside the house. I have Daddylonglegs for that. And of course, nothing much deals with roaches, when they get in.
I tried to kill one a couple of days ago. Sprayed it and sprayed it as it tried to sneak in to a variety of hiding places. Eventually, when I had the chance, I hit it with the can. That worked.
Aside from applying military tactics? Roaches are definitely popular with the brush turkey, butcher birds, many of our native rodents, smaller reptiles and the huntsman. No need to make a list of what else is not popular inside the house. No sprays required if there is sufficient competition for them outside. Something that is less common in urban environments.
Boric acid powder is a classic that works, albeit not quickly. This random site explains it.
and this one is a bit more extreme
We spent many years living in Houston TX USA where roaches can become like family. Boric acid behind the drawers, applied inside wall cavities, and in ceilings where it will not get blown around into the living space is a ‘gold standard’ for longer term treatment.
For Blowflies: open window or door, they will gladly get out.
Cockroaches: even the smallest spray from a can of Surface spray, right onto
them, will kill quickly.
Flies and mozzies: close windows, spray a good fly spray towards the ceiling, go out and close door. Don’t open windows for at least a couple of hours.
This is good for insects that happen to get inside, not for infestations.
It’s very rare to see any imported pest roaches around here (we do have the big native ones outside in the leaf litter though), but for ants I use Boric acid powder mixed with sugar or honey and water, placed in their main pathways. It works well.
Big? I’ve not seen one that big, but if they can help with the housework.
Alternately,
I find a large upturned plastic Tupperware mixing bowl (30cm) is usually just wide enough. Most spiders seem reasonably easy to trap against a surface once you observe their habits. I just slide a thin manila folder underneath the lip of the bowl. The spiders seem to work it out ok. Quick trip out into the garden where there is plenty of dead timber and bark to hide in. If only the Asian house geckos where so easy to catch.
My individual preference with the bigger spiders is to leave them in the house as it keeps many other things away.
It certainly would keep me away😆
When I moved in my flat, I went into the bedroom to turn the bedside lamp on and on the wall behind the lamp was the biggest spider I ever saw. I was ready to go and sleep on the couch. Then I remembered my vacuum cleaner. Problem solved.
We are a arachnopiles and spiders don’t worry us if they are in the house (such as huntsman or daddy-long-legs). In the garden we encourage golden orbs and leave their egg sacks in place for next years young ones.
The above spiders, along with geckos which we keep outside, do a great job in controlling insect populations around the house.
We also have fly screen on most windows, but still get a fugitive which needs to be dealt with naturally.
The only spiders we don’t like around the house are the venomous varieties such as redbacks etc.
Can you be sure it didn’t crawl back out of the vacuum cleaner tube and watch you sleeping from its old home?
Our various species of native geckos, along with some frogs eat lots of insects by hanging around the kitchen window in the evenings, but sometimes they just cant keep up!
These are from https://www.photomacrography.net It is infested with bugophilliacs and arachnophiles, many of them are good photographers, some are great. Please don’t mention spray to them as many would be quite upset - and besides it ruins the images. If body hair and especially hairy legs gets you excited you will be lost in admiration.
