Fruit Flies

[Diane CBPFC]

What kind of flies surround Egon?

I did a stupid thing and brought 5gal tree tubs in the house that I had grown tomatoes in last year, I thought I would start dahlias in the kitchen (doing nicely). I have fruit flies hatching out of the soil, they don't surround me like they do Egon but come at me at the rate of about one every 5 minutes and this is with fly strips installed.

They aim for my nose and land in my coffee cup and are driving me mad - Egon doesn't seem bothered by them so I wonder if we are dealing with the same insects or if I too need to be sloshed until I can put the tubs outside at the end of May.

[Roger Kettle]

Yes, get sloshed.
I discovered a bit of a pest problem myself this morning. I was glancing out of my kitchen window to an area where my wife leaves bread and stuff for the birds. "That ain't no bird", I thought to myself as I watched a rat going back and forth to the food. The trouble is, one end of its back and forth trips was a ground-level vent thing on the wall of my house. Now, while I'd prefer not to have a family of rats living somewhere under my house, I'd also prefer not to have them all wiped out. What to do.
I'll join you in getting sloshed, Diane, while I think about it.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Flies, any flies, are the spawn of Satan. My hatred of them knows no bounds. It's not a phobia - I just HATE them! And yes, as I always told my daughters when they were complaining about their sprouts, "hate is a very strong word", but believe me - not strong enough where flies are concerned.

Rats, on the other hand, are kinda cute.

Chin chin!

[Diane CBPFC]

Thank you for taking my side in this fly war Tarqs.

Roger if you don't want them living there and passing on the next plague to you but you also don't want to kill them, the only thing to do is to trap them then release them in somebody else's garden.

[Roger Kettle]

Good thinking. I hope my wife is up to the task.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

At this point, and given my earlier verdict on rats, I feel I should point out that I currently live in a third-floor apartment, and have no garden.

[Diane CBPFC]

Looking at the above two posts together - it may be easy to sell your rats as pets Roger. Maybe easier than your wife sneaking about in the dark with a rat cage.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Sadly, I'm not allowed pets here. I had to release the anaconda back into the wild. Gutted!

[The Peepmaster]

I love all God’s creations and wonder at how they live their lives. It’s fascinating. I also find fruit flies best when you’re throwing bananas.

[Diane CBPFC]

I love all God’s creations and wonder at how they live their lives. It’s fascinating. I also find fruit flies best when you’re throwing bananas.

Apeeling as that sounds, I find bananas, like boomerangs, are had to throw away. 

[The Peepmaster]

There is that. They are rather boomerang-shaped…

[Roger Kettle]

The pest control chap arrived today. (By the way, how do you get into a job like that? It's hard to believe that you wake up one day and think "I know what I want to do---exterminate wasps, mice and rats!" Anyway, he was a really nice and sympathetic guy and has put certain procedures in place with a promise to return in seven days. My wife has named the rat "Henrietta". I fear for her. (the rat, not my wife).

[The Peepmaster]

I’m thinking of Henrietta as being a pet “cat” that Honest Abdul has sold to Dennis… 🥸