Flies
Flies can be a nuisance from
time to time. Perhaps it is our proximity to hundreds of goats in some of the
bays but listening to their bells at dawn and dusk when they move,
presumably to feed, is so delightful we can put up with a fly or two. Swatting gets dull and we
have an aversion to breathing in fly spray if we can avoid it so time to break
out the fly papers Carol had bought in Chester market for 99p. Honey
scented it said on the packet and each came with its own drawing pin for easy
positioning – what a bargain and they have added every convenience. Nowthen, a fly paper pulls
out to a sticky spiral 12-18 inches long and hangs on a hook, on a boat.
So it swings. So you need to make sure it doesn’t hit anything when
it swings because they are every bit as capable of sticking to walls, furniture
and fingers as they are of sticking to flies and sadly, the honey scented
sticky stuff is not easily removed with soap and water, or nail varnish
remover, or Sticky Stuff Remover. So there is only one place on the boat
that it is relatively safe to place it and that doesn’t seem to be a
place the flies particularly want to explore in spite of the honey scent that
they are supposed to find irresistible. The scent
of rotting meat or fish may have been more effective but probably not ideal in
an enclosed space for the human residents. Not too surprising therefore
that my first experiment a few weeks ago had failed miserably. Undeterred
I tried again. Not a fly went near it. Blank, sticky paper left
hanging in a most unattractive dribbly kind of way. Nothing for it but to
cheat. I swatted a few flies and stuck them on to impress Mike. He
was very impressed until he noticed that the flies were all in one place
and all seemed to have landed on the flypaper on their backs. Highly
unlikely that they would execute a joyful somersault at the prospect of a honey
scented feast so the only way that could happen was if I had put them there
holding their legs. Found out in less than a
minute I left the paper up and made a cup of tea. Then, fancy that, more
flies on the fly paper! Never mind this honey scented nonsense flies are
attracted to dead flies! Success. All we need to do is pre-load the
papers with a couple of ones we killed earlier and then let nature take its
course. Standby for further reports
from the front line of the fly battle but in the meantime, here’s the
picture...... |