Scilly’s plague of flies was the topic of discussion on BBC Radio Cornwall on Thursday, when listeners were invited to call in with advice on how to get rid of them.
Among callers’ suggestions to presenter Laurence Reed were hairspray and burning lavendar oil. One man said: ‘Fill a large glass to about a third with white spirit, then just go along and plonk it underneath the flies (when they’ve settled on beams) and they just plop into it and die.?
The flies are thought to have been attracted to piles of rotting rubbish left by the incinerator, which started working again recently after four months out of action due to a refit to comply with EU specifications.
But Council Officers deny that the dump is reponsible, blaming seaweed on the Islands’ beaches.
‘We have thousands and thousands of flies and now they are all over the Islands,? one caller told Reed. “They’re starting to go to Bryher. You can’t open your windows, you can’t open your doors, the island shops have run out of flyspray because they can’t keep up with the demand.?
And a local man, who lives near the dump, said: ‘It’s getting depressing. You either spend all your time killing them or sit down covered in them. If you’re eating, you’re constantly swiping them off your food. There’s flypaper in the kitchen with about two thousand on and they seem to be immune to fly spray, if you can get it.?
‘I think the council have got a lot to answer for,? one irate resident told ScillyNews. ‘They don’t clean the beaches anymore because of the sandhopper population, they don’t clean the dump. The dump’s a mess. Get it sorted out, council!?
Adult flies usually live 15 to 30 days. It has been stated that a pair of flies beginning operations in April may be progenitors, if all were to live, of 191,010,000,000,000,000,000 flies by August.
A housefly’s whole body is covered by millions of bacteria which are often transmitted to food and can cause illnesses such as typhus, dysentery, tuberculosis and poliomyelitis. Breeding sites are commonly dung heaps, exposed human faecea, droppings, rotting garbage and carrion.
But there is some good news - the flies are thought to be on the retreat.
The topic is among many being hotly discussed on Scillyonline’s forum at http://scillyonline.co.uk/new_forum/viewtopic.php’t=659&sid=3cefff83410cca9e25809d75a705ffe6.