Martyn Ward Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hello people of Perth. I'm looking at WA as an option when we finally make it over. But I heard that Perth has a terrible FLY problem. That is, one is forever swatting away at the pesky critters. Is this true?Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KangaRoux Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hello people of Perth. I'm looking at WA as an option when we finally make it over. But I heard that Perth has a terrible FLY problem. That is, one is forever swatting away at the pesky critters. Is this true?Thanks in advance.Not as bad as what everyone makes out! The whole Australia is full of Flies, part of everyday life! Some areas more prone to others but I can't remember one day in my 3 Years in Perth where I could say the Flies where unbearable. Summer months a bit more but still ok!99% of stories I heard in RSA before I came to Aus where untrue!! Typically people that where never here just passing on Sh*# they heard!Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoot Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Flies are seasonal in Australia and are normally bad when the wind blows from the desert blowing them into the city, so most of the time you never even think about flies and then on the odd couple of days they are highly annoying (dont think swarms of flies think one annoying fly that takes a fancy to you and keeps hanging around type of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feetjie Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 It's really not that bad! Agree with both of the previous posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetman Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Yip. Not that bad at all. Besides, a bit of fly swatting every now and then keeps the reflexes sharp and the arm muscles healthy When going outside during peak fly season we just spray on some Aeroguard if they become really annoying. I certaintly wouldn't give it much thought as a consideration for deciding where in Aus to live.With regards to other pesky things...snakes and spider are off course a whole different story And this little island has heaps of them...though fortunately actual bites and incidents are rare (but not unheard of).z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckytobehere Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Yip. Not that bad at all. Besides, a bit of fly swatting every now and then keeps the reflexes sharp and the arm muscles healthy When going outside during peak fly season we just spray on some Aeroguard if they become really annoying. I certaintly wouldn't give it much thought as a consideration for deciding where in Aus to live.With regards to other pesky things...snakes and spider are off course a whole different story And this little island has heaps of them...though fortunately actual bites and incidents are rare (but not unheard of).z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckytobehere Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi thereThere's never smoke without fire. Having lived in Melbourne & Cairns for over 22 years, I was very relieved to find that Australia is NOT "one big fly"!However, I must admit my one visit to Perth (to watch a cricket test) was a shocker as far as flies were concerned. You certainly couldn't have a meal outside during the day. Maybe it was a bad season, but especially in the bush south of Perth they had to be seen to be believed. The only other place I've struck them in annoying numbers was in the W.QLD outback: those small buggers which hang out around your eyes & on your back....Rest assured: the east coast doesn't have a fly problem, & Perth only at certain times.Perth was great, but I do wonder why so many Saffers go there without checking out the rest of this grand place. SterkteWitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaL Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Ha! flies.Funny you should mention this as the morning news program Sunrise was asking where all the flies are this season..............unfortunately I didn't find out as I had to get the kids to school.A few days after we arrived in Perth in late 2005 early 2006, I took the kids for a walk along the banks of a river just off a highway... can't remember which....anyway in front of me was a man with one of the fluoro orange hi viz work shirts, but it was full of hundreds of holes on his back, it wasn't till I got closer and the holes flew away that I realised they were flies...................sooo, there are times when the flies are bad ( much as I remember in RSA too) and the UK.......and the fact that if you leave a cool-drink or a beer for a few minutes you will come back to find a little swimmer in it, and if you watch the pollies being interviewed outside on TV, they are often doing the " Aussie salute"............but, I don't think they are a bigger problem here than anywhere else.... and really, would flies influence your decision? After-all Queensland has loads of deadly animals, South Africa has horrible spiders and snakes too, so the odd fly invasion is a small annoyance.Last year in Moranbah, we had a terrible fly problem, it was a combination of hot, wet weather, flowering native trees........oh, and the fact that our tight wad council had not sprayed the dump ( which is only about 5km away).............we've hardly had a fly this year, and we could be considered outback almost.Are there any other pesky things you are concerned about? Sorry, I'm having a laugh about this, but it is kind of funny when you think about some of the South African critters. I was a fresh pom back in 1983 when I saw my first invasion of flying ants....and the kids next door eating them....man, did I swallow a few myself through the years ( not through design though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavinpetoperth Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 We have been in Perth for almost 18 months and I can honestly only recall one day last summer when the flies were overly troublesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 .....but, I don't think they are a bigger problem here than anywhere else....Not saying it should stop them but flies are worse there then some other cities in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxi Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 This is our 3rd summer in Perth now. The flies are not that bad at all. this summer we bought those smelly fly traps and put them in the far corners of our yard and that helped to such an extent that I thought there were no flies. But this summer flies seem less. They are only arround for about 8 weeks from mid october. One feels it when you are out with the kids at sporting events ie cricket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaL Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Not saying it should stop them but flies are worse there then some other cities in Australia.I meant in Australia, not just Perth. I would agree that if you compare cities in Australia, then Perth may be more problematic, however we are regional Queensland and our flies are generally terrible ( it has been a few years since I've lived in Perth though )By the way, I found this article All about the Australian bush fly. It goes some way to explain why there are lots of flies at certain times of year in various cities and how temperature, wind, geography and even solar radiation influence the number of flies ( amazing what you can find on the web) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candivw Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Some areas are bad in Perth for flies, we had less flies in Bayswater then here in Ellenbrook. But is no worse than durban flies in the summer imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alida Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 I guess if you've ever been in Brackenfell, Cape Town during a summer, you'll be prepared for any kind of fly and spider invasions in your area. I must have caught/killed thousands during this summer only and we're in the middle of the suburb ! Simultaneously we're having a killer of an ant invasion right now - those small black little ants, in their thousands ! I put my honey and peanut butter pots in porridge bowls with water to prevent the ants invading them. And because of them, loads of daddy long legs and with them loads of cobwebs every day where you've just got rid of them the day before. Following them are geckos - less annoying, but giving you nearly a heart attack when they squirt from beneath a bowl or from a cupboard drawer or from behind a curtain. And last but not least, fleas.... !!! My pet hate.Don't worry about flies in Perth, first have a summer holiday in Brackenfell before you go ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enrica Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 I have just returned from a three week trip to joburg and I can honestly say that the flies in Joburg were worse than Perth , it was aweful.I dont beleive that Perth has a major fly problem. Thank heavens for fly screens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candivw Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 I agree Enrica, in south Africa no one has screens so the flies are way worse as they get inside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caz Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Currently still reside in SA, the flies are terrible where we live (Limpopo province, bordering KNP). When you cook or braai, the flies literally swarm. The aircon seems to keep them away, but then you have the annoying tap tapping against the windows... And when I say flies, I mean "brommers" - anything would be an improvementon this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitterbug Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 It all depends on where you are in Perth. The city and suburbs dont have flies. So, you wont have problems at home. I have occasionally been harassed by flies - mostly at parks like whiteman park and kings park - but its literally a few days in the year and then they disappear again. The fly situation is totally blown out of proportion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Yes, this topic is a favourite one to be blown out of proportion back in RSA. My parents in the Western Cape/Boland have such a fly problem compared to us here in Sydney. They literally braai outside (while fanning away flies) and then dash inside to eat. On our recent visit, when we did dare eat outside, we took it in turns waving something over the table so that the other people could eat. The locals there all talk about a huge increase in recent years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronfire Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Sorry for commenting on this one-month-old thread, but just wanted to make an observation. The primary difference I found, when we moved here, is the persistence of the flies in Perth. The little stinkers ain't afraid of you. They hardly budge when you try shooing them off, and once you stop waving your arms, they come back. 2 weeks into our arrival here, and I decided to mow the lawn. Yeesh, first experience of flies going for all those little spots where the sweat breaks out. I sweat fairly easily from the head, so I wear a cap. Need I say that the little blighters were congregating around the headband of my cap?Once we'd figured out what they're like, they're fairly easy to combat. Persistent, yes, but easy to combat. We don't like using a lot of pesticide, so my older boy has become an expert at wielding the fly swatter with the ones that do get through the fly screen. (His little brother just tries to eat them, but that's another story....). I've only ever used chemical pesticides once - when we woke up one morning and found the outside of the flyscreen, the roof of the patio shade, and the nearest windows (kitchen) absolutely plastered with flies. The ordinary housefly variety - not the big fellas. No idea where they came from. Blasted them with Mortein, when I got back from work, none of them were there. Not even the bodies. Either we have ravenous huntsmen that picked them off the ground, or they just vanished into the ether. Or my younger boy found them....hmm. Maybe he's immune to Mortein?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaL Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Ooh, reminds me of when we arrived and my then 10 month old insisted on shuffling round the floor on his bottom and eating slaters..........crunch, crunch, yuck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donovan83 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I just got back from Perth. I was there for a week or so and saw one fly. Apparently it's worse in spring/summer though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bundyman Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Flies.....at least they are seasonal, I can give you 48 Million things to worry about.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batigol Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 ants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bundyman Posted April 18, 2012 Report Share Posted April 18, 2012 In correct.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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