Residents of a town say their homes have been invaded by swarms of flies that crawl over them at night. They say they're too scared to open their windows or enjoy their gardens.
Fed-up locals blame a combination of scorching temperatures and the eco-campaign 'No Mow May' for the clouds of flies buzzing around the bustling suburb. Others say fortnightly food waste collections have fuelled the number of bugs breeding.
Mum-of-four Di Drinkwater, 59, said: "They are everywhere at the moment and it turns my stomach. We bought two electric zappers and lavender candles, but it doesn't make any difference - every room you go in they are there.
"I think there are several causes of the influx of flies this year, from climate change, letting lawns and gardens grow and leaving food scraps out in bins. There's nothing much we can do about it, but we're just having to try to live with them."
Helen Clatworthy, 41, said: “It’s horrendous and it just keeps getting worse and worse. They’re all over the house. There are at least 30 in each room and it doesn’t matter how clean you keep your house.
“It’s horrid and particularly unhygienic when cooking and trying to prepare food. They’ve been crawling over us in our sleep too and that’s after hours of vacuuming them up in the evenings, closing windows and doors and even running lavender, which apparently they don’t like, in humidifiers to try to disperse them.
“I work from home and they crawl over my hands and laptop screen constantly throughout the day. We've started putting up nets so they don't come through that, but they always find their way, don't they?"
Mum-of-two Philippa Ryan, 30, said she was convinced she knew where the flies were coming from.
She said: “The flies started becoming a real problem six to eight weeks ago, which was the middle of May. At the time, people around the country were being encouraged to let their lawns and gardens grow as part of No Mow May.
“I was always against this from the start because tall grass is an ideal place to lay their larvae. It can’t be a coincidence that since then, the fly population has exploded.
"I'm dreading the next hot spell, because I just know the flies will be all over the house and we won't be able to open the windows. Summer will be hell."
Disgusted residents of the Heathcote area of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, have taken to social media to share their experiences and get tips on how to battle the pests.
One said: “I bought a fly catcher and put it in my kitchen and six hours later it was full.”
Another wrote on Facebook: “This might have something to do with these little green 'food bins' that we have all had delivered in recent months. They are bound to encourage flies especially in hot weather. Probably the same person on the council who decided it was a good idea to let the grass grow, now look at the mess.”
One woman commented: “The amount of flies I’ve had in my house is disgusting! I’ve tried everything possible to get rid of them. I had over 50 in my kitchen two days ago! I’ve brought a bug zapper but that’s not even helped.”
Warwick District Council has launched an investigation to discover the cause of the problem.
A spokesperson said: “We are making a thorough investigation of information we have received from local residents through social media and other channels about a widespread problem with flies in the Tachbrook Road and Heathcote area. The case has been assigned to an officer who will be visiting the area affected at the earliest opportunity.”
