Hi
I am new to your forum but have been looking at properties in the VT area. I have noticed fly screens on many windows of houses and would like to know exactly how bad the flies get in summer and in which months they appear. Also, what about mosquitoes or any other annoying pests. Would appreciate your honest opinions.

Thanks
Kazbegi

In the summer the flies get as bad as it can possibly be depending where you are.

Oh dear

Does this mean eating outside in summer is a big no no. Is it all summer or just certain times like just before rain? Is there anything else to watch out for?

Mid summer the flies can be quite bad, but mossies only moderate. Gnats are pretty plentiful if you garden early or late.

But really it will depend on the area you are living in. Here we have the chickens at the back door which doesn't help, and as we are in the middle of a rural village we are surrounded by villagers with chickens, pigs, goats and sheep, so really they are not bad considering. We did have one week which was awful. Unfortunately most flies and bitey things like me better than my husband. The mossies aren't bad as there is no real water locally. But we all live with the windows open which is why there are fly screens everywhere as they are attracted to lights. Also you don't want bitey things in the bedroom during the hot weather when you don't use bedding and the minimum of nightwear. If you stock up on insect repellent plug ins for the bedroom and screens you will be OK....and plenty of fly spay of course, and repellent if you go out at night.

As for eating outside, we have a large apricot tree where it is pleasant to sit. Even though it is next to the chickens. I have been elsewhere where there are no animals and less flies. If you really don't like flies you should not be considering a country where the summers are hot, or maybe try towns. Are you looking at rural or town? Even in the UK there are flies.

It's worth learning to live with them, it's a hot country after all......in summer!

Sara

I'm a bit south of VT but flies down my way are a fair pain in the backside during the warmer months, especially out in areas where folk keep chickens, sheep or any other animals. Eating outside calls for some creative planning if you want to avoid the unwanted 'guests'! Mosquitos can also be a bother, but nothing that a bit of repellent can't handle. We usually enjoy a BBQ in the evenings, just about an hour after sunset as the flies have gone to bed by then.

This is one of the things that drives me mad about the village property, but as my in laws keep sheep , a donkey, and a goat, its something I have to put up with, I spend a lot of time swotting flies, and one of the first things I did on my first visit was to make some fly screens. Sadly I am also proan to attack by mossies and bitting things. However its a small price to pay for such beautiful surroundings, and we do spend a lot of time outside in shorts, but I do tend to cover up late afternoon/early evening.
At the apartment by the sea its no problem.

In Turkey we used to have small pot plants on and around all of the food table area which kept flies away, but sorry I don't know the name of the plant.

I have also fairly recently read of putting water into a zip-lock type bag (about a 1/4 full) with a penny also placed in the bag, this would then be placed slightly away from the food/sitting area, such as being nailed to a tree or post and that supposedly also works very well.
What the penny is I have no idea and no-one seemed to comment on it, so I assumed it was just a low denomination coin.
I know it sounds strange but other people said they also tried it and it did work.

There have also been similar suggestions made where flying insect crawled into bags filled with liquid of some sort then either drowned or just got stuck to the sides of the bag.


Edit:

Oops:
Just realise the water in the plastic bag was for deterring wasps, not flies.

HI Kazbegi

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Thanks
Chris

Here in Burgas the flies don't seem to much of a problem, or Mozzies for that matter, mind you i'm 5 floors up which helps. It's the same in the Sea Park, Beach and around town tho, i wont say there aren't any but they don't effect the enjoyment. Maybe other "
townies"
can comment.

Further to my above post, I can agree with EB, I have a 5th floor apartment in the city and no problems with flies or mozzies..maybe the lack of animals or bodies of still water help the situation.

Kazbegi wrote:

Hi
I am new to your forum but have been looking at properties in the VT area. I have noticed fly screens on many windows of houses and would like to know exactly how bad the flies get in summer and in which months they appear. Also, what about mosquitoes or any other annoying pests. Would appreciate your honest opinions.

Thanks
Kazbegi

The fly screens are mostly there to enable us to keep the windows open in the Summer and leave us not to be perturbed by anything that flies. However, flying objects are not the only things to worry about as there are other things that wander into our houses uninvited. This year has been really busy with black grass hoppers happily bouncing around on our carpets and making the dogs chase them about. They are harmless enough and can give ours of pleasure watching them jumping around and really enjoying themselves, how they get into the house is a complete mystery to us. First thing in the morning is usually spent earnestly sweeping the dead bodies off the carpets and evicting them into the garden.

:: ::

The fly/insect screens are a very useful addition to any house in Bulgaria, but as Eric mentioned, flying pests are not the only things to consider..the black grasshoppers are actually crickets and they will get in through any convenient gap (they are totally harmless). I've actually witnessed a cheeky rat follow my mother-in-law in through the back door on a bright, sunny day..needless to say he didn't get to teach that trick to his relatives!! Ants can also be a bother, especially if we are expecting heavy rain, or you leave food laying around.

Hope all this doesn't put you off.

We have been here now for 3 months and we have seen the ants, the orange and black type wasps, the crickets, the black jumping crickets, the white spot fies that bite and this time of year we are plagued with wasps as it is grape picking so the screens are a great help. Ever house should have these screens fitted. We have hundreds of ladybirds now all over our yellow walls and as soon as you walk out the front door you are smothered in them. They are black and mustard color, some back with one red spot - not many normal color ones. They also bite. We will make screens for the balcony next year for sure. It is lovely to eat outside but in the country it is not possible unless you have some form of fly screening - The mozzies were feeding on us in Aug so we did not go outside afer the first few nights.

The best thing of all is we have NO MORE insects in our villa since we plasterboarded the ceilings. We had that ton and groove ceilings and the incests were coming through the cracks. We insuated the ceiling from the inside with plastic sheeting, polysterne and plasterboard - It's great and the rooms look bigger with white ceilings. So far we are insect free yepeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Next we will lhave the cemtapeds and the earwigs both these I do not like but hopefully they won't get into the villa. We are hoping to have decking next year but we will make sure we have removable netting shutters all around it.

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned fr**s hopping/leaping around the garden and getting into difficulties in the pool
I cant put the word I want because it keeps going to french. How silly is that

Thanks for all your honest opinions. At least I now know what to expect. Not only flies but other potential creepies. It hasn't put us off, my
husband has already volunteered to remove the worst offenders from the house and I am sure the grass hoppers will keep our cats entertained. Makes a change from house spiders anyway.

Looking forward to the challenge of man against beasties.