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Horrible Fly Problem in Restaurant Need HELP!

5K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  halb 
#1 ·
Hey all... I own a bbq restaurant in south central TX. Our entire dining area is outdoors and every year when the Texas heat and humidity comes rolling in we experience a horrible fly situation. I know being outdoors flies will be natural and I can live with that... but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about when I set down someone's food within seconds there are literally 10-15 flies swarming their table. It's ruining our reputation, sales are decreasing, and quite honestly it's embarrassing. I've tried everything we can think of. We keep the restaurant as clean as possible, spray down the gravel outdoors every morning with a bleach solution, wipe down the tables with bleach after every customer, and don't keep any trashcans in the dining area. I've gone through 2 different pest control companies now... each one tells me there's nothing that we are doing wrong but they can't seem to help the situation. I've tried hanging several of the plastic baggies with water and a few pennies in each, even tried having a basil plant on each table as I heard that would deter them. Nothing is working. I'm not sure if it's our location, being right on the outskirts of the downtown area and located next to a big open field but I need to improve this before it ruins us for good. Please please please feel free to share with me any tips or advice you might have. I know I will never solve the problem completely, but even marginally improving it would be a big help. In Houston a lot of people I know install misting systems on their patios for the mosquitos, I'm thinking maybe something like that would work for the flies but then I'm concerned adding more moisture to the air will make the problem worse. I appreciate your time for reading this and thank you in advance for your help.
 
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#6 ·
I would do all of the above. Check the surrounding area for the source of the flies. Screen off the seating area. Invest in some bug zappers. Contact the Dept. of Environmental Conservation. They might have some answers and be able to help with sourcing the flies.

I'm not a fan of pest control companies. They only seem to be good for generating their own income. 
 
#9 ·
They are probably coming from standing water in the big open field right next to your restaurant. I wonder if you could spray or treat the field somehow (maybe before fly season starts??) to slow down or stop the flies.

Unfortunately I don't have any advice for you that hasn't already been proposed. Let us know if you find a solution.
 
#13 ·
Could very well be. Ever take a walk over there to see what might causing the problem? Not saying that you can do anything about what you might find but at least you'll learn something. Also, does anybody else in your area have this problem?

I think moving is a last resort. Fully screening in the outdoor area would be the first thing to consider.
 
#16 ·
I've learned to be pretty aware of these threads but this one got by me for sure. I advocate for closing old threads that haven't had a new response in (x) number of months/years, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards for this site for whatever reason. A lot of other forums I visit do that type of thing to prevent these types of events from happening.
 
#19 ·
Once again I don’t really see a problem with older threads as long as someone doesn’t ask “chef chop chop” who posted once in 2002 if he decided to go to culinary school or not. If you start a post saying something like “ I realize this is an old thread but still feel it is very relevant” then nobody would really be too bothered.The thing with the professional form is that there are only so many topics and people tend to ask the same questions over and over.If it’s an interesting subject then who cares if it’s three years old.It’s not so bad now but in the past it was pretty common for older members to drive away new posters and the site is worse for it.The home cooks seem to have a better community and make a post about what they had for dinner run for years.
 
#21 ·
A friend had a huge problem with flies and couldn't understand it. Turns out the corn field next to her was a breeding ground for corn flies – They lived in the corn and ate the stalks or something. Talk to your local agriculture agent to see if he has advice.
 
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