When wasps, bees and flies continually clatter against the glass of my conservatory attempting a means of escape, are they following a strategy? (continued)
Wai Wong
Melbourne, Australia
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Australia, particularly Melbourne, is renowned for its abundance of flies, so I have quite a bit of experience with them. Their behaviour is rather different from what your previous correspondent describes.
In the absence of any scent of food, a fly in an open space usually flies randomly in search of food. So, even when there is no wind, a fly can enter a house via an open door or window by chance. Inside the house, it usually spends some time exploring and then tries to leave. To find an exit, it will fly towards a light source and that is why it often keeps flapping around or banging on a closed window. If the window is open, it seems to be able to sense the incoming fresh air and finds the way out against the air current.
To let out an annoying fly that keeps roaming around your house, the best strategy is to turn off all the lights and close all curtains, bar those in one small room. Within an hour, it will settle around the windows of that room. Close the door and open the window, and it can’t wait to escape.
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