h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Stop flies swarming round my balcony?I thought it was my plants,so i moved them into the garden,but they are still there,i hate them and so annoying when i sit out during the evening,ive only noticed just recently.Any tips please?

carino

You could surround it with something like mosquito netting, or use fly paper. Or use the plants to your advantage- get a few carniverous ones like pitcher plants or venus fly traps.

I knew there was a plant that would get rid of them,but i couldn't think of the name, i'd rather try the plant than the fly paper,thanks for the info.


carino

As you are an expert on gardening stuff,would you mind if i asked you a few questions? I love gardening but i'm not very good at maintaining it,i'm more of a DIYer indoors.My lawn is uneven and i noticed these great clumps of weedy type growths,do i dig them out and leave a big hole and if so how do i replace the gaps? and i got loads of weeds growing round the edges,its good soil,because i have used it to grow anything i want,so i don't need compost,i think it might be clay,cos when i dig deep it turns orangey/brown in colour.

If your balcony is in the sun, get some lavender - flies don't like it and that might help to cut them down.

I don't *do* lawns myself, but if you dig out weeds you could either reseed (although it's the wrong time of year and it's likely not to work) or patch it from another area of lawn.

If it's as bad as you say and you want to improve it, I'd dig it up and start again. Uneven lawns can be caused by irregular mowing, so starting again would give you the chance to even it all out. I'd leave that until Autumn though, otherwise you'll have to waste loads of water trying to keep it alive.