Hoverfly

abby.07

I have asked for help before re Hoverflies, I have so many now near my back door, they seem to be everywhere and although I know they are a friend to a gardener they are coming into the house even though I have put up a net to try and stop them. I just would like some advice to help them move on as its becoming a big problem. I would welcome any suggestions. Thank you

Bijdezee

I wonder why they are there? Must be something attracting them. Are there any plants there? If not, I'm thinking it might work to tempt them away by having a plant they really like in a pot nearby then gradually move it further away. That's all I've got 

https://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/04/plants-attract-beneficial-insects/

If you scroll down it gives a list of plants hoverflies like. I know they LOVE coriander in flower. 

fidgetbones

Maybe they are new hatches. Is there a tub of standing water or something like a tub of comfrey tea nearby? The hoverflies like to lay eggs in standing water and you get the rat tailed maggots in it.

purplerallim

Get a fennel plant that is like cat nip to hoverflies, always gets covered and hopefully would give them a destination away from your door. Fingers crossed.

Fairygirl

Bijdezee is right. There must be something attracting them. You mentioned a glass roof before - is there something on that? Perhaps giving that a good clean might help to deter them.
Do you have planting in the garden to attract them instead? 
A bit more info and a photo might help with further advice. Hoverflies wouldn't normally come into houses, or hang around near the door, in big numbers unless there was good reason 

incony

I have an Ash tree, near my back door,  i stunt it, to stop it becoming a full size tree, by cutting back growth each year, and grow a bush/ slow growing climbing rose in it, so i get shade and colour from the pairing..all year , since the rose blooms late into the winter and from early spring...since the back of my house faces south.  The hoverflies collect there there during the middle of the day to late afternoon now.  I am not sure what it is they like about that space. but i suspect its a mating thing, they are not there because of aphids or nectar, its not the rose or the tree especially i can see that they are looking for.   So in some respect, i understand Abbey.07`s concern.  Hoverflies do not sense humans as predators, and today i took a couple of images of them, and i could almost touch them without them being concerned, even hovering or still, like this one i share. sitting on the Ash leaf.  Such remarkable aeronautic skill they have. They can hover perfectly motionless in the air in groups spaced apart maybe 3 or 4 or more, and suddenly one of them will sweep off at extraordinary speed toward another who speeds away just as fast, and then they swoop and swirl in a momentary pairing of close proximity formation flying. The rate at which they move from motionless hovering to chasing, is high, i tried to work it out based on distance per second,and its between 8 and 10 mph... For such a tiny insect its very fast. That second over they can return to almost the same spot they were. Although they appear still to the human eye when they hover, the camera senses the vibration , i would need to set up the camera for better hover shots, but trying to capture them in motion? no chance   So Abbey.07 i think its probably to do with two things, mating and the sunshine, they like the energy of the sun.. they choose to hover in the sun about 5 to 7 feet above the ground..  Given  my garden is left semi wild in the summer just to attract insects and wildlife, and it does have many wild plants and a fair sized pond.. the hoverfly is for me a welcome thing to see...  If they are attracted to a particular kind of light, then a black neon tube that bug zappers use might attract them, without the zapper, why kill a beneficial insect..?  and why bring non beneficial insects like bluebottle flies etc into that space  just to kill hoverflies?  since many insects are attracted to ultra violet light..     so you might make matters worse if you have one on near your house.  Hoverflies are very selective about where they want to be, i know that because my house door is open a lot during the summer, yet although i get house  flies of all kinds and  even venturing bees, the hoverfly never comes in... I think it must be something about the space that brings them, and as i only have the sunshine, the ash tree, and the rose there.. maybe its  those three things in some way together.  i am sorry i dont have a solution..  Hoverflies are not my enemy..  and i am not theirs.  ... 

purplerallim

In my last house I did notice the kitchen fluorescent tube attracted more hoverflies/wasps than my LED ones here.
This year they are more numerous than usual and in the mornings they surround the poppies in my garden to feed.