Nov 22, 2007: How to swat a fly - a technical approach
Back in the 80's I read a magazine article on how to swat a fly. It was the result of a study done by MIT. The article also stated that the MIT technique was also use by the Masai tribe in Africa. I can't find that original article. I thought it was Scientific American, but their archives have nothing related. I've done hours of searching online have yielded nothing scientific on the topic. Not even a blog entry. Let's fix that, shall we?
Tradition! (cue: Fiddler on the Roof music)
Most people attempt to kill flies with single flat hand slapping straight down. The problem with this method is that most of the time, you'll miss. The fly sees you coming, and takes off before you can land your blow.
The alternate method is a fly swatter. You get more swatting surface area and more speed on the down stroke. These things work, but have 3 major drawbacks:
-You have to have a fly swatter with you.
-Fly guts on the swatter and the final resting place of the fly.
-You have to slap the place where the fly landed. (i.e. you wife's head)
Another method is to chase them down with a hose from a vacuum sweeper. (This works for spiders, too.) I don't know about you, but I normally don't carry a sweeper with me.
There's a better way that involves no tools, no messy fly guts, and no spousal abuse. Read on.
Know Thine Enemy
To kill a fly, you must know a fly.
Species: Musca domestica
Size: 5-8mm
Adult Lifespan: 2-4 weeks, in the wild
Top Speed: 4.5 MPH
Habitat: Always near humans. Globally distributed.
House flies have been documented as the most stupid creature alive.
All attempts at training, using standard methods used for other insects like bees have failed. There have been no scientifically documented cases of house flies learning.
Their reflexes work best when tracking a single object. Multiple moving objects confuse them, and make them less adept at evasion.
Therefore, our enemy is running purely on reflex, and simple ones at that. His actions can be reliably predicted.
Like most insects, his visual range is about 3 feet.
Adult flies have an average 1 month lifespan. Carefully controlled longevity experiments have shown a max of 91 days lifespan.
Temperature, and Other Trivia
Where do flies go in the winter? Heaven, mostly.
Cold kills adult flies quickly. When the temperature drops to 48F, they are limited to crawling. At 44F, they are virtually comatose. They'll die within hours when temperatures drop to freezing.
On the other end of the spectrum, flies can tolerate heat up to around 102F. Just beyond that heat paralysis sets in. At a toasty 116F they quickly die.
A fly's ideal room temperature is in the low 90's.
In the winter, most flies that survive are in the larval or pupa stage in some protected warm location. Larval and pupa stage flies can tolerate much colder temps- this is the primary way flies survive the winter.
Flies are able to land on ceilings, smooth surfaces, and even glass. Their feet have glands that secrete a liquid, enabling them to use surface tension to adhere almost anywhere. This is the same principle that, for example, allows wet paper stick to glass.
Fast movement is seen clearly, slow movement not as well.
Like honey bees, flies are partially color blind. They see all colors except red.
Launch & Landing Sequence
Flies have a predictable pattern of landing & take-off from surfaces. When landing on a ceiling, for example, the fly lands his front feet, then flips over to land his rear feet. When done, he's landed upside down, facing the direction he came from.
Then taking off from a flat of sideways surface, flies have another very predictable routine. They jump up and back, at about a 45 degree angle, at an altitude of about 2 inches. Then they start flying forward.
Plan of Attack
And here lies our enemy's weakness. Let's compare the flight plan with a human hand.
There's considerable overlap, which makes for a large margin of error in both timing and location. This is a Good Thing.
To maximize the effectiveness of attack, we'll need to get as close as possible before he sees us. Thus, we need to approach from behind- where he can't see us.
Yes, yes, yes, just tell me how to kill the stupid thing!
-Place hands 6" apart. Thumbs up, ready to clap
-Approach the fly from above & behind
-Lower your hands slowly until 2" above the fly
-Clap
Hey Waiter, There's a Fly In My Soup!
Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup? Well, it looks like the back-stroke.
Time flies. I can't they're too fast.
Time files like and arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.
Related Links
-Movie "The Fly"
-The letters "YKK" are probably on your fly.
Tradition! (cue: Fiddler on the Roof music)
Most people attempt to kill flies with single flat hand slapping straight down. The problem with this method is that most of the time, you'll miss. The fly sees you coming, and takes off before you can land your blow.
The alternate method is a fly swatter. You get more swatting surface area and more speed on the down stroke. These things work, but have 3 major drawbacks:
-You have to have a fly swatter with you.
-Fly guts on the swatter and the final resting place of the fly.
-You have to slap the place where the fly landed. (i.e. you wife's head)
Another method is to chase them down with a hose from a vacuum sweeper. (This works for spiders, too.) I don't know about you, but I normally don't carry a sweeper with me.
There's a better way that involves no tools, no messy fly guts, and no spousal abuse. Read on.
Know Thine Enemy
To kill a fly, you must know a fly.
Species: Musca domestica
Size: 5-8mm
Adult Lifespan: 2-4 weeks, in the wild
Top Speed: 4.5 MPH
Habitat: Always near humans. Globally distributed.
House flies have been documented as the most stupid creature alive.
All attempts at training, using standard methods used for other insects like bees have failed. There have been no scientifically documented cases of house flies learning.
Their reflexes work best when tracking a single object. Multiple moving objects confuse them, and make them less adept at evasion.
Therefore, our enemy is running purely on reflex, and simple ones at that. His actions can be reliably predicted.
Like most insects, his visual range is about 3 feet.
Adult flies have an average 1 month lifespan. Carefully controlled longevity experiments have shown a max of 91 days lifespan.
Temperature, and Other Trivia
Where do flies go in the winter? Heaven, mostly.
Cold kills adult flies quickly. When the temperature drops to 48F, they are limited to crawling. At 44F, they are virtually comatose. They'll die within hours when temperatures drop to freezing.
On the other end of the spectrum, flies can tolerate heat up to around 102F. Just beyond that heat paralysis sets in. At a toasty 116F they quickly die.
A fly's ideal room temperature is in the low 90's.
In the winter, most flies that survive are in the larval or pupa stage in some protected warm location. Larval and pupa stage flies can tolerate much colder temps- this is the primary way flies survive the winter.
Flies are able to land on ceilings, smooth surfaces, and even glass. Their feet have glands that secrete a liquid, enabling them to use surface tension to adhere almost anywhere. This is the same principle that, for example, allows wet paper stick to glass.
Fast movement is seen clearly, slow movement not as well.
Like honey bees, flies are partially color blind. They see all colors except red.
Launch & Landing Sequence
Flies have a predictable pattern of landing & take-off from surfaces. When landing on a ceiling, for example, the fly lands his front feet, then flips over to land his rear feet. When done, he's landed upside down, facing the direction he came from.
Then taking off from a flat of sideways surface, flies have another very predictable routine. They jump up and back, at about a 45 degree angle, at an altitude of about 2 inches. Then they start flying forward.
Plan of Attack
And here lies our enemy's weakness. Let's compare the flight plan with a human hand.
There's considerable overlap, which makes for a large margin of error in both timing and location. This is a Good Thing.
To maximize the effectiveness of attack, we'll need to get as close as possible before he sees us. Thus, we need to approach from behind- where he can't see us.
Yes, yes, yes, just tell me how to kill the stupid thing!
-Place hands 6" apart. Thumbs up, ready to clap
-Approach the fly from above & behind
-Lower your hands slowly until 2" above the fly
-Clap
Hey Waiter, There's a Fly In My Soup!
Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup? Well, it looks like the back-stroke.
Time flies. I can't they're too fast.
Time files like and arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.
Related Links
-Movie "The Fly"
-The letters "YKK" are probably on your fly.
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