Fly "action plan" in place

Friday 18 November 2022

An action plan has been developed to tackle the growing problem of flies which have plagued residents in parts of St Andrews this year.

While the issue appears to be worst around La Vassalerie Road, people who live nearer the airport have also complained about having swarms of flies in their homes.

Dr Tobin Cook, Director of Environmental Health and Pollution Regulation has now said that the source of the fly problem has been identified and that measures will be in place to ensure next year doesn't see a repeat of this year's "fly season".

He said: “Following the notable problem with flies in St Andrew’s during the summer, we have now identified the source of the problem.

"Although we won’t be publicly identifying the source due to ongoing matters, an action plan has been developed which should prevent the recurrence of the problems experienced during the summer. With six months before the next ‘fly season’, this is a good opportunity to implement, refine and roll out the plan to address this.”

Pictured: La Vassalerie Road in St Andrews.

While the source has not been identified, residents of the areas around La Vassalerie have long said there is an issue.

An Express reporter dined at the Deerhound in September, and said there were flies everywhere at that time, including landing on plates and glasses while they ate.

The Chef and Sous Chef at the Deerhound both said the flies had been a constant source of problems for staff all summer and that they had tried numerous ways of dealing with them.

The Express reporter wrote that: "Enjoying an after-dinner drink, we began chatting with some other guests, who turned out to be the chef and sous chef.

"Those unwelcome guests still flying around were bothering them too. Explaining how they have tried different methods of eradicating them, they were clearly as frustrated by them as we were while eating."