Clubjazz - Honda Jazz & HR-V Forums

Diagnostics, Tuning, Modifications and Maintenance - all Hondas => Car Care & Detailing => Topic started by: sportse on October 27, 2021, 12:49:24 PM

Title: Flies!
Post by: sportse on October 27, 2021, 12:49:24 PM
I'd heard about yellow cars attracting wasps, but my white Jazz seems to be a magnet for flies!

Wherever I park, mostly in the country, the car is covered in flies when I return - perhaps they like to sunbathe as the white reflects on to them?

I've never had a white car before, perhaps they are on all cars but you don't see them with darker colours?

Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Kremmen on October 27, 2021, 01:08:11 PM
Change your wax, maybe it smells like ....... :)
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Lord Voltermore on October 27, 2021, 01:25:36 PM
A white house on a hillside can attract swarms of ladybirds looking nooks and crannies to over winter.  (Thousands of them)   . May be the same for flies .   

      I seemed to get more squashed flies  than normal on the front of my white EX. Maybe because there is less grill to hide them (or cook them) .Or they dont hear you coming.
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Lord Voltermore on October 27, 2021, 01:40:24 PM
I just looked at your photo.  They're all along the door top.  This must be the warmest place.      Or maybe they like the smell of new rubber door trim.

This is not as daft as it sounds.   Cars  on continental europe sometimes have their wiring chewed over night  by stone martens   (Like pine martens)    .   In the past the problem was worse on cars from Asia because they used  Fish based glue in the wiring looms , or something that smelled very like it.      I know of an Opel Corsa that this spring had  a front abs sensor wire chewed through by a mouse.  (In Bulgaria)

It only took 2 days for a spider to take up residence in my Ex door mirror . I suppose it could be a Japanese spider .
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: sportse on October 27, 2021, 01:49:36 PM

      I seemed to get more squashed flies  than normal on the front of my white EX. Maybe because there is less grill to hide them (or cook them) .Or they dont hear you coming.

I get this too - after a trip of only 50 miles on the motorway I need to wipe down the front/screen as there are more dead flies on any car I've ever had!

It's strange, at 70mph it shouldn't be any different to any other car but perhaps the aerodynamics somehow splat flies.
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Jazzik on October 27, 2021, 01:56:18 PM
Also experienced the same twice in a parking lot, but no photo taken. The flies weren't really photogenic...
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: embee on October 27, 2021, 05:54:03 PM
.....    I know of an Opel Corsa that this spring had  a front abs sensor wire chewed through by a mouse. ...
Someone I do work for had a "battery not charging" fault being flagged in their Volvo. I checked it out and couldn't find a problem with the charging. A Volvo dealership diagnosed a failed alternator (£750 please ..., the customer's response had "off" as the second word).
They took it to an independent.  It was actually down to the wiring being chewed by mice/rats. They live in the countryside (the people and the mice... ). Rodents tend to like pvc.
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: shufty on October 27, 2021, 07:14:27 PM
... Washed the car today and spent more time swishing the midges away than actually cleaning  :o ;D
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: sportse on October 28, 2021, 08:18:25 AM
Change your wax, maybe it smells like ....... :)
Actually… when I got my car it came with a different shampoo as part of the lifeshine pack.

I’ll try my old shampoo and see if it makes a difference.

Both Autoglym, but the one with the lifeshine was supposed to be the higher quality more expensive shampoo.
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Lord Voltermore on October 28, 2021, 10:18:32 AM
Looks like that front panel will get more wear and tear than usual from washing off bugs.  I didnt get the dealership applied protective  coating  (ripoff IMO).   But it may be a good idea to apply some extra protective sealant or wax to that area, and maybe the boot.  In fact I'll go and do it now....
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Kremmen on October 28, 2021, 11:57:39 AM
Already given mine a good few layers of good quality wax :)
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: guest4871 on October 28, 2021, 12:26:17 PM
Is this a white car thing? White reflects heat, methinks. So relatively warm perhaps for a fly on a cooler day?
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Downsizer on October 28, 2021, 12:45:26 PM
Is this a white car thing? White reflects heat, methinks. So relatively warm perhaps for a fly on a cooler day?
Yes - a sort of sun-bed for flies!
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: guest4871 on October 28, 2021, 01:18:57 PM
Now, that's a wonderful idea!

Who's serving the drinks? You or me?
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: richardfrost on October 28, 2021, 01:32:03 PM
I got some stuff from Halfords for removing bugs, bird er.. deposits, and tar. I've had it years and can't remember what it was called as I had to decant it into a better spray bottle. But it is luminous green and forms a foam when you use it. Spray onto the target, leave for a few seconds, then mop it up. It is incredibly effective. Might have been Simoniz Bug Shifter.

Edited to correct the word 'spray' to 'foam'.
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: ColinB on October 28, 2021, 02:35:39 PM
Is this a white car thing? White reflects heat, methinks. So relatively warm perhaps for a fly on a cooler day?
Umm, not quite. White reflects heat so doesn't absorb as much heat as a darker-coloured object. Put a white object next to a black one in the sun and the black one will be warmer.
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: guest4871 on October 28, 2021, 02:39:01 PM
Is this a white car thing? White reflects heat, methinks. So relatively warm perhaps for a fly on a cooler day?
Umm, not quite. White reflects heat so doesn't absorb as much heat as a darker-coloured object. Put a white object next to a black one in the sun and the black one will be warmer.

I was thinking it might reflect heat onto the flies rather than the surface being warmer for their feet. Interesting subject.
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: culzean on October 28, 2021, 02:50:08 PM
White is very bad camouflage for a black fly,  but flies do prefer some colours to others, and avoid some colours

https://news.ufl.edu/archive/2012/02/color-is-key-in-controlling-flies-uf-researchers-find.html
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: Kremmen on October 28, 2021, 02:53:19 PM
So those with the white interiors, keep your windows shut :)
Title: Re: Flies!
Post by: RichardA on November 07, 2021, 11:38:02 AM
A neighbour a few years back had a MINI in Volcanic Orange. The files loved that.