The Answer to a Lifelong Question: Why it's so hard to swat a fly

[Phantom]

I think that got most of your attention heh. Anyway, you guys have probarly had your encounters with the numerous flying pests known as "flies" right? Sure you tried to swat it, kill it, etc, and you probarly are wondering: "Why the hell can't I kill it already?!" Well I found this article interesting. Read on, and tell us what you think:

Why it's so hard to swat a fly - Yahoo! News

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The brains of flies are wired to avoid the swatter, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

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At the mere hint of a threat, the insects adjust their preflight stance to flee in the opposite direction, ensuring a clean getaway, they said in a finding that helps explain why flies so easily evade swipes from their human foes.

"These movements are made very rapidly, within about 200 milliseconds, but within that time the animal determines where the threat is coming from and activates an appropriate set of movements to position its legs and wings," Michael Dickinson of the California Institute of Technology said in a statement.

"This illustrates how rapidly the fly's brain can process sensory information into an appropriate motor response," said Dickinson, whose research appears in the journal Current Biology.

Dickinson's team studied this process in fruit flies using high-speed digital imaging equipment and a fancy fly swatter.

In response to a threat from the front, the fly moves its middle legs forward, leans back and raises its back legs for a backward takeoff. If the threat is from the side, the fly leans the other way before takeoff.

The findings offer new insight into the fly nervous system, and lends a few clues on how to outsmart a fly.

"It is best not to swat at the fly's starting position," Dickinson said. Instead, aim for the escape route.

Dickinson, a bioengineer, has devoted his life's work to the study of insect flight. He has built a tiny robotic fly called Robofly and a 3-D visual flight simulator called Fly-O-Vision.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen, editing by Will Dunham and Xavier Briand)

Throughts on this? I actually felt a "ohhhhh, so that's why...." feeling after reading this lol.

[Govinda]

My grandmother had a flyswatter. It was one of those plastic ones with a square plastic mesh for the swatty bit.

She'd always cut out one tiny square of the mesh to 'give the wee things a fighting chance.' I know this isn't related to how hard it is to kill flies, she just torched them with air freshener and a lighter most of the time. That kills them.

[Pete]

I've never had a problem swatting flies. Then again, I've never really put much effort into it. I like the way Pablo Honey's grandma thinks though.

I remember when I was little, my brother and I would have contests to see who could swat more flies, out in our Long Island beach house, but that got old pretty quickly, and usually led to us having flyswatter fencing matches. We'd both wind up with big swatter marks on our faces and arms. Good times.

[zSoraz]

Interesting, but I don't think it will help me swat a fly with any more accuracy. I feel kind of dumb though, a bug outsmarting me. lol.

[Furore]

The only issue I've ever had with flies is not wanting their guts on my hand, especially where there's no tap I can wash my hands under. With a cheap plastic flyswatter though, the buggers have no chance.

[Clint]

Flies tend to react to fast motion. People swat flies simply by attempting to beat the fly's reaction time, which is impossible, because humans don't have the reaction time of a fly. All you have to do is go in calm and slow, and you'll be more likely to get the fly.

[Unknown Entity]

Haha, OMG, I was reading this in The Metro paper when I was waiting for mum to finish work.

Personally though, I'd stick with the lavender. I heard that flies hate the smell of lavender, and won't go near it. Stops the flies coming in your home, so you don't need to kill them.

Otherwise, I use a highly toxic, but efficiant bug spray. I too hate blood and guts on my hands... whether I have a sink nearby or not.

I don't think I've killed a fly either... well, without the spray. Spiders... I'll get with anything because they give me the creeps... *stares at dead spider on ceiling* I need to clean that up lol... O_O

[Sasquatch]

On one hand ... cool.

On the other ... How much money did it cost to fund this research? This is like the research on which brand of ketchup flows the fastest. I can only hope this wasn't done with any government grants, but I highly doubt it.

Anyway, it's right, you gotta aim for where the little bastard's gonna go. Another good way is to clap above him -- he's got nowhere to go to escape but up, and into your hands.

During my last Mobilization, there were little fly-catcher things hanging from the ceiling in our barracks. A buddy and I would smack 'em with our cover (hat) to stun them, then stick them on this orange sticky pole thing. Sometimes just their head, sometimes their feet, sometimes upside-down so their wings were on it ... Then we'd wait until they came to and watch 'em squirm. I know, I know -- simple minds are easily amused.

[Strong Bad]

The hot kitchen I work in is infested with flies. I'm assuming the heat has some kind of effect on them seeing as they become quite lazy and just run around on the floor...

Swatting them is no problem.. the real challenge is trying to stomp them with your feet. Difficult!

Uhh... Flies eat, live and make babies in poo.

[Sean]

I always just move slow, I figured they had fast reflexes but they don't kick in their "fight or flight" system until it's too late. You can get pretty close to a fly without aggravating them, then just swipe for a quick kill.

I get lots of flies in my basement. Well, not lots, one a week, but they're always big and annoy the living piss out of me. Gnats and other small insects are even more annoying, because they buzz around my monitor or TV and never fkin die. I hate spring and fall because I have to leave my window open (That time of the year where AC isn't necessary), and I don't have a proper screen so some insects make it through.

[Totakeke777]

The flies have a really fast reaction time, are wired to escape, process things lightning fast, etc... Also, the flies bend their legs to hop up and fly when in danger. I just kill them with Listerine. It's kind of funny to watch them die.

[Zidane-Tribal]

I've never had aproblem swatting them. It's either me who ends up swatting them or my cat ends up catching it and eating it.
They are very fast though and de to perspective sometimes you think you have swatted it but you have just missed it.

[SapphirePR]

I hate flies/moths so much! I don't even know how they can even get into my room since my windows and door are shut. I usually just grab two books and squish them in the middle

[Zardoch]

Honestly, it really isn't that hard to swat flies. I've smacked plenty away, though the force from my hand isn't as great as a flyswatter. Still, I've caught and killed plenty with my bear hands, which is sort of ironic as the technique used would be similar to catching fish. Slow movements, then quick strikes like a snake. Most people can't swat flies because they don't put any effort into it. Just wave their hand around hoping they'll get lucky.

All I have to say to that is 'Lawl, noobs.'

[Violet]

I've stepped on flies in a grocery store before. I killed like.. three of them there. I was pretty fast. I haven't dealt with any fly problems lately, but when we eat somewhere like out in a forest or park, we get plenty. Fly swatter is very handy.