There’s a serious fly problem in highly trafficked beach areas, especially during the peak summer season.
The problem has become so bad in some areas of Mission Beach that the community, with the cooperation of Council District 2, recently held a fly summit to discuss what to do about it.
Pacific Beach resident John Lisicki thinks he has one answer to the problem: cleanliness.
Lisicki recently started Clean Can, a business wherein, for $20 per can, he will come in and clean, sanitize and deodorize garbage and recycling cans.
“Now that summertime is in full force, this is a great time for homeowners to keep the flies and garbage stench away, property owners/managers to prepare for summer crowds or someone who just likes to keep everything clean,” said Lisicki.
The fledgling entrepreneur noted he comes from an environmental studies background.
“Everything we do and use is green conscious,” Lisicki said. “We use limited amounts of water. And all of our cleaning supplies are biodegradable.”
Lisicki pointed out the fly population, if left unchecked, can get out of hand quickly.
“If a pair of flies mated in April, and no flies died from them, none of their offspring, in four months there would be 19 quintillion flies covering the Earth 47 feet deep,” he said.
Recently from Hawaii, where the fly problem is equally bad, Lisicki said, “I happened to be out walking the dogs and a woman walked by and said, ‘I’m sick of all the flies. Why don’t you just clean the trash cans?’
“What a great idea — and no one’s doing it,” thought Lisicki.
The June 8 Mission Beach fly summit yielded some positive results. One action, which the City Council has undertaken, was to re-institute a second weekly city summertime trash pickup. Another suggestion involves creating a Community Benefit District to pay for more trash pickup and vector control.
At the summit, the County Department of Environmental Health noted the fly life cycle needs to be “interrupted” by cleansing and numerous other methods, to minimize their infestation. Officials pointed out flies can go from eggs to adults in just a week under ideal breeding conditions.
Beach areas are an ideal breeding ground for flies due to, among other factors, high-population density with 20,000 new transient occupants every weekend in some communities. In Pacific and Mission beaches, the ocean and bay create a moisture-rich environment for flies to reproduce.
There are also other problems, such as overflowing, unsecured, unlocked trash cans and bins accessible to “scavengers” who rip open bags. More issues included unlined and unclean trash cans; unswept alleyways with trash cans and the heat that speeds up the fly life cycle.
The City’s Transportation and Storm Water Department has amended its street-sweeping schedule to reduce the amount of debris/material on the ground that may attract flies. Additionally, the City and local community groups have worked extensively with businesses and property management companies to encourage them to maintain trash and recycling containers and dumpsters in good operating condition, to increase collection frequency of dumpsters and to ensure waste containers are free of holes and cracks and have functioning lids.
Lisicki noted he’s using a “really intense power washer” to scour garbage cans, a process he said that takes only about 10 minutes to “sanitize and deodorize a trash can to eliminate a really disgusting fly problem.”
“Our can will be clean and free from flies for one to three months, depending on how much trash you have,” added Lisicki. Clean Can What: Cleans, sanitizes and deodorizes garbage and recycling cans. Info: Email [email protected] or call 858-699-7785.