“In swarms, in clouds”: will the war of flies take place in this village in Lot-et-Garonne?

“It’s true that we were able to have a quiet summer” assure the residents of SARL Basse-Cour. And for good reason. “During the summer, there was a period of 2 months of crawl space” noted Christophe Cavalier, president of the association “The neighbors of Foumigou”, which has been fighting since last year to put an end to the nuisance caused to an impressive presence of flies around the organic egg farm, opened in 2011.

“Since September, breeding has been relaunched. And a few days after the arrival of the new laying hens, the flies reappeared, in numbers, in swarms, in clouds. It's really totally unbearable” assures Audrey, an immediate neighbor of the farm. “For a few weeks, after a normal summer, everything has started again like in previous years. We have to live confined to our homes, it is impossible to open a window or a door without being invaded by flies. The traps placed in the gardens are filling up with a few hours, we know it's not much use given the number of flies, but at least we're doing it.

“Even Serge Bousquet-Cassagne realized the problem”

So, local residents turn to all the services and authorities they know. “We, once again, contacted the health services of the prefecture. They sent veterinarians who only noticed this proliferation and told us that they were going to see those responsible for breeding. Since then, we have not has more news.”

The police also came to observe the nuisance. “They too had to go see the leaders. Same result, no news and still so many flies. However, they had left the window of their car open and in a few minutes, it was full of flies… Impossible for us to enter contact with the livestock managers and on the town hall side, there is also radio silence.

Audrey also contacts Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, president of the Chamber of Agriculture. “He replied to me and I kept his message. He wrote to me that he was aware of the problem and that it must be due to poor management of chicken droppings.”

Waiting for a strong reaction from the town hall

For Audrey, as for Christophe Cavalier, “it has really become an untenable situation. We know that it will last throughout the winter, and that if nothing is done on the part of the breeding or the authorities, the situation will continue. It even becomes dangerous if we have the misfortune of leaving the car windows open, even for a few minutes, when we get back behind the wheel, it's not easy to drive, especially on our cars. small roads. We can't live anymore. like that”.

They also expect a strong reaction from the town hall. “But here too, it's impossible to get answers. We are considering putting pressure tactics in place to finally obtain a reaction, a decision. We must quickly put an end to these nuisances. We were installed here years before the chickens arrive. We will not give in.

So, will a war of flies be declared in Monségur…