Flies are still swarming homes, two months after the Lineage fire. How to get free fly traps

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Two months after the Lineage warehouse fire, Nataly Degante was finally able to control the fly infestation plaguing her East Los Angeles home.

A mix of mosquito zappers, sprays, a fly swatter and net that she purchased helped her combat the throngs of flies flocking into neighborhoods after the fire left 85 million pounds of rotting food inside the warehouse. 

At one point, there were so many flies that she couldn’t even cook. “They would get into the food,” said Negante, who lives about a mile and a half away from Lineage.

“It’s overwhelming because I have two children that I need to feed. It was very, very frustrating coming home and having to deal with, ‘How do I kill all these moscas?’” Degante said. 

She’s not alone.

Residents at recent public meetings have said they continue to cope with flies in their neighborhoods. One resident at a Tuesday gathering at Resurrection Church said she has seen an influx of flies in recent days.  

A fly trap is hung from a pole across the street from the Lineage warehouse where workers continue to clear it out.

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Steve Saldivar

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The LA Local

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County inspection reports show that flies are still breeding at the Lineage warehouse amid unsanitary conditions created by organic waste, sludge and food. An Aug. 26 inspection report— conducted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health — details how Lineage has failed to eliminate fly breeding sources and take necessary measures to prevent flies originating from the property from migrating to neighboring areas. 

The health department said it has conducted daily inspections since July 15 to verify whether Lineage has corrected those violations. The company hasn’t, and since then, more than 30 citations totaling about $60,000 have been issued, according to inspection reports and citations on the department’s website. 

The latest inspection report on Aug. 26 notes that hundreds of live flies were seen in several locations, including on organic waste and walls throughout the loading dock adjacent to Freezer 1, as well as on the ground floor within the freezer. 

Live flies were also spotted “on the exterior premises of the facility,” as well as dead flies along Union Pacific Avenue.

An environmental health specialist with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health observed more than 75 live flies on a shovel handle and over 50 dead flies on the ground floor in the Freezer 1 loading dock on Aug. 18 at Lineage.

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Courtesy of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

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A Lineage spokesperson said the company has expanded pest-control efforts with support from Orkin, a company that provides pest and rodent control services, to help reduce fly and rodent activity around the site. This includes daily fly-control treatments and inspections of the property perimeter, as well as rodent-control devices that have been installed around Lineage. 

Lineage highlighted the installation of up to 248 exterior fly-control devices, including bait stations and fly traps to help reduce fly populations. 

The Lineage spokesperson said the company continues to distribute fly traps to residents, adding that a total of 1,989 fly traps have been provided since the fire. 

But they’re not available to everyone, only to those in areas designated by Lineage (see areas below). 

Degante finds it appalling that she and her neighbors have to foot the bill for these kinds of expenses. She estimates spending nearly $100 on products to combat the fly problem in her house. 

“I’m a single parent, and my community, they’re working-class people. We don’t have additional income to spend on a mistake from [Lineage]. We’re being overlooked,” she said. 

How to access fly traps

Residents can request fly traps through Lineage’s online community contact form on its website. 

The form notes that Lineage support is only available for households located between Los Palos Street and South Herbert Avenue and between the I-5 and Union Pacific Avenue. 

Lineage Logistics can be reached by emailing boyleheights@onelineage.com or by calling (866) 317-1115.

Fly traps are also available to residents at the Boyle Heights City Hall Community Resource Center that is open from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2130 1st St.