New Use for Water?

I ran across a description of the newest thing in fly control consisting of a 1 gallon zip lock bag filled partially with water.  Hung over the area you want fly-free, the pundits say that the lens-effect of the water makes flies so nervous they don't hang around.

I was skeptical so I tried it.  I ate 5 meals outside, cooking one of them on the grill just to attract the maximum number of flies possible.   Only 2 flies came into range of my plate, and once shooed, those two never returned.  It was positively pleasant, so I have to conclude that I think it works!  Did nothing for the mosquitoes, ladybugs and other critters, but flies are by far the worst meal-time pest at my house.

Lots more testing needs to be done, though.   It looks a little "tobacco-road-ish" perhaps, but a small price to pay for effective fly-control.  Just thought you'd like to know this little trick if you haven't seen it yet.  BTW, my super-skepical, fly-magnet, wife Linda also noticed an improvement - at least she said she did.  That's proof enough for me!

September 14, 2009 Update:  According to "The Straight Dope":

"Apparently the water bags do drive houseflies away. Not mosquitoes, not no-see-ums, not spiders, not roaches, not yellowjacket wasps, just houseflies. Evidently, houseflies, being highly edible and defenseless, are nervous types, and don't like to sit still when they see something moving nearby, because it could be a predator. The water bag acts a bit like a lens--try it some time--in which the movements of people in the area are reflected. Even if the fly is too far from the action to see it directly, it can see a shifting of light and dark in the water bag, which it interprets as nearby movement, and it will fly away from the bag. The reason it doesn't work on any other insects is that the other insects listed don't have eyesight worth a plugged nickel."