While they can seem harmless, flies in your home or around your patio can be a serious nuisance. There’s nothing worse than sitting down for a nice dinner on the patio only to be bombarded by flies landing on your food. Or perhaps opening the patio door means your kitchen will be invaded by them. It can be terribly frustrating and unsanitary.
House flies, or Musca domestica, are the most common species of of fly and make up about 90% of the fly species we find in our homes. However, house flies can also be confused with other flying insects such as the cluster fly. The adult house fly will lay eggs anywhere warm, moist and close to a food source for the larva. Once the eggs are deposited, they hatch quickly -- within 24 to 48 hours! A female fly can lay up to six batches of more than 75 eggs at time in just a few days time. That means an infestation can happen pretty quickly. Once the eggs hatch, larvae, or maggots, come out to pupate. Within 10 days, the adult fly emerges at its full size.
Once the adults have matured, they’ll start hunting out food: They’ll feed on feces, human food, pet food and any animal or insect carcasses. They “taste” their food with tiny hairs all over their body. They eat their food by spitting saliva on it, which liquefies the food so they can then suck it up. Because they’ll try just about any food source, they can spread diseases such as typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera and dysentery to many sources very quickly. If a fly lands on your food, kitchen counter or hands, wash the area immediately and throw the food away.
Fly Fun Facts:
- A house fly’s eyes consist of thousands of individual lenses so they have a wide field of vision.
- House flies prefer to perch on narrow objects like wire or string.
- A house fly can travel up to six miles at once, but prefer to stay near their breeding area.
- They clean themselves by rubbing their legs together.
It may seem like there really isn’t anything you can do about flies, right? Actually, there are things you can do to keep flies at bay.
Tips to keep flies away: Keep trash cans containing food covered, keep your kitchen wiped down, and wipe up food messes right away. Don’t let fruit become over ripe or start to decay in the family fruit bowl. Repair any rips in screens on doors and windows and fix weatherstripping to keep the home sealed. Hang fly traps to catch the few flies that tend to slip in when you walk in the patio door. If you have compost piles, keep them turned regularly. If you keep backyard livestock keep the chicken house cleaned regularly so as not to attract flies.
Sometimes a house fly infestation can happen indoors. In these situations, it’s best to have a professional treat the infestation.
When you are part of our bundle plans, keeping flies away is part of the plan. If you currently have an infestation, we can evaluate the situation, look for entryways flies get in and identify places they are most likely laying their eggs.
Ready to start treatment? Call us for an appointment to keep your home pest free!
