Why You Don’t Want House Flies in Your Home!

Nov 9, 2022 | Blog

The house fly (Musca domestica) is the most common fly found in and around homes and farms, especially on pig and poultry farms. This species is always found in association with humans or the activities of humans.
What do House Flies look like?

House flies are dull grey in colour, 0.635 cm long with four dark stripes on the middle section of its body. They have relatively hairy bodies with a single pair of wings and compound red eyes.

Lifecycle

They generally lay eggs on animal dung and trash. White, legless maggots (the larval stage) hatch from the eggs and grow to about 1.27 centimetres. When fully grown, maggots crawl away from their food source to begin the pupal stage. They form a dark brown cocoon, known as a puparium, and later emerge as adult house flies that can fly about 3 km in search of suitable egg-laying sites. Warm summer conditions are generally ideal for the development of the house fly, and it can complete its life cycle in as little as seven to ten days. The life expectancy of a housefly is generally 15 to 30 days and depends upon temperature and living conditions

Where are they from?

House flies were originally from Asia, but can now be found on all populated continents, in all climates from tropical to temperate, and in a variety of environments ranging from rural to urban. The housefly is arguably the insect with the widest distribution in the world

Why should you get rid of houseflies?

House flies are not only an agitation, but they are potential disease carriers and when there are near human habitations, a public health problem could occur. House flies have short lifespans, but they can quickly reproduce in large numbers, leading to large house fly populations if not identified and effectively controlled.

House flies are filthy insects. They visit such places as landfills and sewers. They feed on fecal matter, discharges from wounds and sores, sputum, and all sorts of moist decaying matter such as spoiled fish, eggs and meat.

Houseflies are known to carry over 100 diseases, which includes typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, poliomyelitis, yaws, anthrax, tularemia, leprosy and tuberculosis. Flies spew up aExit Visual Buildernd excrete wherever they come to rest and thereby mechanically transmit disease organisms.

How to manage houseflies:

There are four basic principles of pest management important in controlling house flies: sanitation, exclusion, non-chemical measures, and chemical methods.

Sanitation

Do not allow materials such as manure, garbage, grass clippings, weed piles or other decaying organic matter to accumulate in and around your home. Clean and sanitise your home regularly and remember to keep trash cans clean and tightly covered.

Try Pest Store’s Surface Sanitiser Aerosol to help keep your home clean and fly free.

Exclusion

You can keep flies outside of homes by the use of window and door screens. Keep doors closed with no openings at the top or bottom.

Non-chemical Measures

The use of devices as ultraviolet light traps, sticky fly traps, fly swatters, baited fly traps, etc. can eliminate many flies from inside a home. Try Pest Store’s Atrapa Fly Wall Unit for a non-chemical way of controlling flies.

Chemical Control

The last principle of fly management is chemical control. If flies are teeming inside your home, you can use a space spray (aerosol) labeled for flying insects, such as Pest Store’s Avimatic Aerosol. Most space sprays contain pyrethrins for quick knockdown.

For more information on our range of fly control products, visit our website at https://www.peststore.co.za or contact us on 086 999 0959 for assistance.

Blog Articles

Seasonal Pest Guides: Understanding and Preventing Common Pests Year-Round
...
How to Keep a Pest-Free Pantry: Tips for a Clean and Safe Kitchen
...
Infestation Red Flags: Signs You Need Pest Control Immediately
...
The Importance of Hand Hygiene: A Key to Health and Wellness
...
The Dangers of Ignoring Rodent Infestations: Health Risks and Property Damage
...
How to keep your home pest-free during Fall
...
Fly control with Redtop Flycatchers
...
The rat’s dark side: scary facts about rats
...
Rossi Gel Bait: Your Ultimate Defence Against Cockroaches
...
Well, it’s just an ant?
...
Home Mosquito Invitations
...
10 Things that attract mice
...
How to keep your home sanitised to help prevent colds and flu
...
What is a pest?
...
Why is non-tox important for the environment?
...
How to clean up after a mouse infestation
...
Signs of a Roof rat infestation in your home
...
Well, it’s just a pigeon!
...
Why You Don’t Want House Flies in Your Home!
...
What is so American about the American cockroach?
...
Tips for spring cleaning your home
...
Common Myths About Moles!
...
How to ant-proof your home!
...
Managing Flies
...
Our top bed bug FAQ’s
...
Do you suspect rats have take over your home?
...
Signs of a mice infestation in your home
...
What is so German about this certain Cockroach?
...
How to treat Ant Infestation
...
Why flies are DANGEROUS guests in your home!
...
Summer seasonal pests
...
Tamper resistant bait station
...
Signs of a rodent problem in your house
...
Welcome to the new Peststore.co.za!
...
Beat lockdown laziness
...
Stay Healthy, Be Considerate
...
There is a dead mouse in my house–WHAT NOW??
...