As a pest professional, I have come across this question a few times, in fact, this morning was one of those times. I have a customer getting flies in and all-around their home. The neighbors have flies this year really bad too. I explained to the customer the importance of keeping the home and garbage cans clean.
Despite the belief that flies hibernate in the winter, this is simply not the case. Flies are incapable of sleep.
Flies will hide in inconspicuous places around your home such as weep holes, behind appliances, insulation and other places that stay warm during the late fall and winter months.
Flies don’t hibernate either, instead, they will spend the winter in what is called diapause state. Diapause is a slowed state of metabolic activity. This sluggish state slows the need or want of food, mating, or physical activity. In the spring they will snap out of it and appear as if they had never left. This is exactly why you don’t see many flies in the winter.
Where Do Flies Come From and Why Are There So Many?
Just to name a few and where they come from here we go.
When House Flies lay their eggs in the warm weather, they will do it in a place that is conducive for larvae survival, any rotting or smelly food, dead animal carcass, fecal matter as long as it has moisture and warmth. The female fly will lay 5 to 7 piles of 75 to 100 eggs per pile. In the warm months, these eggs will hatch anywhere from 12-24 hours after. That is fast and with that many eggs that quickly you can always expect for them to be around.
Since house flies thrive and prefer to live near humans and animals this is another reason you will see so many of them all around.
Blow Flies- These are the metallic green flys that you commonly see flying around. The female blowfly lays its eggs on rotting meat or dead animal carcasses and within a few days, the eggs will hatch. They go through their life cycle from egg to larva to pupa in just 4-10 days depending on species after that time they pupate in dirt and come out as adults. Blow Flies will spread pathogens that spread dysentery and other nasty illnesses to humans. The preferred food is meat and dead animals.
Cluster Flies are a different story. Cluster flies enter homes in clusters (large numbers) and spend the entire winter in large these big groups you can find them in attics, uninhabited rooms, and behind unfinished walls and voids. Cluster flies are heftier looking than the house fly or blow flies. They have a greyish abdomen with small golden hairs on their thorax.
In the fall cluster flies will lay their eggs in the soil and, once hatched, the maggots attach to passing earthworms. The maggots eat on the inside of the worm all the way through it then they will pupate inside the worm carcass and in some cases, they finish the process in soil. After the cluster flies pupate they then emerge from the soil as adults. Cluster flies unlike house flies and blow flies do not carry disease, they can, however, leave marks on walls that are unpleasant to see.
What Is The Best Way To Prevent Flies?
- Take Away Their Food Source- Make sure to clean your inside and outside garbage cans regularly, I recommend using some type of chloric bleach-like chemical to remove lingering smells and germs that attract flies around and into your home.
- Seal Your Home- Sealing off open entry points will make it more difficult for flies to come in. Some examples are door and window seals. In your attic, you should use a fine screen to seal the gable vents, chimneys, and exhaust fans properly. Use silicone to seal holes for electrical, water lines, gas lines, a/c unit hoses, and all piping. Last, make sure that is you have a crawl space that your vents are tight and still have a screen.
- Pressure Wash- I am always telling my customers how important cleanliness is and that pest control takes an integrated approach from both them and me. This being said I recommend pressure washing your home 2 times a year with bleach of some sort. This will remove smells and pheromones that all pests that migrate to your home will leave on the home.
What Is The Best Fly Treatment?
Control Methods:
The first thing you need to do to get control of flys is to locate the breeding source and get rid of it or clean it with bleach if possible. If your home is already infested with lots of flies you will need something that can control the heavy fly areas which are mostly Kitchens and Bathrooms
In my personal opinion using a Fly Mister in your home does the best at getting rid of flies. I have had great success with these in restaurants and some of our customer’s homes. This does all the hard work for you with almost no hassle. And refills for the cans are quite cheap.
Demand CS- This is a chemical that can be added to a one-gallon spray jug and applied in the breeding areas. I have used this product many times and it helps control a myriad of pests. This chemical can be used indoors or outside and has a long-lasting residual. Also, this chemical can be used for general pest maintenance.
Indoor Fly Light- Flies are attracted to ultra-violet light and having some traps out will help collect quite a bit of them on
Porch Light Bulb Zapper- I advocate for these because they are right next to the door and at night it will help stop some of them from getting in your home.
Depending on how bad your infestation is you can use some or all of these treatments to ensure that you take care of this issue.
It is a violation of federal law to use a commercial pesticide in any manner that is not consistent with its labeling!
Summary
The biggest thing you can do is to clean active fly areas with bleach. Once you know you have done all you can with the cleaning you can move on to some treatment options as I have listed above. It is a good practice to pressure wash your house 2 times a year I reco9mmend in the spring and again in the fall. If you only do it 1 time in a year well at least that is something. I know you can take a proactive approach and get rid of your fly issue. I do think that DIY Pest Control for flies is very possible as long as you take what you’ve learned here and apply the technique.
Articles Of Interest
8 Great Ways To Stop A Bird From Nesting On Your Home
It happens every year in spring, and if you live in an area where the birds love to visit and live there are going to be areas on and around your home that you won’t want birds to nest. Lots of the customers I service all the time have bird feeders and they welcome the birds to come to visit their home by feeding them, however, birds can bring with them some of the meanest pests that can infest your home and cause major infestation issues. I can’t just knock nests down as a pest professional either. We always wait for the season to end by late summer most birds are out of the nests and we then knock them all down.
Here are my top 8 perfect ways to stop a bird from nesting on your home.
- Visual Repellents/Rubber Snake/Plastic Owl
- Spikes
- Bird Repellent
- Netting/Copper Mesh/Bird Tape
- Sonic Deterrents
- Seal Your Home/Bird Caulking/Vent Covers
- Mirror Chimes/Hang CDs
- Create Bird Habitats Around Your Property
Fleas, Ticks, and Lice: How to Prevent and Treat Existing
When I was recently treating a customer’s home the other day I started getting bit on my ankles. I said uh oh you have fleas. The customer then asked if our regular service would kill the fleas. I told her it helps, but it won’t completely fix the problem. Which leads to the question:
How do I prevent or treat my home for fleas, ticks, and lice? You will want to use an aerosol on the floors of your home, and treat your entire yard and foliage with a sprayer and/or granules with a spreader. Use a pest repelling shampoo that is specifically designed to treat these targeted pests, they make this shampoo for people and another for pets.
