Flies can be a real nuisance when they are flying around. But they can also transmit diseases, so it is important to get rid of them. Fly control is not always as easy as it sounds. There is often more involved than a fly swatter. House fly control involves several steps, and Arch Pest can help.
The first step is identification. It is easy to confuse species, including cluster flies. The different types of flies may look similar, but they require different control methods. Your Arch Pest technician can help with the identification.
It is very important to identify the places where the flies have been depositing their eggs. It may be something simple like an uncovered trash can or a bowl of pet food on the patio. The breeding site must be cleaned up or removed. If the breeding site is not removed, the flies will continue to be a problem.
Arch Pest technicians are trained to spot these breeding sites during the inspection. They will also point out any structural issues, like torn screens or damaged weather stripping that the flies could use to get inside your home.
The next step is to eliminate the adult flies. Depending on the situation, it may be necessary to use fly bait, traps or an insecticide application. Your Arch Pest technician will have all of these tools available. He is trained to make the application correctly.
Most homeowners find that it saves time and energy to call the Arch Pest Services for help with fly control. Scheduling a home inspection may help you get rid of house flies.
House Fly
Appearance
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Size: 4 to 7.5 mm long
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Color: Usually gray
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Body: Four black stripes on the thorax. House flies are covered with small hairs that serve as taste organs.
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Eyes: Their compound eyes are extremely complex: thousands of individual lenses allow them a wide field of vision.
Habitat
They prefer corners and edges or thin objects to rest on. Indoors, they rest on floors, walls and ceilings during the day. Outdoors, they will rest on plants, the ground, fence wires, garbage cans, etc. Night resting places are usually near sources of food and 5 to 15 feet off the ground.
Diet
Wide variety of food, including human food, animal food and carcasses, garbage and excrement.
Reproduction
House fly eggs are laid in almost any warm, moist material that will supply suitable food for the larvae. The female may lay a total of five to six batches of 75 to 100 eggs. In warm weather, eggs hatch in 12 to 24 hours. Read more about the house fly life cycle or gestation of a house fly.
Life Span
The average life span for a house fly in the wild is less than one month. Read more.
Disease
House flies are major carriers of disease. They are known to transfer over 100 pathogens resulting in ailments, including typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera and dysentery.
Appearance
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Size: Face flies are about 6-8 mm in length.
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Color: These flies have four dark stripes on top of their gray-colored thorax. Females look almost identical to males except they have yellow coloration on the front portion of their abdomen. They look very similar to house flies.
Habitat
Face flies spend most of their time away from their host animals, resting on plants and fence posts. As the weather warms in late winter and early spring, adults move outdoors. These flies are present in fields throughout the summer with populations usually peaking in late July and August.
These insects migrate into buildings that provide a protected place to overwinter in places such as: Attics, Barns, Ceilings and Walls
Face Fly
Diet
Male face flies spend most of their time feeding on plant nectar near the cattle or horse pasture. If their preferred meals are not available, these flies also eat sweets and food waste in kitchens.
The females use their rasping, sponging mouth parts to stimulate tear flow from the animal’s eyes and noses so they can lap up secretions, including:
Blood, Nasal discharge, Saliva
Geographical Range
Face flies are found over southern Canada and most of the more temperate portions of the United States.
Life Cycle
Face flies go through four life stages: egg, larvae (grub), pupae (cocoon), and adult. They will complete one entire life cycle in as little as 15-25 days. The reproductive potential of these flies is very high since they can complete one generation in such a short time.
Eggs: Females lay their eggs only in the manure of grass-fed cattle that is less than one hour old.
Larvae: Eggs hatch within the manure pile and larvae develop under the drier manure crust.
Pupae: When larvae mature, they crawl into the soil close to the manure piles and develop into pupae.
Adults: After about one week, adults emerge from the soil.
Blow Fly
Appearance
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Color: Adult blow flies are often metallic, while larvae are pale in color.
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Characteristics: Adults have sponge-like mouth parts, with feathery hairs on the terminal antennal segments of the males. Larvae have hook-like mouth parts.
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Larvae: Blow fly larvae are also known as maggots. Measuring 9 to 22 mm in length, maggots are equipped with hook-like mouthparts and spiracles for breathing. They are soft and appear similar to worms or grains of rice. Each body segment of the blow fly maggot has a median row of fleshy tubercles that resemble hair.
Behavior
Blow flies belong to the Family Calliphoridae of flies under the Order Diptera. To date, there are approximately 80 species in North America.
Diet
Blow flies are attracted to decaying meat and are typically the first organisms to come into contact with dead animals. The meat of dead animals is essential for larval survival and growth. They are also attracted to plants that give off the smell of rotting meat and as such, can be a pollinator for those plants.
Habitat
Blow fly maggots are generally seen near dead animals. Different species of blow flies are active at different times: the Calliphora vomitoria are most commonly found on carrion during cooler months, while the Phaenicia sericata are more active in hot seasons. Other species thrive more in the shade, while some require hot temperatures to complete the maggot developmental stage.
Life Cycle
Blow fly larvae are also known as maggots. Measuring 9 to 22 mm in length, maggots are equipped with hook-like mouthparts and spiracles for breathing. They are soft and appear similar to worms or grains of rice. Each body segment of the blow fly maggot has a median row of fleshy tubercles that resemble hair.
Female blow flies typically lay their eggs on decaying meat, where maggots hatch within a few hours to a few days depending on species. These maggots undergo three stages within several days, after which they leave their food source and pupate in soil. Within a few days, the pupation will be complete, at which point they emerge as adults.
Blow fly eggs are laid in rotting meat, where maggots feed and complete their development before seeking a dry location within which to pupate. After maturing, larvae create outer skins, known as puparia, that look like rat droppings or cockroach egg cases. Pupae develop within the puparium, maturing into adults.
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Creation by Mark Halleman
Arch Pest Services The Bug Man.
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