What Commonly Causes a Fly Infestation Problem

When you’re lounging around outdoors and enjoying a relaxing day under the sun — perhaps in your own backyard, on a bench at the nearby park, or at table in an al fresco restaurant — the last thing that you want is to see flies buzzing around you and even crawling on your arms, clothes or things. The peace of your day will be shattered not only because of all the conscious and persistent swatting you have to do to keep flies away from your person, but also because of the thought of all the germs from the fly’s body being transferred to yours.

Nope, nobody likes having flies around. Especially alarmingly large swarms of flies. And definitely not all over your own home, both outdoors and indoors.

What makes the fly such a loathed creature?

There are thousands of species of flies, but only a few can become pests inside and outside people’s homes. These include the common house fly (Musca domestica), the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans), the face fly (Musca autumnalis), the little house fly (Fannia canicularis), and the blow fly (from the genus Lucilia).

As far as pests go, flies are considered some of the worst — even if they do not bite or cause significant physical damage to property — because they can pick up viruses and bacteria that can cause diseases in humans. This is due to the fact that flies both feed and breed on things like food wastes, decaying organic materials and animal secretions and wastes.

The house fly, in particular, can be persistent with landing on people, their food and any surface in and around a house. They can thus deposit the viruses and bacteria they carry and cause conditions like food poisoning, cholera, diarrhea, eye infections and dysentery.

Pinpointing the attraction

The number one cause of a fly infestation problem is the lack of proper sanitation. The presence of the materials that they are naturally attracted to (rotting organic materials, human and animal food and wastes, and the like) is certainly an open invitation for flies.

The second crucial cause of an infestation would be poor exclusion. Homeowners must be able to set up their property to prevent flies from finding entry and exit points throughout their house.

What can be done to address an infestation?

Seal all cracks and openings around windows and doors.

Install screens on windows.

Do not allow garbage to openly accumulate.

Keep the household’s garbage in plastic bags, which should be placed inside containers with tight-fitting lids.

Observe regular disposal of everything that flies can be attracted to: kitchen waste, pet feces, sweet fruits, rotting food, and other decaying organic materials that flies can use as feeding and breeding grounds.
Consider the use of simple methods like setting out sticky fly paper, inverted cone traps and fly traps that utilize UV light.

If the problem is serious and you’re unsure about the kind of insecticide that would work best, call your trusted local pest control specialists to effectively take care of your fly infestation.