How to Properly Identify & Prevent Common Flies

How to Properly Identify & Prevent Common Flies

Flies are one of the most common household pests that can be found almost everywhere in the world. They are not only annoying but can also carry a variety of diseases, including typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. Therefore, it’s important to properly identify the common types of flies in order to prevent them. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to identify and prevent different types of common flies.

House Fly

The house fly is the most common type of fly found in homes. They are gray in color and have four black stripes on their thoraces. These pests are attracted to food, garbage, and feces, and can transmit bacteria and viruses that cause diseases.

Fruit Fly

Fruit flies are small, brownish-yellow flies with red eyes. They are attracted to ripening fruits and vegetables, as well as fermented liquids such as wine and vinegar.

Drain Fly

Drain flies are small, moth-like flies that are commonly found in bathrooms and kitchens. They are gray or black in color and have hairy wings. They breed in organic matter that accumulates in drains and pipes, as well as in standing water.

How to Prevent Flies:

  • Keep drains clean and clear of debris
  • Fix any leaks promptly
  • Use drain cleaners regularly
  • Keep kitchen clean and free of any ripe fruit or vegetables
  • Clean up spills promptly
  • Store food in sealed containers
  • Use garbage cans with tight-fitting lids

By following these tips, you can enjoy a fly-free home. If you begin to see an influx of flies in your home, give your local pest control company a call for a personalized plan.

What Kind of Fly is That?

What Kind of Fly is That?

Alabama Pest Control: Common Household Flies

Whether inside or outside, flies can be a huge annoyance. These small pests seem to find their way back into your space after you’ve already swatted them away multiple times! At a glance, you might be able to tell what kind of fly it really is, but they can all look the same. Each type of fly has its own set of characteristics. Let’s break down the common flies you might see in your Jasper, Alabama home.

House Fly

Being the most common out of all the flies, this easily identifiable pest is widespread throughout the United States. House flies can be spotted with red eyes and gray, hairy bodies. These types of flies don’t have teeth or stingers, so they feed off liquids found from human food, animal carcasses, and garbage.

While they can’t sting humans, they can spread more than 100 different pathogens including salmonellosis, typhoid, and tuberculosis. They also contaminate food surfaces by spreading diseases picked up on their legs and mouths when feeding on any trash or feces.

Fruit Fly

These oval-shaped insects are known for rapidly reproducing and can be found indoors year-round. Fruit flies are attracted to and eat rotting food; more specifically they tend to gravitate towards fruits and vegetables. They are known to breed in dark, moist areas like drains, disposals, and trashcans. They also lay around 500 eggs that can hatch in as little as 24 hours.

These pests also don’t sting or bite, but they can contaminate foods with dangerous bacteria and disease-causing pathogens.

Drain Fly

These moth-like flies are commonly found in dark, damp conditions, like drains. Drain flies don’t bite, but their presence can aggravate asthma in some people. These household pests appear light gray to tan with a dark border around their wings.

If you have an infestation of any species of fly in your Jasper, Alabama home, then contact your local pest control company to discover a treatment and prevention plan best for you!

What You Should Know About Flies!

What You Should Know About Flies!

Flies can be considered a huge annoyance, whether you’re outside or inside the home. These pests seem to constantly find their way back to irritate you after you’ve already swatted them away a thousand times! It’s important to know that while at a glance flies can look the same, there are actually different types, each with their own set of characteristics. 

House Fly

The house fly is the most common type of fly that is easily identifiable and can be found widespread throughout the United States. These pests are gray with four black stripes on their thorax with slightly hairy bodies. The house fly has red eyes that contain thousands of individual lenses that give them a wider vision. Since house flies do not have teeth or a stinger, these insects feed only off liquids found from human food, animal carcasses, and garbage.

While house flies will not sting humans, they can transfer more than 100 different pathogens including salmonellosis, typhoid, and tuberculosis. They can also contaminate food surfaces by spreading diseases picked up on their legs and mouths when feeding on any trash or feces.

Fruit Fly

Known for their ability to rapidly reproduce, fruit flies can be found indoors year-round. These insects have an oval-shaped body with six legs and antennae on their heads. These flies are attracted to and eat rotting food; more specifically they tend to gravitate towards fruits and vegetables. Fruit flies are also attracted to and will breed in dark, moist areas like drains, garbage disposals, and trashcans. They can also lay around 500 eggs that can hatch in as little as 24 hours.

While these insects won’t bite or sting, like house flies they too can contaminate foods with dangerous bacteria and disease-causing pathogens.

Horsefly

Horseflies are commonly found in both suburban and rural areas, usually near bodies of water that they use for breeding. These insects have large eyes with horizontal stripes along with their bodies. These flies are exceptionally good at flying and can travel more than 30 miles without stopping. They are most active during sunny, hot days and will typically rest on paths and roads, especially in wooded areas where they wait for potential hosts.

While male horseflies do not consume blood, female horseflies do. Female horsefly bites are rather painful since their mouthparts are used for cutting open flesh instead of sucking blood like mosquitoes. These bites are also known to cause an allergic reaction.

If you have an infestation of any species of fly, contact a professional pest control company who can provide you with the appropriate treatment and prevention plan.

Getting Rid of Fruit Flies

 

Fruit flies are a nuisance in homes!  That’s the bottom line!  They seem to come out of nowhere and are extremely hard to get rid of.  But the truth is, they don’t come out of nowhere…they come from up to miles away when they have smelled the scent of ripening fruit and vegetables.  Because they are so small they are able to fit through even the tiniest of openings to get inside your home and to the fermenting fruit.

“Well that’s easy enough”, you say, “just throw away the fruit once you’ve seen fruit flies”…it’s not that easy.  Fruit flies are fast reproducers!  Fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at a time and their entire life cycle only takes 8-10 days.  This makes them difficult to control once they have infested your home.  It’s not just the fruit they are after, they can also lay their eggs in sink drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, garbage bags, and even damp mops and sponges.

Getting rid of fruit flies is difficult but it’s not impossible.  By following some simple steps you can rid your home of fruit flies and ensure that they don’t return.

How to get rid of fruit flies:

  • The first step is to remove the sources of attraction like fruits and vegetables.
  • Remove breeding sources by throwing away old sponges and mops, and cleaning out dish drains.
  • Store fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator rather than on the counter tops.
  • Wipe down sides and bottom of trash cans for any debris that may have spilled over.
  • For smaller infestations you can choose to try a DIY approach to eliminating fruit flies.  Using a glass of some sort (jar or wine bottle) put a slice of banana or apple cider vinegar at the bottom of the glass and stick a paper funnel out of the top of the glass.  The flies will enter the glass in search of the food source but will be unable to get out.  After a few hours, seal the glass and throw away…the fruit flies should be gone.
  • When DIY tricks don’t work…call the experts at Northwest Exterminating.  A professional pest control company will be able to target the living fruit flies as well as the eggs.  They will help you find the source of your problem and help you to control the issue.

 

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