Flies

House Flies

The House Fly, Musca domestica, is the most common of all domestic flies, accounting for about 91% of all flies in human habitations, it is considered a pest that can carry serious diseases.

Each female fly can lay approximately 500 eggs in several batches of about 75 to 150. The eggs are white and are about 1.2 mm in length.

Flies live from two weeks to a month. Some 36 hours after having emerged from the pupa, the female is receptive for mating. The flies depend on warm temperatures; generally, the warmer the temperature, the faster the flies will develop.

House flies feed on liquid or semi-liquid substances, beside solid material which has been softened by saliva or vomit. Because of their large intake of food, they deposit faeces constantly, one of the factors that makes the insect a dangerous carrier of pathogens.

Although they are domestic flies, usually confined to human habitations, they can fly for several miles from the breeding place.

For effective control the removal or exclusion of breeding sites, such as standing refuse, is essential. Space sprays containing a fast knock-down action are a good method of control. Electric fly killers are an effective means of killing these flies when they enter buildings, especially food preparation or consumption areas.

Cluster Flies

Cluster Flies do not present a health hazard because they do not lay eggs in human food. They are strictly parasitic on earthworms; the females lay their eggs near earthworm burrows, and the larvae then infest the worms. However, the flies are a nuisance; when the adults emerge in the late summer or autumn, they enter houses to hibernate, often in large numbers; they are difficult to eradicate because they favour inaccessible spaces such as roof and wall cavities. They are often seen on windows of little-used rooms. They are also sometimes known as attic flies.

The typical cluster fly Pollenia rudis is about 7 mm long and can be recognised by distinct lines or stripes behind the head, short golden-coloured hairs on the thorax, and irregular light and dark gray areas on the abdomen. Cluster flies are typically slow-moving.

To protect buildings the use of fly screens over openings is recommended. To treat infestations a space spray with a knock-down agent is recommended or a smoke bomb treatment

Fruit Flies

Fruit Flies are very small insects, about 3mm long. Body colour is usually a light yellow to tan colour and the abdomen is grey underneath. A common characteristic of the flies is distinctive red eyes.

Female fruit flies lay their eggs on the surface of rotting fruit, fermenting juices, soured milk etc. Fruit fly larvae feed on the yeast organisms and fungi growing in the fruit and vegetable materials. Through their feeding efforts, they soon turn their food into a semi-liquid mess and given their biology, they are a common pest in farms shops, markets, pubs and commercial kitchens.

Should fruit flies become abundant, a careful search for the larval breeding area should be made, and the necessary housekeeping or maintenance measures taken. Any lingering adult flies may be controlled by the use of a residual insecticide or ULV treatment.