House Flies

Outdoor fly control

Adult house flies are usually stocky and strongly bristled. There are 180 species in this family, with two of the most familiar being the Musca domestica (the cosmopolitan house fly) and Musca vetustissima (the bush fly). Both can be a great nuisance that necessitates residential or commercial fly control. Fortunately, the team at Green Pesty are well equipped to handle fly infestations of all sizes. Learn more about some of the most common types of flies we can help eradicate below, including house flies, bush flies, table flies and blow flies.

The Life Cycle of House Flies

The life cycle of the house fly is usually 2 to 4 weeks, but in summer when conditions are favourable, up to 12 generations can be produced. Over winter, flies will become inactive and hidden.

Here’s how the life cycle of house flies works:

• Within a week of reaching adulthood, a female adult fly lays batches of about 100 eggs in a material suitable for larval feeding. Warm, moist, organic materials are preferred.
• The tapered, maggot-shaped larvae may hatch within a day.
• Larvae molt about 4 times during feeding, which may last up to a week or even less in more favourable conditions.
• Once fed, the larvae usually crawl away from the moist food to find a drier location in which to pupate.
• The pupae remain immobile for up to a week, at which time the adult emerges.

More Information About House Flies

• The house fly is probably the most annoying insect pest indoors and is found in most parts of Australia.
• Typically, the house fly alternates between materials that are likely to harbour disease causing organisms (e.g. animal excrement) and human foods, as well as utensils and food preparation surfaces, making indoor fly control just as important as outdoor fly control.
• They are known to transmit diseases such as typhoid, and the abundance of house flies in an area is sometimes used to indicate the efficiency of waste disposal and general sanitary standards of that region.

More Information About Bush Flies

• The bush fly is one of the most widely known and annoying flying pests in the outdoors during Australian summers, and is the main reason why people use personal insect repellent products and arrange fly control in Australia.
• The appearance of the bush fly is similar to the house fly, except it’s smaller in size. The lifecycle is also similar and usually takes about 2 to 5 weeks to complete.
• The adults seek large animals, including humans, and they remain on and around them for hours at a time, being attracted to sweat, tears, saliva and grazing animal faeces.
• Bush flies are known to play an active role in the transmission of certain eye infections to humans and livestock, and they may also serve in the transmission of enteric diseases to humans.

Table Flies

Some species of flies are predators as adults, and some, like the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans), are blood sucking. The stable fly is usually found around dairies and other intensive farming facilities, and biting and annoyance of livestock can reduce yields. The larvae of all these flies live in many different habitats, with dead and putrefying flesh, fungi and rotting vegetation being the most common.

Blow Flies

Outdoor fly control

There are 140 species of these small to medium sized flies. Many are metallic green or blue, while others are mixtures of brown and black. The larvae of most of these species develop in dead and putrefying flesh or dung, although there are species that are parasitic. Blow flies will usually lay their eggs in dead and putrefying flesh where the larvae will feed not only on the rotten flesh, but on the other larvae.

While many blowflies are beneficial by speeding up decomposition of carcasses, there are some economically important species which attack living animals. The most well-known is the introduced Lucilia cuprina which causes ‘blowfly-strike’ in sheep, when the larvae start feeding on inflamed skin under the wool and spread into the flesh. In these cases, commercial fly control is crucial to get the problem under control.

Book Effective Fly Control Today

Don’t put up with annoying flies and other pests any longer than necessary – call our team today for a prompt response. To learn more about our indoor and outdoor fly control, or to book our services, call our pest control experts today on 1800 815 730. We can also assist with services for other pests, making us an excellent choice when you’re wondering “where can I get trusted rodent control near me?”