House Flies – a Common Pest.
Introduction
The house fly is a common pest in homes and restaurants. It has distributed quite widely and can facilitate serious disease transfers. Particularly, in summer months, House Fly infestations are reported with greater frequency.
Physical description
The adults are 5-8 mm long. Their thorax is gray, with four dark longitudinal lines on the back. The underside of the abdomen is yellow. The whole body is covered with hair. They have red compound eyes. The females are slightly larger than the males and have a much larger space between the eyes.
Life cycle
Each female fly can lay up to 8,000 eggs. The eggs are white and are about 1.2 mm in length. Within a day, the larvae (maggots) hatch from the eggs; they live and feed in (usually dead and decaying) organic material, such as garbage or feces. They are pale whitish, 3-9 mm long, thinner at the mouth end, and have no legs. At the end of their third instar, the maggots crawl to a dry cool place and transform into pupae, colored reddish or brown and about 8 mm long. The adult flies then emerge from the pupae. (This whole cycle is known as complete metamorphosis.) The adults live from half a month to a month in the wild, or longer in benign laboratory conditions. After having emerged from the pupae, the flies cease to grow; small flies are not young flies but the result of insufficient food during the larval stage.
A House Fly
Another House Fly
Houseflies can take in only liquid foods. They spit out saliva on solid foods to pre-digest it, and then suck it back in. They also vomit partially digested matter and eat it again.
The flies can walk on vertical planes, and can even hang upside down from ceilings. This is accomplished with the surface tension of liquids secreted by glands near their feet.
Flies continually preen themselves, cleaning their eyes with their forelegs and dusting off their legs by rubbing them together. They do this because most of their taste and smell receptors are on the hairs of their legs.
Flies have a very highly-evolved evasion reaction which helps to ensure their survival. It is possible to confuse a fly’s evasion system by swatting it with two objects simultaneously from different directions. The holes in a fly swatter minimize the air current which warns the fly of being hit, whilst reducing air resistance and increasing speed of the swat. This evasion reaction can also be used against the fly. Clapping your hands several inches above the fly will cause it to try to escape, usually into your just closing hands. A successful method of removing flies from living spaces is to use a vacuum cleaner equipped with a long (1m/3 feet)straight tube at the end of a flexible hose. Airborne flies can be chased with the tube and will eventually be sucked into it. Standing flies can be approached slowly with the tube (1cm/half-an-inch per second) and often they will not fly away and will be sucked into it.
Evolution
Even though the order of flies (Diptera) is much older, true houseflies evolved in the beginning of the Cenozoic era, some 65 million years ago. They are thought to have originated in the southern Palearctic region, particularly the Middle East. Because of their close, commensal relationship with man, they probably owe their worldwide dispersal to co-migration with humans.
Flies and Humans
In colder climates, houseflies occur only with humans. They have a tendency to aggregate and are difficult to dispel. They are capable of carrying over 100 pathogens, such as typhoid, cholera, Salmonella, bacillary dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, ophthalmia, and parasitic worms. The flies in poorer and lower-hygiene areas usually carry more pathogens. Some strains have become immune to common insecticides.
House Flies Extermination Technique and its Advantages:
We utilize the most effective insecticide Spray and Fog agents available from the leading pesticides manufactures. These pesticide are highly effective and contain most powerful active ingredients. We employ the Spray and Fog technique to Control, and Exterminate the House Flies infestations.
Some of the Characteristics of the Spray and Fog technique are:
- It is the best option when there is no Bait available for a given Pest. A targeted application of Control Agents in selected areas of the structure is undertaken. In cases of high infestations, spraying upon the pests produces a spectacular knock down.
- Areas that are targeted are the nesting and foraging activities areas of the Pest.
- House Flies are affected by the insecticide active agent when they come into contact with the treated surfaces.
- House Flies would be exterminated by getting the Active Ingredient into it’s biological system via contact. An affected pest may also prove to be a source of secondary poisoning for other members.
- The Insecticide Spray method results in gradual, almost fool-proof and guaranteed removal of these pests.
Client’s Preparations for Insecticides Application:
- Client is required to prepare areas to be treated with insecticide spray application.
- Client is required to leave the property during the application and stay out for further 2 hours after the application.
Our exterminators will inspect the structure for points of vulnerabilities that may facilitate future infestations or conditions that may be helping the House Flies to flourish. It will be up to the property owner to act on the recommendations.
Specific Notes on Spray or Fog Application:
Spray may be Water-Based or of the Emulsion type. Even though it would not stain or damage surfaces, it may be noticeable as a thin film of light color. The film may also have oily characteristics. If it is found on any surfaces that are used by people or pets, then it should be cleaned away at the earliest. For further information, please, see our Pesticides and the MSDS page.
Expected Results and Outcome of the Treatment:
In about 3-5 weeks, all House Flies would have been eliminated having directly or indirectly been exposed to the insecticide sprayed. Gradually House Flies would simply cease to exist. It remains possible that some House Flies may expire near human living spaces.
At Quest Pest Management Inc., we have the highest success rate of complete elimination of House Flies with one treatment alone.
Prior to carrying out treatment for House Flies, we will do an inspection or survey of the property to determine the extent and scope of the infestation. In doing so, we will also obtain information from people present on site.
