Identification & Types > Flies
Flies are one of the most annoying pests in the world. One well-known fly, the house fly, is connected
with over 100 disease-causing pathogens. These pathogens can cause disease in humans, including: typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, polio, tuberculosis, anthrax, and many types of parasitic worms.
For every fly seen, it is estimated that there are 19 more hidden from view. That means humans don’t even see 95% of flies present at an infestation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that flies contaminate or destroy $10 billion of agricultural products each year.
House Fly
Description
House flies are normally found in greatest numbers during the summer months. House flies are less than 1/4 - 3/8 inch in length and have four dark stripes down the back of their thorax. They are a possible health risk since they are often found in garbage and manure. They have sponging 
mouthparts so they cannot eat solid food. House flies regurgitate digestive fluids onto food and then sponge up the digested liquid meal.
Habitat
These flies are often found around garbage, manure, dead animals and rotting food. – all breading sites for house flies. Indoors house flies have been seen breeding in trash containers that have not been cleaned for a while and also in rotting vegetables. House flies will rest on walls, floors, and ceilings during the day. At night, they rest near its favorite food source.
Life Cycle
Each adult female begins laying eggs a few days after hatching, laying a several batches of 100 to 150 small white oval eggs. Eggs are laid in warm, moist, organic materials such as manure, garbage, fruits, and other decaying matter. In about 24 hours, the eggs hatch into larvae (maggots) which are cream colored. These larvae grow and pupate in 4 to 7 days in warm weather. Under favorable summertime conditions, house flies can complete their development from egg to adult in as little as 7 days.
Health Concerns
House flies serve as carriers of disease due to their fondness for feeding on animal wastes, garbage, and decaying materials. House flies are known to carry bacteria and viruses that cause conditions such as diarrhea, cholera, food poisoning, yaws, dysentery, typhoid fever, hepatitis, polio, tuberculosis, anthrax, eye infections, and many types of parasitic worms.
Control
Tightly seal garbage containers. Screen windows in summer. Use fly paper or traps to attract and capture flies. Caulk or cover all openings into a home to prevent flies from entering.
Drain Fly
Description
Drain flies are common, frequently-abundant insects also known as moth flies. Adult drain flies are tiny (1/5 to 1/6 inch long), fuzzy and grayish insects with the body and wings covered with hairs. The source of the fly infes
tation is generally from sinks and floor drains, or from nearby sewage plants or waste disposal areas. They are weak fliers and are often seen hovering about drains/sinks during the evening hours.
Habitat
Adult flies usually congregate at windows, darken lamp shades at night, fall into food and accumulate around bathtubs, showers, sinks and floor drains, especially in the basement/crawlspaces. These flies breed in areas such as, the sides of drains and overflow pipes in homes, or in sewage disposal beds, septic tanks and moist compost. They have also been found in dirty garbage containers, rain barrels and tree holes.
Life Cycle
Eggs are deposited throughout the spring and summer in moist, decomposing organic materials. The gelatinous organic deposits, which accumulate in drains, provide an ideal breeding site. Eggs hatch into the maggots, which feed in this organic matter. Under favorable conditions, maggots mature in about two weeks and form a hard shell within which the pupa forms and from which the adult fly emerges.
Health Concerns
Bronchial asthma can be caused by inhaling fragments from dead flies. Since Drain flies breed in filthy conditions, there is the possibility of disease transmission.
Control
One of the best measures in controlling drain flies is cleaning sinks, drain pipes, and traps with a stiff wire brush or by steam. Several new products are now available that contain either bacteria or enzymes which breakdown the gelatinous scum in drains. They are applied as either a pour around the drain lip or injected as foam. ArmaXX Pest Control provides this as a service. To determine which drain is infested, place a jar over the outlet or tape a plastic bag over the opening of the overflow outlet. Check the container at intervals for adult flies.
Blow Fly
Description
Blowflies are about the same size as, and resemble, the housefly; because they are usually metallic blue or green they are also called bluebottle or greenbottle flies. Blow flies occur throughout the contiguous states, Tennessee and in many other temperate regions of the world as well.
Colors
Blow flies are robust, with a metallic sheen to the body, and variously colored: bright green, blue, bronze-black, copper.
Habitat
Although they breed in animal manure and decaying feed, blow flies are more likely to be found developing in decomposing animal carcasses and sites contaminated with milk or broken eggs
Biology
In general, each female blow fly deposits thousands of eggs over her 2- to 8-week life span. Egg masses may consist of 50 to 1,000 eggs. Incubation may last 4 to 5 days, but hatching as a rule occurs in less than 24 hours when the weather is warm and humid. In about a week, maggots usually complete development in 4 to 10 days. At the end of this period, larvae typically burrow in the upper centimeters of the soil and pupate for up to a week. About 1 week later, females begin to deposit eggs and the life cycle is repeated. Blow flies generally develop from egg to adult in only 10 to 25 days, including 4 to 8 generations each year.
Damage
Most blow fly larvae feed in carrion or other decaying organic matter. They often infest wounds of cattle, sheep, goats, and other animals. Unkempt sheep are mainly subject to attack by this fly. Adult blow flies are attracted to carrion, nectar, garbage, bloody/soiled hair and fur.
Typically, most blow fly larvae do not attack healthy tissue. Mature larvae of green-bottle flies, however, have been known to burrow deep into healthy tissue after spending earlier developmental stages in superficial wounds.
Health Concerns
Blowflies are often carriers of disease, such as dysentery.
Control
Sanitation and proper disposal of garbage, carcasses and similar breeding media is probably the most satisfactory method of limiting blow fly populations. Livestock production requires other preventive measures such as breeding hornless animals, having lambing occur as early in spring as possible, sheering of dams before lambing occurs, docking lambs' tails, removing dirty, ragged wool, and treating wounds.
Fruit Fly
Description
If you are seeing small gnats or flies around your kitchen, more than likely they are fruit flies. They can be y
ear round problem, but are very common during late summer/fall because they are attracted to ripened fruits and vegetables.
Adults are about 1/8 inch long and usually have red eyes. (About one third the size of a house fly).The front portion of the body is tan and the rear portion is black.
Habitat
Fruit flies are common in homes, restaurants, supermarkets and wherever else food is allowed to rot and ferment. Tomatoes, peaches, melons, squash, grapes and other perishable items brought in from the garden are often the cause of an infestation. Fruit flies are also attracted to rotting bananas, potatoes, onions and other unrefrigerated produce purchased at the grocery store.
Life Cycle
Fruit flies lay their eggs near the surface of fermenting foods or other organic materials. Upon emerging, the tiny larvae feed near the surface of the fermenting materail. This surface-feeding characteristic of the larvae is significant in that damaged or over-ripened portions of fruits and vegetables can be cut away without having to discard the remainder for fear of retaining any developing larvae. The reproductive outcome of fruit flies is vast - a female fruit fly may lay roughly 500 eggs. The entire lifecycle from egg to adult can be completed in about a week.
Control
Produce which has ripened should be eaten, discarded or refrigerated. Cracked or damaged portions of fruits and vegetables should be cut away and discarded in the event that eggs or larvae are present in the wounded area. A single rotting potato at the back of a closet, or fruit juice spillage can breed thousands of fruit flies. Likewise, a recycling bin stored in the garage needs to be cleaned or covered completely.
Fungus Gnat
Description
Fungus gnats are flies that are common around homes and business. They are grayish/black in color
and about 1/8 inch in size. Their body is slender, mosquito-like, with long legs and one pair of clear wings.
Habitat
They are usually seen flying at windows and around house plants. Homeowners may notice fungus gnats after applying new mulch and when watering potted plants.
Lifecycle
The larvae of fungus gnats live in moist soil and feed on decaying organic matter. These conditions are abundant outside in the fall season and nearly year round in potted plants.
Control
Adult fungus gnats are attracted to moist and rich soil Allowing the soil to dry out for several days is probably the best control of these pests. The larvae live in the top layer of soil. If the top layer of soil becomes dry, the larvae will die and the adults will not have a place to lay their eggs.