Jerome’s Complete Guide To House Fly Prevention

House Fly Habits & Information

The common house fly is not a biting variety, and its appearance makes it pretty easy to identify. When trying to identify the flies in your home, look out for these characteristics:

• Gray with black stripes

• Up to about ¼ of an inch long

• Slightly hairy bodies

• Red eyes

Flies are attracted to warm air currents on cool days and cool air currents on hot days. They may also be attracted to odors coming from inside the building. Once inside, they congregate near food sources, resting near the corners and edges of the room. Outdoors, they will hang around plants and garbage.

One female fly can produce up to 900 eggs in her lifetime. They lay their eggs on feces, carrion, or garbage which leads to the transmission of typhoid, salmonellosis, and tuberculosis.

Flies walking across counters and landing on dinner plates don’t seem so innocuous when you know what they’re bringing with them. And with how rapidly they reproduce, a small fly problem can become a big fly problem in no time at all.

Ten House Fly Prevention Tips

Pests come in from outdoors when seeking respite from harsh temperatures or when food is plentiful. Prevention techniques are centered around keeping them outdoors and making the indoors inhospitable.

1. Keep indoor trash firmly sealed and taken out regularly.

2. Keep outdoor trash sealed and away from the home. Regularly clean the bin.

3. Clean pet waste immediately, indoors and outdoors.

4. Apply fine mesh screens to windows and doors.

5. Seal cracks, holes, and crevices around the outside of the home with silicon-based caulk.

6. Clean spills immediately, even outdoors, with soap and water.

7. Keep kitchen surfaces sanitized and dispose of food waste.

8. Make sure windows and doors seal properly.

9. Store food in cabinets and fridges in air-tight containers.

10. Turn off outdoor lights at night.

Flies come inside by pure accident all the time, but making sure they don’t have a reason to stay or a place to reproduce should help you squash an infestation before it’s even started. Stay on top of home maintenance and sanitization, and flies shouldn’t become a problem.

Contact Owyhee Environmental For More Advice Or Assistance

While house flies can be dealt with at home, some infestations can get out of hand and require professional help. House flies may also indicate other pest problems, such as dead rats if you use poison as a means of rodent control. Owyhee Environmental can help you get to the root of the problem.

Whatever your needs, we want to help identify and treat your Jerome pest problems in a safe, effective, and environmentally friendly way. We can also help you prevent future infestations by identifying risks around your home. Call today to get started with our residential pest control service.