For the past couple of days, there is a feeling that Fall is exceptionally close. Temperatures have been cool and crisp in the morning yet near sweltering come afternoon. The smoke from the fires has worked its way out of the valley and we’ve been left with beautiful blue skies. It feels like like pumpkin spice, football, and…house flies?!? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that time of year when house flies become thick enough to coat the siding of your house is finally here. But why? Why is September the worst time of year for house flies?
It actually begins much earlier than just September. Beginning in the Spring, flies that overwintered as larva mature into adults and begin producing offspring. Fly populations boom during the Summer because conditions are ideals for the growth of larvae (maggots), not to mention the fact that female house flies can produce up to 500 eggs each. But during the hot months aren’t when we have issues with them, outside of the occasional straggler that gets caught inside. That is because conditions are best for survival away from humans (i.e. food is plentiful, weather is warm, places to lay eggs are abundant, etc.). The change of temperature signals the shift away from these ideal conditions and pushes house flies toward humans causing a significant increase in interaction between us and them.
To minimize that interaction, there are several things you can do. First is to keep things clean; sanitation is key to getting rid of attractants for house flies — food, harborage, etc. Next is exclusion. To the best of your ability, don’t let flies into the area you don’t want them to be.
For places where that isn’t completely possible, use physical control such as fly strips, fly traps, and bug zappers that use the animal’s natural inclinations against it. Finally, when you’ve exhausted every resource you’re willing to, give Barrier Pest Control a call. We have a safe and proven effective Fly Treatment program that will reduce house fly populations in those hard to control areas.
