How To Control Flies
Posted By David Brittain On March 2, 2010 @ 8:35 am In Pest Control | Comments Disabled
Flies pose a threat to hygiene and are a nuisance to humans and animals. They are vectors of a large number of diseases including gastroenteritis, dysentery, typhoid, polio, salmonella and tuberculosis. Some flies, such as sandflies, are a direct irritant, biting humans and sometimes causing painful reactions.
The true flies are insects of the order Diptera (meaning: two winged) and include common pests like houseflies Musca domestica, lesser house flies Fannia canicularis, blowflies Calliphora spp, cluster flies Pollenia rudis and fruit flies Drosophila spp.
Other flying insects such as clothes moths Tineola bisselliea and T. pellionella, midges and crane flies Tipula paludosa enter our homes and workplaces and are also considered pests.
The flying insects encountered in rural and farm premises can be of many types, but it is generally accepted that those which are regarded as pests are those which spread disease through contamination, or cause physical damage and general nuisance.
The insects most associated with the spread of disease in lifestyle blocks, commercial premises and on farms are the true flies. There are many thousands of species of true fly, however, relatively few interact with humans. Those that do are among the most destructive of pest species, spreading disease to man and domesticated animals, as well as contaminating food.
Adult flies fly. It is this characteristic that makes their status as pests so important, allowing them mobility to visit many diverse habitats. By nature, many flies breed and feed in areas of unsanitary conditions, with larvae feeding on decaying organic matter. The adult female uses complex sensory systems to choose suitable areas of rotting vegetation and decaying animal matter in which to lay her eggs and for the larval stages to develop into pupae. The adults emerge from the pupae in these unhygienic sites and, as they do, they become contaminated with disease causing organisms. They may fly to sensitive food preparation, processing and consumption areas, seeking feeding sites for themselves as adults.
The likelihood of contamination of human food with pathogens has been demonstrated over the years by a number of experiments. In these, disease-causing agents have been found to survive on outside body surfaces of flies. Numerous bristles on house flies’ legs can pick up and distribute germ laden particles wherever they go from rotten animal waste to your sandwich. Pathogens also exist in the fly gut and blood system.
Flies are fluid feeders and, although they feed on solids, they need to liquidise the food before they can suck it up. They do this by producing large quantities of ‘saliva’ from glands. This is then poured onto the food via the salivary canal of the mouth parts. The flies also frequently vomit some fore gut contents onto the food while feeding. In addition, during the feeding process, flies frequently defecate. This in turn can spread pathogens from the hind gut of the fly onto food and food preparation areas.
If the food on which the flies have been feeding and defecating is prepared for human or animal consumption, disease and suffering is all too frequently the result. Food poisoning outbreaks can occur from a minute dose of pathogens.
Two groups of flies are grouped under the term house fly (or housefly) these are of the Musca and Fannia genus. Fannia are lesser house flies and are a little smaller than Musca house flies. Lesser house flies are often seen flying in angular patterns around the centre of a room. They can keep flying all day and will only land at night. This makes them a little more difficult to control using surface treatment alone.
Blue bottle and green bottle flies have shinny metallic looking bodies and are larger than houseflies. They are associated with rotten meat where their eggs are laid and the larvae (maggots) feed before pupating and emerging as adult flies. An infestation of blow flies suggests a dead animal carcass in the vicinity e.g. a dead rat in the roof space. Check for possible sources and carry out treatment as suggested below.
Fruit flies, also known as vinegar flies, have been used extensively in the development of the science of genetics over the last fifty years because of their rapid breeding.
Fruit flies are small usually about 3mm long. They breed on decaying vegetable matter or sweet liquids. An infestation of fruit flies suggests rotting fruit, stale beer or wine, blocked drains etc. somewhere close by. Check all areas and then treat as suggested below.
It is rarely possible to entirely eliminate flies and flying pests from homes and offices but the numbers can be kept to minimum.
Follow these simple principles.
Because of the particular habits of cluster flies they have been dealt with in a separate article: How to Stop Cluster Flies [2]
Kiwicare [1] is New Zealand’s own manufacturer and distributor of pest control, garden care and home maintenance products. The Kiwicare website contains advice on the eradication and prevention of all sorts of pests that bother us in New Zealand. Learn how to get rid of rats and mice, flies, spiders, ants, cockroaches, fleas, bed bugs and other creepy crawlies. Protect your plants from aphids, grass grub, caterpillars, weeds and more. Keep biting insects at bay with the Safari range of insect repellents. See the BioGro certified organic range of products to help you stay pest free without chemicals.
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[2] How to Stop Cluster Flies: http://howto.yellow.co.nz/home-garden/pest-control-home-garden/how-to-stop-cluster-flies/
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