Where Are All These Flies Coming From?

A cluster of fruit flies on a surface - Keep flies away from your home with Griffin Pest Solutions

It’s getting to be that time of year again. Just when it was finally getting nice out again, they return: the flies. Thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands of them. It seems like they’re everywhere, especially around your home. And all of a sudden!

What are these flies? Where are they coming from? Why now? Most importantly, what can you do about them? Don’t worry: we’re here to answer all your fly questions. Hopefully, we can help make your spring fly-free in the process.

What are the flies in my home?

There are several different common varieties of fly that commonly enter people’s homes. Each type of fly wants different things and behaves in different ways:

  • House flies are amongst the most common insect pests infesting houses in Michigan. They’re ⅛ to ¼ inches long, dark grey, broad flies with dark stripes and dark red eyes. They live in garbage, particularly moist or rotting organic material.
  • Fruit flies and specifically the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster are very common house infesters. These flies are only 3 to 4 mm long, tan or clear-colored flies with bright red eyes. Fruit flies live in fermenting liquids, especially sugary liquids.
  • Blowflies are particularly common in spring and summer. They’re round, metallic green, blue, or copper-colored and only around ¼ to ½ inches long.
  • Phorid flies look similar to a fruit fly. Both are very small (1/16 to ⅛ inches long), tan-colored, and have red eyes. Phorid flies are attracted to light, garbage, and humidity.

If you’re dealing with a fly problem this spring, chances are these are your culprits.

What do flies want?

What do they want?

As you probably noticed, each of the flies we’ve listed has a few things in common. The big one? Garbage. Virtually every fly loves living around, reproducing in, and feeding on garbage. Even more specifically, they love moist, rotting, or fermenting organic material. They’re attracting to any garbage that rots, breaks down, or starts to smell.

Flies can live off of and produce eggs in a very thin film of moisture. Even runoff from plumbing leaks or condensation from drafts is enough. If you have flies in your home, then they’re probably using rotting material or humidity nearby as a nest. Most flies reproduce indoors constantly and frequently whenever they can.

Where did they come from?

Unfortunately, most of the flies in your home were probably born there. They lay eggs in thin films of moisture near food sources. When the eggs hatch, offspring feed and grow rapidly until they’re fully grown. Then, the fully-grown adults reproduce, and the cycle begins again.

Before they can start reproducing, however, the first generation has to get inside your home somehow. That can happen a couple of ways. First, the pests are very good at sensing temperature changes and smelling out rotting food. They’ll follow the smell of rotting food to drafts, then use small cracks to wiggle inside.

Why are flies here now?

Why are they here now?

The speed of a flies’ life cycles is determined mostly by temperature. During warm seasons, most fly species complete their life cycles extremely quickly. Houseflies, for instance, may complete their life cycle from egg to adult in seven to ten days. The longer and warmer the summer, the more the pests will grow, mate, and spread.

Files have incredible reproductive capabilities: a single fruit fly, for instance, could lay up to 500 eggs. They seem especially prevalent in spring and summer because warm outdoor temperatures allow them to reproduce even more frequently. It’s not just you; they really are pretty much everywhere.

What can I do about them?

If you can keep pests from accessing moisture, you can keep them from reproducing in your home. Flies usually find moisture around garbage or another source of food. Keep garbage cans sealed whenever you aren’t using them. Take out all your garbage every night before bed. Rinse out and dry containers before disposing of them.

Pay close attention to possible plumbing leaks and other sources of runoff. Check under sinks in the kitchen and bathroom, especially around garbage. Consider investing in dehumidifiers for particularly humid areas of your home. Clean up and prevent any other sources of excess moisture, too. No matter how small it may seem, flies can and will use it.

 

Once established, flies can be annoyingly difficult to get rid of. It’s quite hard to find fly eggs, and once they hatch you’ll have a new generation to deal with. It’s much easier to avoid letting pests reproduce in your home in the first place. By following these tips, you can do just that.

Of course, maybe you already have flies in your home. In that case, we recommend giving Griffin Pest Control a call right away. Our experts can find and wipe out your fly infestation, no matter how hidden or entrenched. Don’t let flies ruin the nice weather for you; call today!

What Are the Flies in my Kitchen?

Fly attracted to food in kitchen

Easily the most common pest problem people deal with every day are flies in their kitchen. It makes sense: kitchens and other food storage areas naturally tend to create ideal fly infestation conditions. There are even all kinds of different common flies, and they’re all looking for something a little different. The trick to keeping flies away is figuring out what that “something” is and making sure they can’t get it.

Start by figuring out which kind of fly is bothering you. Chances are, it’s one of the four particularly pernicious pantry pests we’ve listed below. Once you’ve identified your nemesis, follow the steps below to deprive them of what they want. Don’t give up; a fly-free future is possible! Here’s how to keep four of the most common kitchen flies from bothering you anymore:

House fly

House fliesHouse flies are dark grey flies with four black stripes on their slightly hairy thoraxes. They’re around ⅛ to ¼” long and round or oval-shaped. The easiest way to identify a house fly is to look for their prominent red eyes. Usually, you’ll notice a house fly infestation when you see one of the flies near your garbage or food. You may also find small cream-colored eggs or larvae laid on food material.   

House flies are a problem because they transmit hundreds of pathogens via their saliva and waste. They also soil food products by laying eggs inside of them. Fruit flies are naturally attracted to water, sugar, broth, and soluble food stuff, which they feed on and lay eggs in. The best way to prevent house flies is to make these breeding sites inaccessible. Keep garbage sealed and dispose of it before it begins to rot. Rinse out bottles and cans before you throw them away. Store food like grains and pasta in sealed plastic containers.

Blowfly

blowfliesBlowflies (or bottle flies) are small, round flies that are metallic green, blue, or copper-colored. Their metallic-looking bodies are slightly iridescent and make them relatively easy to spot. They’re usually only around ¼ to ½” long. Blowflies congregate on dead, decaying, or rotting things in great numbers. They tend to be particularly noticeable outside during the summer. If you have them inside, they’re probably flying around either your garbage or some other source of rotting material.

Like house flies, blow flies are a problem primarily because they transmit diseases. Blowflies also reproduce astonishingly quickly. A large number of flies can inhabit a food source in a short period of time. When you have a blowfly problem, the first thing you should check is your garbage. Dispose of all your garbage and rinse out your cans and dumpsters. Look for and remove any sources of decaying organic material such as pet feces or fertilizer.

Fruit fly

Fruit fliesFruit flies or vinegar flies are tiny (⅛” long), very light tan flies with almost translucent bodies. Like house flies, their prominent, bright red flies are their most distinguishing feature. Fruit flies are attracted to any organic material that’s ripe, fermenting, or otherwise moist. They reproduce and lay eggs in any thin film of moisture on top of fermenting material. A single female fruit fly can lay 500 eggs. These flies have extremely short life spans and reproduce extremely quickly.

Fruit flies are primarily considered nuisance pests, but like other flies, they can also contaminate food sources with pathogens. Any food that could produce condensation could attract fruit flies and foster fruit fly growth. Pay close attention to where you’re throwing away food, especially fruits and vegetables. Even small sources of moisture like spilled fruit juice could attract literally thousands of fruit flies. Dispose of any overripe or rotting food regularly, and rinse out your garbage cans once a month.

Cluster fly

Cluster fliesCluster flies like the common cluster fly (Pollenia rudis) usually enter homes during the fall. They look very similar to common house flies, except they have patches of bright yellow hair under their wings. During spring and summer, they reproduce and lay eggs in the soil. Cluster flies produce three to four generations in a mating season. During fall, adult cluster flies attempt to enter enclosed and protected areas in order to survive winter.

Cluster flies are largely considered nuisance pests, similar to other overwintering nuisance pests such as stink bugs. They don’t damage your home or transmit diseases. Their bodies or waste may attract other pests to the areas they inhabit, however. The best way to keep cluster flies out of your home is to block their common entry points. Seal cracks around windows, doors, thresholds, and utility lines. Repair or replace damaged screens. Patch up cracks in chimneys or roofing shingles.

 

If you feel like you’ve tried everything and you still have a fly problem, don’t despair. There’s a reason why flies continue to be the most common pest problem in the US. The frustrating little bugs are very good at getting theirs. Luckily, we’re even better at stopping them.

If you decide you need some help dealing with your kitchen foes, give Griffin a call any time. We have everything we need to make your kitchen fly-free and keep it that way. Your fly-free future still awaits! All you have to do is call now.