Fly Management
Flies have always been one of the most important pest group not only because they are a nuisance and annoying but because they spread diseases that affect humans and domestic animals. The majority of pest control calls in the Charlotte and surrounding areas are for house, bottle and blow flies.
Flies use their antennae to smell.
A fly can go up to 45 miles per hour and beat its wings up to 200 times per second.
House flies have been around for 65 million years. The average house fly lives for about 30 days
Flies go through a complete metamorphosis with egg, larval, pupae and adult stages.
Flies will lay up to 3,000 eggs in their lifetime.
Even though flies have over 4,000 lenses per eye, they do not see well and their vision is based on movement.
Generally a fly’s flight pattern is 4-6 feet from the ground.
Although they are attracted to a wide variety of food materials, house flies have mouth parts that enable them to ingest only liquid materials. Solid foods are liquefied by means of regurgitated saliva. This liquefied food is then drawn up by the mouth parts and passed into the digestive tract.
Flies have a glue like substance on the pads of their feet that help them stick to surfaces.
Flies defecate every 4-5 minutes.
The fruit fly lives for 8-10 days and the females lay around 500 eggs. The eggs are laid on rotting fruits and vegetables.
House fly larvae area also known as maggots. Some medical doctors use a certain species of maggots to help patients with flesh wounds, especially burn victims. Maggots eat away the damaged flesh, which helps the wound heal.
Gnats are closely related to flies and are a nuisance pest in the Carolinas. Fungus gnats live in the soil of potted plants and usually occur when there is overwatering. When they emerge from the plant, they seek out light and moisture mostly in windows and drain areas.
Management:
- A thorough inspection and good sanitation is always the first step in every fly and gnat management program.
- Reducing breeding sites such as food and materials on which the flies can lay their eggs on is important to help gain control.
- PCA offers a variety of custom solutions to homes and businesses using both chemical and non-chemical methods.
- Entryways to homes and commercial buildings should be inspected to ensure there is a tight seal when closed. Whenever possible, screen doors should be installed with mesh no larger than 18 to the inch.
- In commercial accounts, we recommend twice weekly garbage removal at the very least. This will prevent, the eggs enough time to hatch.
