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Housefly (Musca domestica) | Bluebottle / Greenbottle | Fly Preventative Measures| Flies Pictures

Flies

Housefly (Musca domestica)

The housefly, is the most common fly occurring in homes, the most familiar of all flies and indeed one of the most widely distributed animals; it is a pest that can facilitate serious diseases.

Houseflies can take in only liquid foods. They spit out saliva on solid foods to pre-digest it, and then suck it back in. They also vomit partially digested matter and eat it again.

The flies can walk on vertical planes, and can even hang upside down from ceilings. This is accomplished with the surface tension of liquids secreted by glands near their feet.

A close-up of a common house-fly preening.

Flies continually preen themselves, cleaning their eyes with their forelegs and dusting off their legs by rubbing them together. They do this because most of their taste and smell receptors are on the hairs of their legs.

Bluebottle / Greenbottle

Types of blowfly are very common in the house. Normally the female blowfly lay eggs on dead animals, they are attracted to rotting carcases from several miles away. Also any decomposing matter and faeces can be a breeding ground.

Blowfly infesting buildings can be a sign dead rats or mice may be present. A dead rat will provide enough sustenance for approximately 4000 maggots. The maggots be unpleasant, but consume and decompose the carcass clearing the smell, which can last a couple of weeks, which is much worse.

Once the maggots pupate they seek after a further 8-10 days the pupae wriggle their way into the light and the adult flies emerge.

They are immediately able to fly, mate and start laying eggs. Like other flies the various blowflies have been suspected of carrying diseases. They do this by picking up pathogenic micro-organisms from carrion, offal and dunghills and pass them elsewhere.

The chance that intestinal and other infections may be transmitted when the insect lands on foodstuffs which are not subsequently likely to be cooked or washed, and particularly if the micro-organisms have a few days to breed on the food source.

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Fly Preventative Measures

Removing the source of food for the most common flies is the primary method of getting rid of flies. Depending on the species of fly, which commonly breed and feed on anything to rotting fruits and veg to faeces, hygiene will remove the ability for flies to continue to infest, twined with the fact flies have a very short life cycle, infestations can be cleared efficiently.

Flies have a very highly-evolved evasion reaction which helps to ensure their survival. It is possible to confuse a fly's evasion system by swatting it with two objects simultaneously from different directions.

The holes in a fly swatter minimise the air current which warns the fly of being hit, whilst reducing air resistance and increasing speed of the swat. This evasion reaction can also be used against the fly. Clapping your hands several inches above the fly will cause it to try to escape, usually into your just closing hands.

A successful method of removing flies from living spaces is to use a vacuum cleaner equipped with a long straight tube at the end of a flexible hose. Airborne flies can be chased with the tube and will eventually be sucked into it. Standing flies can be approached slowly with the tube and often they will not fly away and will be sucked into it.

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Flies Pictures

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