Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me!
Don’t you just love the summer? Bring out the shorts, munch on some refreshing watermelon and the kids are out of school! (Well, hooray for their teachers) While these warmer months bring out the slip and slides and top-down cars, those pesky flies come out too! Isn’t it annoying when houseflies get indoors and refuse to leave? Well, keep reading to see how to and why you should eliminate and prevent them.
House flies are gray in color and can grow up to a half-inch long. They can live up to 50 days indoors as long as there is food available. In addition to being irritating, they carry disease-causing germs.
Houseflies have spread around the world to nearly every region we inhabit. They can be a real problem, especially when sanitation is poor. Houseflies carry more pathogens than cockroaches, including many that cause diarrhea and are associated with more than 500,000 deaths a year. Read more at Discover Magazine…
Half a million deaths annually is certainly not a small number. You may think you have a clean house but if you have pets, you need to be extra vigilant about cleaning because flies breed in animal feces among other things. Flies also carry diseases that affect humans as well as pets.
Now that we understand how terrible the seemingly harmless house fly can be, it’s important to figure out how to prevent them in the first place.
Prevention tip: Maintain a clean house. Dispose of pet waste properly. Seal garbage cans tightly. Install screens over windows and doors and be aware of other common insect entry points. Read full post at BioAdvanced…
So bring out the bleach and give your house a good scrub. If you have any broken screens, repair them. Once they’re fixed or installed, remember to keep them closed. Properly dispose of any food, vegetable or pet waste, and make sure the trash can is sealed well. It’s also important to clean the trash can weekly.
What if you’re smack dab in the middle of what feels like a housefly takeover? What should your course of action be?
When necessary, insecticides can help suppress housefly populations. Fly baits, such as QuickBayt® and Golden Malrin®, are usually sugar-based and contain a compound that attracts the adult flies. Flies that feed on these baits are killed by the insecticide they digest. Read full post at Texas Help…
If you choose to go with fly baits, keep them close to ground level where most flies are found. Also, avoid placing them close to areas where food is prepared or eaten. If you prefer aerosols, you can make a trip to your local grocery store and buy spray pyrethroid-based insecticide. They help to repress house flies indoors.
You’re now armed with information to get you on your way to a (mostly) fly-free summer. Grab a cold glass of lemonade, shut your screen, sit back and enjoy a warm, pest-free evening. If you are dealing with other indoor pests like ants, cockroaches or mosquitoes come along, shoo them away by calling Backyard Bug Patrol.