Flies
FLIES - Some of their more common names are gnats, no see-ums, house flies, and biting flies. Flies are an extremely annoying pest but more importantly they are excellent transmitters of disease, both mechanically and biologically. Flies are an indoor and outdoor pest. They breed in human and animal excrement and garbage from which they can carry disease causing organisms that lead to sickness and often death from diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, and typhoid fever. They can transmit disease in a number of ways: on their mouth parts, their bites, through their vomitus, on their body parts, on their feet, and through their feces. They can even transmit organisms that cause plant diseases in crops, and the blood sucking flies can annoy cattle so much that they cause a decrease in milk production, cause myiasis, and can transmit anthrax. The Black fly, a blood sucker, is second only to mosquitoes as bloodsucking pests of people. Because there are so many types of flies we will mostly discuss the filth flies, such as the house fly(top picture).
BIOLOGY- Flies belong to the order Diptera. They have 2 wings and three body regions: the head, thorax, and abdomen. They have very large compound eyes(bottom picture) which make up most of their head allowing them to see almost completely around them. They have 4 life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult(middle picture). They develop by complete metamorphosis. Flies are phototropic; that is they generally move towards light so they are inactive at night, unless there is artificial light. Flies will generally lay about 100 eggs in batches in decaying organic matter, such as human or animal excrement and plant material or garbage. In the summer they will hatch in 12-24 hours. They could reach adulthood in a week, and then 15 hours later they can mate. Manure is an excellent breeding place where as many as 1200 larvae per pound could be. Garbage and pet manure are almost always the biggest source of houseflies in urban communities. Under favorable conditions, adult flies can live up to 70 days. They love high temperatures and low humidity, which is why they are so abundant in desert areas.
CONTROL - Controlling flies, especially the house fly, is so important because of their close association with humans and their food. This actually makes them one of the most important pests to control. Sanitation is key to controlling flies. Keeping manure and garbage picked up will do the most. Screens on windows and doors will help keep them out of the structure. At businesses air curtains, fly light traps, and automatic aerosol dispensers are commonly used. There are various bait traps available such as The Fly Magnet and The Gold Stick fly traps. There are also fly baits available such as the new and extremely popular Maxforce Fly Spot Bait that is mixed with water in a small sprayer and applied in spots about 3 feet in diameter away from where you dont want the flies and also there is the Maxforce Fly Granular Bait for businesses to sprinkle around their dumpster areas. You can also use residual insecticides on their resting areas such as Onslaught and Demand CS which are microencapsulated for extra long residual, and also Suspend SC, Talstar Pro, and Evercide or Conquer are good choices too. Of course you can use general purpose aerosols such as PT-565 Plus XLO and CB-80 for spraying areas to kill them. These can be used like foggers with their special nozzle or as a crack and crevice spray too with their other spray nozzle. Foggers like the PT Pro Control Plus can also be used for a wide open space but usually the others are better suited and more cost efficient. We also have EcoPCO WP-X and EcoPCO ACU which are natural insecticides and better for the environment. They are made from plant oils.
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