A foul rotting piece of organic matter (from food, to feces, and everything in between) is probably the reason why the house flies are growing at an alarming rate in your home. It is the perfect breeding ground for houseflies and they will show up near and far to take advantage of the filth that is available to them.
Use a shallow dish bowl and fill it with an inch of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar. Next, add some fruit-scented dish soap. You can leave the dish uncovered or tightly covered with plastic wrap. Make sure to poke a few holes in it to attract the flies.
Large flies including houseflies, bottle or blow flies and flesh flies are also called “filth flies” because they breed in filth such as manure, human excreta, dumpsters, garbage, and decaying vegetation, causing a food safety risk.
Answer: What you have seen are probably cluster flies. They are sometimes mistaken for house flies because they look similar to the common house fly, but they have a completely different life cycle. These flies are most common inside houses this time of year.
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.
The Cluster Fly Life Cycle
The larvae will then pupate in the soil for 11-14 days, after which a new generation of adult cluster flies emerge. From egg to death, the cluster fly lifespan lasts from one to three months.
House flies often grow no larger than ¼ of an inch long, while cluster flies grow to be twice as large, measuring ½ of an inch long. House flies are gray in color, while most cluster flies appear black. Additionally, cluster flies have golden hairs growing on their body whereas house flies do not.
While cluster flies aren't harmful to humans and don't reproduce inside invaded homes, they're considered a nuisance due to their mass hibernation. Their collective emergence in spring results in swarms clustering around windows.
Insecticides can kill the flies harboring within walls. Still, it's best to avoid insecticides because many dead or dying flies can attract secondary pests, such as beetles and rodents. As you get rid of them, more are likely to emerge, causing an ongoing process of swatting and vacuuming.
Through Cracks and Crevices
You may not think much about cracks or open spaces in the window sills or walls, but flies and other bugs will jump at the opportunity to make their way through these little spaces. They can also find their way in through the vents in your home!
Eucalyptus oil is a good option, but you can also use lavender, citrus, pine, clove, peppermint, and thyme essential oils. Most flies hate these scents, so the oils will act as a fly repellent.
6. ACV to the Rescue! Apple cider vinegar is an old-timey remedy that many say helps with mosquitoes, black flies, and ticks. Start three to four days before your planned outdoor activity and take a tablespoon of vinegar three to four times a day to help your skin ward off biting bugs on its own.
Common signs
Small dark clusters of spots (the size of a pinhead) – Look in light fittings, upper areas of the room and wall surfaces. Check areas that are difficult to clean thoroughly such as drainage channels, drains and sub-floor cavities where the contents of broken drains may be accumulating.
Flies are just like us – they spend the entire day buzzing around with their friends and get pretty tired at bedtime. Before sunset, a sleepy fly will try and find a safe place to rest. Some favourite places are on the undersides of leaves, twigs, and branches, or even in tall grass or under rocks.
The black or brown flies/moths you see in your drain are most likely “drain flies” that live on decomposing, organic matter in your drains, which explains why they hang out near sinks or showers. These flies are also referred to as: Moth flies.
Vinegar has many uses around the home, one of which is as a natural bug deterrent. Vinegar, a common household item with numerous uses, also doubles as a fly repellent. It's an affordable and easy-to-use solution for those pesky flying invaders.
Stock up on essential oils that flies don't like (including lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass, and basil),1 and use them to make your own fly repellent spray. To mix, just fill a spray bottle with water, and add enough essential oil to fragrance.
The only maintenance required is to gently squeeze the lemon once a day to release the juice. Niecy said this is a method that can be used both indoors and outside to keep flies at bay. Flies are revolted by citrus and clove scents, as are mosquitoes, making it the perfect tonic to leave on your back veranda in summer.
Sometimes there is something attracting them close to your window or door on the outside, and they make their way in,' he says. This could be as simple as some garbage in the can near your window or some cracks in your drainpipe. 'Some flies like drain flies can enter through hairline cracks in a drain pipe.
First, check your screens and windows for holes, and remind your family to close the door behind them. Then, make sure your house is clean. House flies are attracted to things that make you go "ew," like pet waste, drain gunk (especially if you have a garbage disposal), overripe produce, trash cans, and sticky spills.
House flies typically lay eggs on animal feces and garbage. White, legless maggots (the larval stage) hatch from the eggs and grow to about ½ inch.
During summer, cluster flies are active outdoors, where they are parasitic on earthworms. Adult females lay their eggs near the openings of earthworm burrows. Upon hatching, the young larvae move into the burrows and penetrate the earthworms' bodies. After feeding on the worms, the fly larvae pupate in the soil.
Horse flies can be easily identified by their large size compared to other common fly pests such as stable flies or horn flies. Most species are approximately ½ of an inch to 1 ¼ inches in length. Horse flies have a robust body that is usually covered with small hairs.