Fly Control in Your Home & Garden

When controlling pests, it is important to be observant, and to gain some knowledge about the insects that you are trying to control. Flies are not deliberately trying to torment us, but are merely doing what comes naturally to them. If we learn a little about the life cycle of pest flies, and their behaviour, then we can use that knowledge against them.

Sometimes flies appear to be causing a problem, but actually aren't. For example, during summer you may see large numbers of flies (Blow Flies and House Flies) on the walls and windows on the outside of your house. They are simply trying to keep cool on a hot day and when the weather cools down, they usually leave. Even if they don't leave, if your doors and windows are well sealed, they won't be able to enter the house.

To help ensure flies stay out of the home, create a barrier with Yates Home Pest Long Term Control Barrier Spray. Spray typical outdoor entry and resting places, including door jams, flyscreens, eaves, awnings and around exterior light fittings. It will create a barrier against flies outdoors for up to 3 months. For indoor fly control, spray Yates Home Pest Long Term Control Barrier Spray on common resting places such as curtain rods, around window and door frames and flyscreens. Yates Home Pest Long Term Control Barrier Spray will help control flies indoors for up to 12 months. 

If House Flies are noticed on indoor or outdoor plants, it's likely that they're attracted to a sweet substance called honeydew, which is excreted by sap feeding insects such as Aphids and Scale. It's important to control the insect that is producing the honeydew (once the honeydew disappears, so will the Flies). But in the meantime, Flies can be controlled on plants with Yates Pyrethrum Insect Pest Gun.   

Flies are members of the insect order Diptera. The word 'diptera' is derived from the Greek words for two (di) and wings (ptera). Flies have one pair of wings (i.e. two wings) while all other flying insects have two pairs of wings (i.e. four wings).

House Flies (Musca domestica) have been associated with human activity for a long time, and arrived here in Australia with early European settlers. House Flies are now naturalised in nearly every country in the world.

Bush Flies (Musca vetustissima) are those pesky little flies that get in our eyes during summer, and are largely responsible for the 'Great Aussie Salute'.

Blow Flies (Calliphora spp.) are large, bristly, buzzing flies that are drawn to kitchen windows or BBQs when meat is cooking. There are about 70 species in the genus Calliphora found in Australia.

Stable Flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) are blood-sucking flies that bite people and domestic animals. Stable Flies are also associated with livestock (hence the common name), and were introduced into Australia in the late 19^th century.

Biting Midges (Culicoides spp.) aka 'Sand Flies', are tiny blood-suckers that torment people at dawn or dusk outdoors. They are so tiny that in other countries they are called no-see-ums - you don't see them, you just feel them. There are several genera of Biting Midges in the family Ceratopogonidae – one of the most common ones that impacts humans is Culicoides. More than 150 species occur in Australia.

House Fly

• The adult House Fly is about 5 - 7 mm long with reddish eyes, is greyish on top with four black stripes on the thorax, and yellowish underneath. Eggs are white and about 2 mm long. Larvae are creamy coloured maggots up to about 10 mm long. Pupae are dark brown and about 2 mm long.

Bush Fly

• The adult Bush Fly is similar in appearance to the House Fly. It is 4 – 6 mm long and has two black stripes on the thorax which split into four - resembling two parallel 'Y's. Eggs, larvae and pupae are similar in size and appearance to those of the House Fly.

Blow Flies

• Adult Blow Flies are typically large, robust, and hairy flies. Common species are about 11mm long – almost twice the size of the House Fly and its relatives. Eggs, larvae and pupae are similarly supersized.

Stable Fly

• The adult Stable Fly is similar to a House Fly and is typically 5 – 7 mm long. Stable Flies have a chequer board pattern on the abdomen which is absent in the House Fly. All other life stages are similar to the House Fly.

Biting Midge aka 'Sand Fly'

• Adult Biting Midges are about 1 - 3 mm long, greyish, and often have spotted wings. Larvae are small (2 – 5 mm), aquatic, gilled and worm-like.

Flies typically have a life cycle of complete metamorphosis - egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most female flies are capable of laying hundreds of eggs, and most flies are at their peak during the warmer months of the year.

House Flies tend to congregate where humans are and may breed in all sorts of organic and food waste, including in poorly-managed open compost bins and animal droppings. Adult House Flies need to feed before breeding and are especially drawn to sweet foods in houses. There may be anywhere between 10 and 20 generations per year, depending on the climate.

Bush Flies breed in animal dung and large populations can build up around intensive livestock operations. Bush Flies are present all year round in northern Australia, but populations may decline during the wet season, especially in coastal areas. In the southern third of the country they are present over the warmer months of the year, but cannot survive southern winters.

Blow Flies breed in carrion and the females can lay live young. Adult Blow Flies are attracted to flowers where they feed on nectar, and because they are hairy they are very efficient pollinators. Pollination, along with the other ecological service Blow Flies perform - breaking down animal carcasses - makes them beneficial insects rather than pests. If their buzzing annoys you, just screen them out of the house.

Stable Flies have piercing mouthparts which they use to feed on blood. They can bite humans, but are more of a problem for domestic animals and livestock. Stable Flies are unusual bloodsuckers in that both sexes feed on blood - usually only females feed on blood. Stable Flies breed in moist, decaying organic matter such as manure mixed with straw, silage, crop residue, hay, grain, manure and soiled animal bedding.

Biting Midges breed in the sandy edges of rivers and estuaries and are particularly problematic to communities located in such environments. Only the female bites, because she needs the protein in blood to lay fertile eggs. Feeding time is usually dawn and dusk.

No plants are directly impacted by these flies. The most serious pest fly which impacts plants is the Fruit Fly.

• Maggots appearing in kitchen tidies or compost bins.
• Fly droppings ('spotting') on window sills or benches.
• Bite marks on human skin or on pets' ears.
• The smell of decomposing carcasses.
• Flies circling over animal droppings.

• Create an outdoor barrier for up to 3 months with Yates Home Pest Long Term Control Barrier Spray. Spray typical outdoor entry and resting places, including door jams, flyscreens, eaves, awnings and around exterior light fittings. For indoor fly control spray Yates Home Pest Long Term Control Barrier Spray on common fly resting places such as curtain rods, around window and door frames and flyscreens. It will help kill and control flies indoors for up to 12 months.
• Check all screens on windows and doors are intact.
• Use sealed compost bins, or if using an open compost system turn it frequently to make it too hot for House Flies to breed in.
• Seal all gaps around doors and windows to prevent House Flies and Blow Flies coming in.
• Seal gaps to prevent rodents or possums entering roof or under-floor spaces. A dead rodent or possum is a magnet for Blow Flies.
• Change pet bedding and clean the area regularly to prevent Stable Flies breeding.
• Clear up animal droppings frequently.
• Screen outdoor entertainment areas if Biting Midges are an issue where you live. Standard mesh will not stop Midges - you need a finer 'midge' mesh which is 20 x 20 per inch.
• Wear insect screen hats when outdoors, to prevent Bush Flies crawling in your eyes.
• Wear repellent and/or long sleeved clothing to prevent Midge bites when outdoors.
• Contact your local shire or city council for Biting Midge information in your particular area.

Another fly that is commonly found indoors is the Vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster). They're often mistakenly referred to as fruit flies, which plague outdoor fruit trees and vegie patches. Vinegar flies are small pale brown insects, around 2.5 mm long, with bright red eyes and they love the smells coming from your fruit bowl, kitchen sink, compost bucket and garbage bin. Vinegar flies have a rapid life cycle, which can be as little as seven days from an egg to a mature fly during warm weather. Female flies lay eggs into ripe and rotting fruit and other organic material (such as your bin and compost bucket) and the female fly will also include some of her faeces on the egg. Those eggs hatch into small larvae (tiny white grubs around 3 mm long) which feed on the sugars and yeast organisms in the fermenting food.

To limit the number of vinegar flies, regularly dispose of past-their-best fruits and vegetables and place a lid on your compost bucket. To further reduce these irritating 'fruit flies', use a trap. Designed in the shape of an attractive bright red apple, the Yates Home Pest Indoor 'Fruit Fly' Trap contains a food-based pesticide-free liquid lure.
The flies enter the trap, are captured and can't continue to breed. Each trap contains a lure that lasts for up to 45 days and has a built-in window for monitoring the lure level. Place the traps upright on a solid surface, remove the cap from the lure bottle and insert the bottle tip into the centre hole of the trap. Empty half of the bottle into each trap and place the traps in areas where flies have been seen. Discard the traps after 45 days of use.