How to Identify and Eliminate Fly Infestations in Your Home

Flies are familiar companions of humans, especially during the summer season. Their rapid reproduction makes them persistent neighbors, and their lifestyle creates numerous problems. Constant contact with trash, feces, and leftover food allows them to carry harmful bacteria on their legs and proboscis. It's no wonder that during hot weather, their presence becomes a real headache for residents of homes and apartments. To avoid infections and maintain sanitary conditions, it is crucial to recognize where larvae develop and to eliminate nests promptly.

An Insect with a Bad Reputation

The genus Musca, which includes the common housefly, has existed on Earth for over 240 million years. Modern adult flies live briefly—around 19 days—but in that time, they can produce thousands of offspring, which makes them so numerous and intrusive.

Flies are unpleasant for humans for many reasons: traces of feces on walls, constant buzzing, and their habit of landing on food. They can carry serious diseases like cholera and typhoid, and their larvae can damage crops. All of this has cemented the fly's reputation as a dirty and annoying insect.

However, their role in nature is not entirely negative. Flies assist in pollinating strongly scented plants, consume waste, help recycle organic matter, and their larvae serve as food for fish. In medicine, sterile-grown larvae are used to clean wounds, accelerating tissue healing.

How to Locate a Fly Nest

Flies are attracted to warm, moist, and odorous environments. They lay eggs in trash bins, overripe fruits, animal cages, or dirty bedding. The eggs look like small whitish dots about a millimeter in size, and within a few days, larvae up to 9 mm long emerge. These worm-like creatures feed on organic matter before pupating and emerging as adult flies. In hot and humid weather, the complete cycle from egg to adult can take as little as ten days. This means nests must be detected and destroyed as quickly as possible to prevent exponential population growth.

Fighting the Nest

Once a nest is found, immediate action is essential. Sometimes it can be removed using a vacuum cleaner with a bag, which should then be sealed and destroyed. In homes, insecticidal sprays, including natural options, can be applied to eggs and larvae. In severe infestations, smoke-generating products can eliminate large numbers of adult flies at once. If the problem gets out of control, it's best to call professional pest controllers who follow sanitary protocols.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Preventing flies is often simpler than fighting them. During hot weather, avoid leaving waste exposed, take out the trash regularly, and inspect fruits for spoilage. Overripe or spoiled products should be discarded immediately. Composters for vegetable and fruit scraps should be covered with a layer of grass to speed decomposition and reduce odors, but meat and fish should not be added, as they attract rodents.

Flies are highly sensitive to certain scents. Basil, garlic, onion, or geranium can naturally repel them. Mosquito screens on windows, especially in kitchens, provide an additional barrier to keep these pests at bay.