Flies
Of the thousands of species of flies, only a few are common pests in and around the home. Some of the more common nuisance flies are the house fly, the face fly, the stable fly, the little house fly, and several species of garbage fly. These pests breed in animal wastes and decaying organic material from which they can pick up bacteria and viruses that may cause human diseases. In addition, adult stable flies (sometimes called "biting flies") feed on mammalian blood and can give a painful bite.
Identification
The house fly is a cosmopolitan companion of humans and domestic animals. House flies are generally found in greatest numbers during the hotter summer months. House flies are less than 3⁄8 inch in length and have four dark stripes down the back of their thorax. House flies have sponging mouthparts and eat solid food by first liquefying it with their saliva. House flies can also regurgitate onto a solid food to assist with the liquefying process.
All flies undergo complete complete metamorphosis with egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages in their development. The female fly deposits her eggs in animal waste or moist organic material where the larvae, or "maggots," complete their development, feeding on bacteria associated with their developmental site. When the maggots have completed their development and are ready to undergo the next step in their metamorphosis, they convert their last larval skin into a hardened shell within which the pupa develops. Within the puparium, the pupa transforms into an adult fly, which pops off the end of the puparium and emerges. Body fluids pump into the fly’s veins, causing the wings to unfold and expand and allowing them to dry and harden so that the adult can fly. The rate of fly development is dependent upon temperature, and under optimal summertime conditions flies may develop from egg to adult in as little as 7 days. Once the female fly has mated, she can lay several batches of eggs, typically containing over 100 eggs each.
While humans commonly find adult flies to be the most bothersome, the larval stage should be the prime target for control efforts. Elimination of larval habitat is the preferred method of pest fly suppression. By removing material in which the larvae develop, the life cycle of the fly can be broken, preventing subsequent production of adult flies. While chemical pesticides may be effective for suppressing adult fly populations in some situations, they are not a substitute for proper sanitation and aggressive elimination of nuisance fly developmental sites. Because flies can quickly develop resistance to insecticides, use them only as a last resort to obtain immediate control of adult flies.
