Jacksonville Homeowner's Ultimate Fly Control Guide

The Common House Fly

The common house fly needs no introduction or description, but just in case there are any questions, here you go.

• They have small oval-shaped bodies

• Two wings

• Six legs

• Antennae

• Dark gray

• Between ⅛ and ¼ inches long

These pesky little flies aren't just annoying, but they can be dangerous as well. It's true. They carry a host of different types of pathogens. As you know, they land on everything from your kitchen counters to your food. Flies like to hang out on animal feces and dead animals, but they don't just hang out there. When they fly in through your open door, they are bringing with them a whole host of diseases. Some that you may recognize are E. coli, salmonella, and cholera.

This pest poops everywhere it lands; this is commonly referred to as flyspecks. They also have interesting eating habits. They will eat something, then regurgitate it, then eat it again. Each time they do this, germs are being spread.

Let's not forget or downplay the annoyance factor. Flies can drive you crazy! You could almost forget how dangerous they could be because you cannot think straight with all that buzzing.

How Do They Get In?

Flies are outdoor insects, but they get hot or cold as we do. If they are flying around your home and feel a cool breeze coming from your home, they will naturally fly towards it and right into your home. The same is true when it turns cold outside. They will be drawn to the warmth of the house. The basic ways they gain entry are.

• Through the front door

• An open window or damaged screens

• Garage or patio door

Taking basic common-sense measures like not leaving the doors open will go a long way towards keeping flies out.

Basic Prevention Ideas

Once a fly has gotten into your home, they will adapt and eat whatever you leave lying around. Being mindful and keeping a tidy home is an excellent place to start.

• Regularly pick up pet waste.

• Clean kitchen trash can and take out trash often.

• Don't leave food lying around, and cover food and drinks.

• Repair screens and broken seals.

• Rinse bottles before putting them into recycling bins.

• Wipe up spills and crumbs.

• Clean BBQ grill.

There is another way to keep the fly population down. Spiders… yep, we said spiders. Annually spiders consume between 400-800 million metric tons of insects. For comparison, humans only consume 400 million tons of meat and fish annually. So those tiny spiders are eating double what we eat. Can you imagine that many more flies in the world?

Let The Pros Help

If you don't want to rely on a growing spider infestation, you can use fly strips and traps or other over-the-counter store-bought pesticides. Prevention tips will also help, but you will likely still have flies even with all of this. Remember, you live in Florida. Flies are in paradise down here. But fear not, the team at Lindsey Pest Services are fly removal experts. We can't promise you will never have another fly in your house, but we can get pretty close. Call to set up a free fly extermination estimate today.