Though it’s small in size, has no venom, and can’t pinch or bite, the lowly blow fly can still do its fair share of damage. They’re attracted to nasty things like sewage, feces, and carrion, and they can track germs into your house after spending all day hanging out in these unpleasant places. Their infestations are also sometimes indicators of other serious issues in your Dallas, TX home – namely rodent or other pest animal corpses rotting in your walls or crawlspaces. Let’s take a look at the blow fly life cycle, the problems they can cause, and what to do about these yucky pests.
Blow Fly Lifecycle
Blow flies aren’t all that different looking from house flies. They’re small, fuzzy, and have spiny legs and large, red eyes just like house flies. However, blow flies are a bit larger than house flies. Also, unlike house flies, blow flies are green, shiny, and metallic; whereas house flies are dull grey or black in color.
The average lifespan of a blowfly is only two to four weeks, but they don’t need long to become endemic in your home. Blow flies lay their eggs in rotting carcasses, meat, open wounds, and other similar environments that will offer food to their carnivorous maggots.
Blow fly larvae mature into adults ten to twelve days after hatching, leaving them mere days or weeks to breed and lay eggs. For female blow flies, this time crunch is no problem. They can lay 250 to 300 eggs apiece, meaning a single female blow fly can fill your home with hundreds of offspring in as little as two weeks.
Dangers Of Blow Flies
The main problem with blow flies is their tendency to spread disease. Since they spend all day hanging out on dung, corpses, rotten meat, etc., these flies track bacteria and viruses everywhere they go. When they land on the surfaces in your home, they leave these germs behind – and because they buzz around all day, landing just about everywhere you can think of, they can contaminate your whole house (including your food stores) in no time. Blow flies are known to spread many dangerous illnesses such as:
- Dysentery
- Diarrhea
- Cholera
- Typhoid
- Leprosy
- Epidemic Conjunctivitis
What To Do About Blow Flies
Signs of a blow fly infestation will be pretty obvious – these flies don’t exactly try to avoid making their presence known. They’ll be flying around everywhere, driving you crazy with their constant buzzing. They often get into your house by slipping through an open door or window. If you have unscreened windows or your window screens are not intact, it’s especially easy for blowflies to come inside. There are a few ways to prevent blow fly infestation:
- Ensure all window screens are tight-fitting and free of holes and rips
- Keep doors shut if they’re not in use
- Cover garbage tightly to reduce blowfly breeding sites
- Keep all food stored in airtight containers to reduce fly attractants
- Fix moisture problems like leaky plumbing or clogged drains
Unfortunately, flies are really good at getting around prevention measures. Even opening the door for a few seconds can be enough opportunity for a female to slip inside and lay her eggs. Once that happens, getting rid of flies can be a problem. Fly baits and traps kill a few individuals – but they also attract more flies – and poisons can be dangerous to pets and kids.
The good news is there’s a better way. Here at All-Safe Pest & Termite, we have over 30 years of experience in safe, effective home pest treatments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We can take care of a house full of flies and make sure they’re gone for good. So give us a call at (972) 945-9226 or visit our contact page at All-Safe Pest & Termite to schedule your service today.