Flies are present all year round, but all of a sudden when summer comes, they are just EVERYWHERE! The main contributing factors are the breeding cycle of flies and the soaring temperatures.
Insects are cold blooded and in summer, when their body temperature rises from the external heat, they become more active. The hotter weather also let’s them seek out cool moist spots, like inside your home, to escape from the sweltering heat and to lay their eggs.
House Fly eggs take around 20 hours to hatch, but when the temperature rises above 37 degrees, can hatch within 8 hours! In extreme hot weather the eggs can mature from larvae to adult fly in as little as 4 days.
The average lifespan of a housefly is 21 days, so each female can lay up to 900 eggs during the summer months!
How to Keep Flies Out This Summer
There are a few things you can implement around your home to prevent flies becoming overpopulated and becoming a nuisance, well, more than usual. Stick to these guidelines and you won’t have to grab for a fly swatter every 5 seconds!
Eliminate breeding areas
Flies lay their eggs in moist, soluble foodstuffs or any standing water so that when they hatch, the larvae have something to feed on. Keeping your kitchen clean and making sure there are no dirty dishes standing around will give them less areas to breed in. Garbage and recycle bins must be sealed tightly and cleaned out regularly.
Control Moisture
Flies need to stay hydrated to stay alive. Look for any sources of uncontrolled moisture, starting in the rooms where flies tend to gather round. Flies only need a tiny amount of moisture to stay hydrated. Even condensation on walls or windows might be enough to lure them.
Starve them
A fly’s diet sounds like a Halloween menu. At the top of their tasty treats are overripe produce, old meat, spoiled milk, fermenting liquids, and other pungent foods. Make sure you remove food items before they get spoiled and dispose of garbage regularly. Clean up food debris and spills as soon as they happen.
These basic sanitation and exclusion measures will certainly help curb your fly infestation, but if you feel you’ve tried everything and they get out of control, Contact Service Master to chat about the best solution for your fly problem – Our advice, based on years of experience, comes at no charge.
