adpapa Editor
25 March 2021
Finally, the warm season arrives, also this year it seems that the ugly clouds have convinced themselves to leave the field to the sun and the first warmth, but this inevitably also involves the return of many unwanted, as well as annoying, insects. The flies, for example, in this period begin to populate our homes and annoy us with their presence.
Flies and midges, in fact, during the summer they reproduce very quickly, just think that the larvae manage to develop in about 24 hours, and as if this were not enough, we add to the account that a fly can arrive to lay about 500 eggs. per day. It is a matter of doing a trivial multiplication to understand what can happen.
So here we are as Melbourne Pest Control, we arm ourselves with shovels, both manual and electric, with insecticides, but nothing, the flies are always there, and that swarm of midges that dance on our fruit and vegetables just doesn’t want to feel like leaving, like do you get rid of flies and midges?
Getting rid of flies seems easy!
Sticky paper, DIY traps, insecticides and so forth, the fight against flies and gnats are beginning. But why are they now invading our homes in war gear? Easy, because they are hungry and this warmth is great for their reproduction, as we said before. So, you may go into the kitchen, go get that beautiful apple you wanted, and you find it full of midges.
Not only do you like the apple, but they also like it, you will have to clean it up well. Flies and midges are attracted to ripening fruit, sugars entice them a lot, as well as sweet drinks such as fruit juices, wine, juices and so on. Hopping from one fruit to another, however, these insects contaminate our food, even if the bacteria they carry, in this case, are not dangerous for human health, but accelerate the process of ripening and therefore decomposition of the fruit, ruining it.
Eliminating these annoying insects is difficult, to be able to do it in the best way according to our situation, we must know them well.
We know the annoying flies
Flies are present practically everywhere, although they differ in species depending on the location in which they are found. Knowing their habits and their reproductive cycle is important to be able to fight them effectively or prevent an infestation.
For example, on average a fly has a lifespan of about 30 days. There are four stages for completing a complete cycle: egg, larva, pupa, adult specimen. But all of them are attracted to food, as we have seen, and this means that if we have something in the house that they consider palatable, they will give us torment.
Who does not remember the hot summers out in the garden, or on the veranda, when flies arrived hungry with the large slice of watermelon. You tried to chase them away with your hand, but these, tenacious, always landed again on the same point. At that point, the nice uncle arrived with a rag! A sharp blow and it squashed the fly on your arm.
There were even competitions between cousins and brothers who killed the most flies, all relegated to a corner, in religious and composed counts, until the winner of the singular tournament was decreed. Fortunately, today we have many more tools to combat the annoying insect, be it the electrified cages, which also serve to attract mosquitoes, or the handy sticky papers to hang on the veranda, even if they are not very pleasant to see.
But let’s go back to the typology of flies, let’s see some of them with their relative habits.
Horsefly
This insect is not only annoying, it is a real torment. They are generally found in the countryside, where there are flocks or grazing animals they are considered specific parasites of these animals. Why are they annoying? Because they bite, their mouthparts are equipped with very small gills that act as blades and when they bite they hurt, cattle can also have a decrease in weight due to their bites.
They are quite large flies, measuring up to 25 mm in length and have a colour that changes from black to dark brown. If we see this fly around let’s keep away, it is not dangerous for humans but it hurts!
Housefly
And here she is, our inseparable companion, the housefly. This insect is attracted to all kinds of foods. They reproduce very quickly, and they do so in plant material, especially wet and rotting, just think of how they buzz around the wet bins! Generally the female deposits groups of about 150 eggs, these hatch in less than 72 hours, sometimes 8 hours are enough. The larvae mature between 3 and 60 days, while the pupae between 3 and 28 days. They are black, with some sort of fur around the back and are very common.
These flies are very annoying, they pretend to stay inside our homes, they are found on furnishings, walls, floors, in short, everywhere, while at night they appreciate resting places close to the floor and close to food.
There are many other types of flies, but these examined are certainly among the most popular.
Natural methods for eliminating flies
One of the so-called grandmother’s remedies is to mix vinegar and dish soap in a bowl. In practice, this remedy works like this: the soap reduces what is the tension of the vinegar surface, in this way, when the fly lands on the surface of the liquid, attracted to it, they will slide inside it and will not be able more to break free. Does it work? Ni, the flies have gotten a lot smarter than our dear grandmothers.
Homemade traps
One of the natural remedies against flies seems to work quite well, always in the time of the grandmother, is that which consists in putting a liquid that is palatable to flies, such as a fruit juice, and then covering the bowl with cling film. Then make small holes in the film: the flies will be attracted to the liquid, they will enter inside but will no longer be able to get out. Here, too, try to know.
Natural repellents
Then there are natural repellents that serve to keep them from approaching, such as cloves. This smell is very unpleasant to flies and therefore they tend not to get close to the source. Just place the cloves on the windowsills and near the entrances to the house. Here too it must be said that if this remedy was infallible 50 years ago, today’s flies, accustomed to smog and particulate matter, could laugh in front of cloves.
The pyrethrum, all the flies come back
Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide. This is preferably used in the evening so that the heat of the sun does not reduce its effectiveness. It can be purchased directly in spray, both in the ready-to-use and concentrated version, to be diluted with water, and sprayed around the house. If it works, it depends on several factors, you can try.
Fly infestation, you need a professional
All of these listed remedies are fine if no real infestation is going on. In this case, it is necessary to resort to the help of a Flies Pest Control Melbourne because the risk that the infestation becomes irrepressible is high. We’ve seen how flies reproduce with some speed, so it’s easy to make a not-so-pleasant guess.
In the beginning, you can also try home remedies, but at some point, if you notice that the situation does not improve, and indeed, it is getting worse, it is good to rely on whoever is competent. A pest control specialist carries out an inspection, assesses the extent of the infestation and chooses the products and the pest control strategy best suited to the situation. This is the only way to get rid of flies for good.
It is understood that one must try to prevent their arrival as much as possible, by preserving the food, leaving no food residues, crumbs on the ground, animal excrement in the garden, systematically emptying the waste bin or sealing it well until the day of collection. . Cleanliness and hygiene are essential. Finally, it is a good idea to place mosquito nets that help to contain the presence of flies inside the houses.
