The House Fly, Most Common of Domestic Flies

Flies have long been considered annoying, yucky, and nasty bugs. The most common of domestic flies is the house fly. One of the reasons we don’t like them hanging around is they can carry multiple diseases. They will munch on most anything and they breed in warm moist environments.

The house fly loves manure which is why you see them in abundance on farms. If you live on or near a farm, I’m sure you are quite familiar with these little flying creatures. The female can lay between 300-600 eggs, typically over a 4 day period of time that will hatch in less than a day. So with those stats, it’s no wonder there are lots of them around.

Besides manure, I’m sure you’ve seen flies buzzing around the garbage, food left out on the counter, decaying stuff and in other places around the home.

Stages of a Housefly’s Life

So let’s take a look at a housefly’s life. There are four stages:

The egg is where it starts. Eggs are less than half an inch in size and white. If the females lays over 300 in a day, that’s a lot of flies around.
Larva also known as maggots (yucky and nasty) come out of the eggs within 24 hours. Larva like warm, moist environments and eat whatever they can find.
After the larva stage, they move into what is called the Pupa stage. This is where the final development stage takes place before hatching and becoming an adult house fly.
Stage four is the adult housefly and the life expectancy is about one month, giving them plenty of time to bug us.

Fun Facts: A female fly will start laying her eggs after just a couple of days after hatching and becoming an adult. Flies also tend to hang around the place they started and the areas they breed in but they can become adventuresome if the need arises and these little guys can fly quite a few miles in a day.

Diseases a House Fly Carries

So we know that a house fly likes a warm environment of not so desirable places. They eat poop, feed on sores, and eat off dead animals and many other icky things so it should be no surprise that house flies carry communicable diseases.

There are many diseases they can carry such salmonella, possibly TB (tuberculosis), dysentery, cholera, cause diarrhea, eye irritations, and much more.

Controlling House Flies

Instead of chasing house flies all around the house trying to swat them, the best method of keeping them away is to:

Find a useful fly trap
Clean up after yourself
Wipe down countertops, tabletops, etc where food has been served
Keep frozen foods covered while defrosting
Frequently empty the garbage and keep surrounding area clean
Keep floors clean
If you have pets, keep their food covered
If you have an indoor kitchen composter, keep the lid securely on (do not leave the lid off for even a short period of time) and empty it regularly.

No matter how much you try house flies will still find a way in your house and they’ll be an irritating nuisance to you outdoors.

You can also try natural ways to keep them away by planting lavender close to entryway doors or bringing dried lavender or basil into the kitchen.

Yes, the most common of domestic flies, the house fly, is a yucky, nasty bug!