Flies

Common house flies can fly into a property from close by where they have been breeding in decaying organic matter (such as meat, fruit, vegetables) or faeces. These include compost piles, farms, road kill, rubbish bins – in fact anywhere there is decaying organic matter, including organic residue in your own bins. Fruit flies like sugary substances and feed and breed on overripe fruit, spilled soft drinks and alcohol residue. Drain or filth flies, as the name suggests seek moist areas to lay their eggs such as drains.

Yes, flies can carry and transmit pathogens and diseases like Salmonella and E. coli. They don’t frequent the cleanest environments, breeding in decaying matter and faeces. Whatever surfaces flies visit and crawl on, bacteria can stick to their bodies, especially their legs and wings, to then be deposited on food and clean surfaces elsewhere.

Swarming flies in your property means dozens of fly eggs have recently hatched and developed into adult flies close by in gardens, allotments or your own garage or attic. They could have bred in fresh manure, rotting food stuffs, rubbish, and decaying organic materials and are now looking to feed so they in turn can breed.

A large gathering of flies in your loft space, attic or wall voids particularly in autumn is likely to be cluster flies. Common cluster flies (Polleniarudis) are large and black and look very similar to house flies so can easily be mistaken for them. If you seal cracks and crevices around windows, under eaves, fascia’s and door frames this can help to prevent them entering. Once cluster flies are inside you can use DIY direct contact sprays on visible adults, but for those flies already hidden and hibernating you will need the expertise of a professional pest controller to eliminate them completely.

If you inadvertently consume the fruit fly larvae they can cause discomfort and diarrhoea.Tiny fruit flies, also known as bar flies thrive on high-fructose substances like over-ripe fruit, juices and alcohol residues - sweet fruity liquors such as Cointreau or Vermouth. They are also attracted to food residue in sinks and drains. They have the potential to cross contaminate food and drink with bacteria and pathogens. Female fruit flies lay eggs in ripening fruit and sweet fermenting liquids (open liquor and syrup bottles for example). Once hatched the larvae feed directly on the over ripened food or sugary liquids.