!: The Common Housefly Can Make You Ill

Not considered by most to be a pest, the house fly is still capable of making you sick. They feed off garbage and even excrement and then carry these virus and bacteria laden germs to any surface the light on. Eye infections, dysentery, diarrhea and food poisoning are just a few of the pathogens that can be deposited when a fly decides to land on our food. If that is not enough to make a person realize the importance of ridding our homes of flies, then I am at a loss as to what will.

For millions of year these germ bearing winged pests have been zipping past our heads like a jet plane on a serious mission. They seem to love people, or rather driving them to the edge of insanity with their constant buzzing. They don't bite which is probably their only saving feature. What they do manage is to regurgitate their digestive juices wherever they land and then drink it back up. After the house fly eats, it lays its eggs in excrement. A single female housefly is capable of laying as many as 500 eggs, with about 75 or a hundred in a batch. No wonder the inventor of the fly swatter was considered ingenious.

The development of flies is by metamorphosis but their life span is only about two to four weeks. Less of them are seen during cold weather as they lie dormant during cold months. Still, they can survive the cold as larvae or pupae.

Getting rid of flies can be a daunting task due to their nature of proliferation. There are things to slow down the growth to be done. Keep garbage in sealed bags or covered cans. Keep those cans as far from yore house as possible. If you have a pet, clean up after they defecate, as flies find animal waste a delicacy.

Flies can enter your home through ridiculously small spaces go get your caulk gun handy and seal those portals closed. Keep screens free of holes and seal areas where a wire enters your house.

For inside your home, fly paper can be used, and an ultraviolet light will zap them as soon as they are drawn to it. Outside, you can use an inverted cone trap. Bait can be of a sweet nature, which a fly loves, or even meat. These traps are most effective when placed at intervals of 30 feet around your home. Leave insecticide spray as your last resort. Flies are bad enough without using chemicals in your home.