Enviroguard Pest Guides
Flies
| House Fly (Musca domestica) Appearance • Adult: 5-8mm in length; thorax grey with 4 narrow stripes; abdomen buff or yellow; wing tips slightly pointed. • Larva: White legless maggot tapering to a point at the head end. 2 spiracle 'spots' at the hind end. 12mm long when mature. |
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• Found in almost all types of premises.
• Lays eggs in decaying matter or faeces, which develop into maggot larvae.
| Bluebottle or Blowfly (Calliphora vomitoria) • Adult: 6-12mm in length; metallic blue colour. • Larva: Similar to the house fly larva, but bigger (18mm when mature). |
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• Breeds in mostly meat-derived substances, sometimes cheese.
• Commonly lays eggs in/on carrion (dead rodents/birds, etc).
Overview
Large numbers of flies buzzing around the home can be a real nuisance. However, some species of fly also pose a serious health risk. House flies and bluebottles feed by vomiting digestive juices onto the surface of their food and sucking up the resulting liquid. Flies are a vector of many diseases, including salmonella, dysentery, typhoid and cholera. Parasitic worms and their eggs may also be carried by flies. House flies are often responsible for the contamination and loss of farm produce, and are frequently the subject of complaints to environmental health authorities. Cluster flies (Pollenia rudis) pose no real health threat, but often overwinter inside homes and can occur in very large numbers in the home as they emerge in the spring.
Read more at the British Pest Control Association.
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