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How Are Fly Pests Able To Breed Indoors?

Flies, mosquitoes, gnats and most other two-winged insect species belong to the Diptera order of insects. The Diptera order is home to more than 125,000 insect species, a small minority of which are common pests of homes and buildings. Insect pests in the Diptera order are not just a nuisance to humans, but most are also considered a public health threat due to their ability to transmit disease. Surprisingly, mosquito-borne diseases kill millions of people every year, which makes mosquitoes the deadliest organisms in the world. Most fly pests are also medically significant, as their bodies are covered in numerous diseases-causing microorganisms that can wind up on food and indoor surfaces like kitchen counters and food preparation areas. Flies acquire these pathogens by breeding on organic waste, such as excrement, sewage, dead animals, rotting food, garbage, and dead plant matter. Due to their filthy breeding habits, house flies, fruit flies, drain flies, and many other fly pests are known as “filth flies,” and unfortunately, it is not uncommon for filth flies to breed within homes.

Filth fly infestations occur when the pests enter homes from outdoor breeding sites located nearby, such as compost piles and garbage bins in yards. It is also not uncommon for filth flies to breed indoors, as organic waste is often present within homes that are seemingly clean. For example, house flies and fruit flies can lay numerous eggs on rotting food that collects beneath appliances and kitchen wastebaskets. Drain flies and phorid flies breed on the scum that collects in drains and between kitchen tiles. Adult blowfly females frequently enter wall voids and crawl spaces where they lay eggs on dead rodents. Keeping homes well sanitized is clearly the best way to avoid fly infestations, but it is also important to keep flies from accessing garbage bins, compost piles, bundles of lawn litter, and other sources of organic waste in yards. Using caulk or another product to seal cracks, crevices and other potential entry points on the exterior walls of homes will keep flies from gaining indoor access. In some filth fly infestation cases professional pest control intervention is necessary.

Has a reproductive fly population ever been established within your home?