Fly Control Services by Bull Run Turf & Pest Control
Horse Flies and Deer Flies Information
Characteristics:
- Size: Horse flies are 3/4 to 1-1/4 inches long; deer flies are smaller.
- Wings: Clear or solidly colored wings; dark bands across wings in deer flies.
- Eyes: Brightly colored eyes in horse flies; colored eyes similar to horse flies in deer flies.
Habits:
- Intermittent feeders, painful bites.
- Mechanical vectors of some animal and human diseases.
Habitat:
- Larvae in aquatic, semi-aquatic, or terrestrial habitats.
- Adults attracted to humans and animals for blood meals.
Protection for Animals:
- Horse flies and deer flies can be nuisances around swimming pools.
- Animals with access to protection during the day can escape constant attacks.
House Flies Information
Characteristics:
- Size: Up to one-quarter of an inch long.
- Lifespan: 15-25 days.
Habits:
- Feed on liquids, turn solid foods into a liquid for consumption.
- Taste with their feet, highly sensitive to sugar.
Habitat:
- Tend to stay within 1-2 miles of their birthplace, but can migrate up to 20 miles for food.
Threats:
- Carry over 100 different disease-causing germs.
Prevention:
- Vigilant sanitation: remove trash, use well-sealing garbage receptacles.
- Clean up pet waste immediately.
- Use fine mesh screens on doors and windows.
Drain Flies Information
Characteristics:
- Appearance: Tiny (1/5 to 1/6 inch long), fuzzy, dark or grayish insects.
- Wings: Wings held roof-like over the body when at rest.
Habitat & Life Cycle:
- Breed in polluted, shallow water, moist organic solids.
- Eggs, larvae, and pupae in muck, slime, or gelatinous film in drains, pipes, sewage disposal areas.
- Larvae feed on decaying organic matter, microorganisms, algae, sediment.
Control:
- Eliminate larval breeding sites from drains.
- Screens offer no protection; flies may breed in large numbers at sewage filter plants.
Cluster Flies Information
Characteristics:
- Appearance: Slightly larger than common house flies.
- Abdomen: Irregular light and dark gray areas.
Habitat:
- Seek protected places like walls, attics, storage rooms, basements for winter.
- Invade houses through small openings.
Life Cycle:
- Lay eggs in soil near earthworm burrows.
- Maggots feed on earthworms.
- Four generations a year.
Damage:
- Parasitic on earthworms.
Control:
- Complete control challenging; focus on homes where adults hibernate.
- Aerosol sprays effective against buzzing adults.
Prevention:
- Use screens and caulking to seal openings.
- Apply synthetic pyrethroid to structure exterior in early August.