How To Get Rid Of Flies

With spring around the corner, Orkin Canada is prepared for the pests that come with the warmer weather and melting snow. Everyone is looking forward to flowers blooming, birds chirping and flies coming in through the open door. Oh wait, not that last one! Flies are a nuisance that no one likes buzzing around inside their home or business.

There are many different species of flies; however, they all can cause a threat to your peace of mind, some are a nuisance while some are a threat to your health and well-being inside your home or business. Whether it’s cluster flies, housefly, or fruit flies, at Orkin Canada we have 70+ years of expert advice on how to get rid of these unwanted pests. These flies do not stand a chance against an Orkin Pro. 

Common Types of Flies

House Flies

The house fly is light grey in colour and around 4mm – 7.5mm long with 4 black strips on its  thorax. The abdomen is rather pale along the margin and sides and two transparent wings. These flies can be difficult to control once they gain access to your property because they can reproduce very quickly if there is a breeding source. You’ll want to get the fly swatter out immediately as soon as you see one fly into your open door.

Fruit Flies

These are one of the smallest of the common property-invading flies measuring between 2.5mm and 4mm. They are light brown/yellow in colour with bright red eyes. The common fruit fly with the bright red eyes is associated with overripe or fermenting fruits and vegetables, while the dark-eyed fruit fly is associated with decaying organic matter. If there is rotting garbage or overripe fruit, these flies might be close by. 

Cluster Flies

Cluster flies can be easily mistaken for house flies; however, they are larger, about 8 mm long and darker in colour with golden yellow hairs on their body, and the abdomen has light and dark irregular markings. They also fly a lot slower than house flies. In the spring, cluster flies can be a problem because this is when they emerge from overwintering sites to start breeding, gathering and swarming around the outside windows of your house. On warm sunny winter days, they can also emerge from wintering sites and become a problem. Likewise they can be a problem in early fall when they congregate on walls attempting to enter indoors to overwinter.

Why are Flies so Dangerous?

Aside from being annoying, flies are unwanted because they can pose a risk to our health by transmitting diseases. That’s why fly pest control is so important. House flies repeatedly spit out their germ-loaded saliva and suck it back up when feeding and walking on food preparing and consuming surfaces inside your home or establishment. You can imagine how unhygienic this is for humans.

Another way they pose a major risk to your health is when a fly lands on feces or rotting garbage, it picks up pathogens onto its body and brings them wherever else it lands. One of the many places that flies might land could be on your food, potentially exposing you to disease such as typhoid fever, cholera, bacillary dysentery, hepatitis, ophthalmia or infantile diarrhea. It is important to be diligent with prevention to avoid an infestation in your home or business.

Tips to Get Rid of Flies

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Here are a few simple things you can do to prevent flies from coming inside your home or business. 

• Clean out drains, removing food debris where possible
• Regularly empty and clean out garbage and compost bins to prevent breeding
• Empty and clean recycling bins regularly to prevent fruit flies breeding
• Ensure there are tight fitting lids to all waste bins
• Inspect around windows for cracks and holes in screens and repair where possible
• Exclusion:
  • Seal or screen all exterior openings such as vents, cracks in wall, gaps around utilities
  • Ensure window or door screens are tight-fitting and insect proof size
• Remove overripe fruit from countertops

Cluster Fly Pest Control

What about those pesky cluster flies? To avoid them getting into your home or business, you must exclude them to prevent entry; ensure there are no cracks or holes in the windows, screens and exterior walls. Vacuuming up any cluster flies you do see is a good way to get rid of them in the meantime. The best way, however, is to call a professional to perform a treatment. Your local Orkin professional will also advise on the best times in the year for follow-up treatments, but these normally happen in the spring and fall.

How to Get Rid of Cluster Flies: 

• Inspect around door and window pulleys and frames for gaps; if found, seal them where possible
• Inspect exterior walls for cracks, gaps and holes; if gaps found, caulk with silicone or foam sealing
• Inspect for unscreened vents, gaps in base plates of electrical outlets, etc.
• Inspect roof level for gaps or cracks or missing tiles in roofing or eaves; if found, seal the gaps
• Cluster flies often enter into attics via roof level, so it is important to focus at the roof level, too
• When found indoors, vacuum  and bag them up and dispose of them in the garbage bin.

More Ways to Keep Flies Out

By following these tips, you should have the tools to keep flies out of your home or business. If you are still noticing heavy fly activity around your property, it is important to reach out to your local Orkin Canada branch. We are more than happy to provide advice and, if needed, implement an effective fly pest control program that will help you keep flies out. To get started, contact us today!