Flies can be a big nuisance to anyone and their constant buzzing around can really get on your nerves. For businesses, particularly those in the food and pharmaceutical industries, they can be a huge concern due to the impact they can have on consumer health. For these industries, we recommend looking at our commercial pest control services.
However, flies can also be quite fascinating creatures. Their breeding, feeding, and even moving habits are quite different from ours and can actually be quite interesting.
Below is a list of facts about flies you need to know.
Yes, that’s correct. Flies tend to live off a diet based on liquids. Why? Well, that’s just how they are built. They lack the mouthparts needed to chew food, so instead, they have to drink it.
A house fly will regurgitate digestive juices onto solid foods and these juices break down the food into small pieces, allowing them to use their mouthparts, called proboscis, to drink the meal.
Like butterflies, flies can taste food using their feet!
This is all down to taste receptors (chemonsensilla) being located on their lower legs and feet. When a fly lands on a tasty meal, which can be anything from animal feces to your lunch, they will often wander around to give their next meal a good taste before consuming it.
When a fly lands on your skin, it’s not just resting. Flies use the tiny hairs on their legs to sense what they’ve landed on, and they may also be tasting you. Due to the taste sensors on their legs, landing is part of how they explore their surroundings.
In some cases, they may also leave behind germs or bacteria picked up from trash, feces, or food. That’s one of the more concerning facts about flies.
If you're seeing them land often, it could be a sign of a bigger issue. Speak to our pest control experts for help identifying the source and the right treatment.
And they aren’t too worried about where they do it either!
As you know, house flies like to live off a liquid diet. Because of this, their digestive system can move quite quickly, which means they defecate often. It is speculated that house flies defecate every time they land, even if it’s on their next meal.
Due to their feeding and breeding habits (more on that later) house flies come into contact with a range of harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E.coli. Because of this, house flies will often aid the spread of these bacteria passing them onto us by contaminating things, such as food and cooking utensils. That’s why fly pest control is so important.
Let’s face it, you probably already knew this one.
The anatomy of a house fly enables it to walk and climb on most surfaces no matter if it’s horizontal, vertical, or even upside down.
This is due to each foot containing two fat foot pads (called pulvilli) which contain tiny hairs that produce a glue-like substance made of sugars and oils which provides them with excellent grip, perfect for scaling any surface.
That’s right, house flies can see behind them and it’s all to do with their amazing eyes.
Unlike human beings, house flies have compound eyes. These intricate eyes provided them with nearly a 360-degree field of view, which allows them to see behind themselves. Unlike ours, the eyes of a house fly don’t move. Being able to see in all directions allows them to navigate while also being on the lookout for danger.
Flies don’t close their eyes because they physically can’t. Their compound eyes stay open, even when they rest. So yes, flies sleep with their eyes open.
They usually sleep at night or take short breaks during the day.
On average, the life cycle of a house fly only lasts for around 30 days, which means they don’t live for long at all.
However, in their short lifetime, they manage to accomplish quite a lot. House flies can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime which are usually in batches of around 75 to 150. So, although they don’t live long, an infestation can quickly arise through new generations.
Ever wondered why it’s so difficult to swat a fly? Well, it’s pretty much down to their quick reaction times and their agility.
House flies are able to process what they see and react accordingly at amazing speeds. To put things into perspective, our brains process around 60 images a second, whereas a fly can process around 250 in a single second.
House flies aren’t really fans of rushing to the hospital to give birth. Their chosen method is rather disgusting as well.
House flies will lay their eggs on items such as feces, rotting carcasses, and decaying fruit. Why is this? Well, it’s mainly to provide the larvae (maggots) with something to eat when they hatch.
Remember, in Fact 6, when we discussed the compound eyes of a fly? Well, they also play a role in how houseflies find a partner.
Studies show that there’s a specific region within the eyes of a male fly called the "love spot." It is pretty much used for detecting and chasing female flies. This "spot" is located within the dorsofrontal region of their eyes. This is typically used to detect small target motion. However, males also use it to stay “locked onto potential mates during aerial pursuit.”
If you’re experiencing a fly problem, don’t hesitate to contact the fly control experts at Western Exterminator. Our technicians are trained to identify the source of any fly infestation, determine potential attractants and entry points, and then decide which pest control methods will work best for your property.
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