Why House Fly Prevention and Control Can Save You

Just as the famous saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”! This saying works well for house flies too! Isn’t it better you prevent house flies than suffer from the various infections and diseases caused by them? You can prevent houseflies easily and quickly if you pay heed to a few important points. House fly, also called Musca domestica always lives near human dwellings and is found all over the world! House flies are carriers of harmful diseases like typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea, and dysentery. They even cause eye infections that can be harmful.

The Cause!
The first and major cause of houseflies is unclean surroundings! Houseflies get easily lured to places where there is no hygiene or cleanliness. Exposed wastes, garbage, rotten fruits, faecal matter, etc. are some of the most common causes. If you leave food uncovered in the open, then that also lures flies. Also, the areas of thick vegetation, shrubs and grass can also lure them. All these factors can be easily controlled with a little effort from your side!

The Need!
If you are still wondering why you need to prevent house flies, it is because house flies are carriers of over a hundred disease-causing pathogens. The diseases can be deadly and can cause serious health issues like bacillary dysentery, anthrax, parasite worms, tuberculosis, salmonellosis, typhoid, ophthalmia, etc. to name a few. Another alarming fact is that these house flies are nowadays getting immune to almost all insecticides!

Strategies By WHO
The renowned World Health Organization has put forward four main strategies to prevent house flies:

• Eliminate or reduce the possible breeding sites of flies.
• Eliminate the sources that will lure house flies.
• Try to prevent the house flies from coming in contact with the agents that cause disease.
• Covering and protecting the utensils, food and also people from coming into contact with the flies.

Maintain Sanitation!
The best and most effective way to prevent the infestation of house flies is to maintain sanitation in your home and surroundings. A clean environment will only repel away the flies. Ensure that you dispose off the wastes and spoiled food substances effectively. Always cover up the trash cans with a tight lids. Also, empty and clean the garbage bins regularly. Prevent the accumulation of compost piles, weeds, manure and grass clippings in your yard. They get decomposed and will attract flies. You can also buy over-the-counter insect repellent sprays. But, these won’t work in the long term as the flies soon become immune to the pesticides.

Preventing House Flies At Home Is No Big Task!

Here are some simple and quick tips to prevent house flies from entering your home:

Seal It!
Yes! It is as simple as that! Anything that is sealed tightly will not permit flies to enter inside it, right? So, start by checking the window screens. Tighten it securely if you find any loose parts. Look for openings or holes in your walls, below the windows or under the doors. If you notice any, clog it or seal it quickly. Always keep all the outside doors closed. Cover up all your garbage bins tightly with lids. You can use window screens to let the fresh air inside and at the same time ensure that the flies won’t be able to get inside. In some cases, the flies may enter the home through attics. Hence, check thoroughly and seal all possible openings to ensure that the flies won’t get any open space to enter your home.

Cleanliness!
As already discussed above, maintaining hygiene and a clean home is the key to prevention of house flies. Use a disinfectant of good quality to clean your home. The action of a disinfectant should last the whole day. Always clean your kitchen regularly. Remove any food particles lying around on the slab. Flies will remain to buzz around in the kitchen if they notice any open food source. Hence, cover up all those cookies, cut fruits, cakes and dishes you plan to use after some time. Also, don’t leave the dirty plates in the sink. It can attract flies. Wash all the plates as soon as you finish using it. All the leftovers and scrapings should be immediately disposed of into the dustbins.

Wash Up!
We adults will always wash up after having food. But that might not be the case if you have kids around. All your hard work can go in vain if a little kiddo makes the place dirty with the leftovers, sauces or food left in their hands or mouth. Hence, always encourage your kids to wash thoroughly after having food.

Dispose off The Garbage!
Garbage bins are the most favorite hangout places of the house flies. Hence, remember not to keep piling up the garbage bins. Always dispose off the contents and clean the bins regularly. All the garbage bins and dustbins should have a tight-fitting lid over it. The diaper bin should also be covered tightly. Any dirty or stale substance acts as a lure for the flies. If the dust bin is stinky even if you close it tightly, then it is a clear sign that you need to dispose the contents fast and clean the bin. Dispose it off at a place away from your home. Keeping your bins clean and disinfected can help a lot in driving away the flies.

Say No To Standing Water!
Standing water poses great harm. They can turn to be breeding sites of flies. Hence, always avoid over watering the plants in your garden. Ensure that you seal up the sewage pipes without any leakages or spills. Any water which turns stagnant can lure flies. Hence, always refill your bird’s water bowl and ensure there is no standing water in and around your house.

Cover Up!
Take a quick scan of your property and ensure that there are no rotten fruits, leaves, food or animal carcasses lying around. These things attract the attention of flies easily. Hence, always remove any rotten substance in your premises and dispose them off in a garbage bin. Also, ensure that you cover up the bin securely. If the house flies get access to these bins, they will start laying eggs and multiplying on these rotten substances. Homegrown maggots will also be created if there are open dustbins.

Cover Your Pet’s Food
If you have pets at home, then the left-over pet food can be a great source for attracting flies. Hence, ensure that you cover the pet’s food or remove the leftovers as soon as possible. Desperately hungry flies can even get lured by dry pet food. Ensure that you clean the pet’s food plates regularly. Even a small crumb can lure house flies. Moist food substances left outside can also lure house flies. Fermented, fallen, and overripe fruits can also attract flies. Ensure that you clean the faeces of pets immediately so that flies won’t get lured by it. You can also train your pet cat or dog not to eat flies. Praise them and gift them with their favorite food items if they do not eat flies.!

Here Are The Natural Ways To Prevent House Flies!

Flies can be easily prevented using natural methods. You can make use of the things simply available in your home to repel away the flies.

• Use Cloves
  Cloves can be used to repel away house flies as they detest the aroma of cloves. Tie it inside a small muslin and hang it near a lampshade or any warm spot. It will start releasing a mild aroma which will repel away the flies.
• Plant Basil

  Basil is well known for its medicinal characteristics. Basil can also be used as an effective way to get rid of house flies. Hence, plant herbs like basil, lavender, mint, and marigold in your garden to repel flies.

Essential Oils Help!
Essential oils come handy to help in getting rid of house flies. The essential oils like eucalyptus, lemongrass, peppermint, and lavender works wonders in repelling away from the flies as the flies detest the aroma of these. You can spray these oils in your kitchen, bedroom or living room to keep house flies at bay.

• Eucalyptus
  Get a pan or bowl and add two to three drops of eucalyptus oil in it. Add water and boil it. The aroma of the oil will drive away the flies. You can place the bowl in the center room of your house.
• Pine Oil
  Pine oil can be a bit expensive, but it is very effective against house flies. Put some drops of pine oil on a small cheesecloth and place it in fly infested areas. The flies will be repelled away. If there is no cheesecloth in your home, you can use cotton balls instead. Soak it in pine oil and use these balls to repel the flies.
• Citrus Oil
  Most of the commercially available insect repellents are made of citrus extracts! Citrus oil is naturally very effective in driving away the flies. You can even place a few peels of fresh citrus in fly-infested places. Try placing the peels in a muslin tea bag or a pouch made of cloth. Rub the peels once in a while so that the fresh citrus aroma gets released.

Prepare A Playground!
You can prepare a playground for the flies and set up traps inside it to get rid of the flies. The playground can be set by purchasing bags of bones and blood from your nearest garden center or local nursery. You can pour it inside an easy to seal plastic bag. Seal the bag after pouring the contents. Now, make some holes on the bag. The holes should be just large enough for the flies to enter inside and not more than that. Hang this bag on a tree branch away from your home. It will start to rot and lure flies. The flies will enter through the holes and will not be able to find the way out. They will die inside the bag.

Preventive Methods For Urban People And Farmers
Here is how the farmers can handle their manure management:

Solid Wastes
Pens, corrals, and buildings can produce many solid wastes. All such materials should be collected and properly composted in such a way that it becomes easy to spread these wastes as thin layers in the fields. Ensure that you clean all the drainage areas, stalls, spilled feed, cattle pens, pet droppings, decaying organic substances and loafing sheds regularly in a ten-day period. This will help in minimizing the breeding of flies.

Liquid Wastes
You can pump the liquid wastes from the spring, fall or hold pits so that it can be spread evenly or injected all over the field. It is better to spread all manure over the fields during the spring season. The field will be very dry and hence, will be easy to spread the manure. The next best time to spread the manure is during the fall season when the harvest is over. The fly-larvae won’t complete their development by mid-September most probably.

Household Wastes
The live-stock garbage and household wastes can lure a large number of flies if they are simply dumped on a landfill. If the garbage already contains pupae, larvae or eggs, then the situation is even worse. Hence, landfill workers should clean and dispose off the landfills effectively from time to time. It is better to compact garbage twice a week.

Wet Farm Garbage
The wet farm garbage like spoiled grains, calf pen wastes, etc. can pose a danger as it can form the breeding ground for pupae and maggots of flies. Hence, the landfill workers should regularly cover and compact such materials. It takes just a matter of a few hours for thousand flies to emerge from such wastes.

Animal Carcasses
The animal carcasses of poultry, pigs, and livestock must be disposed off during summer season. They can easily become fly factories within a matter of twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

Road Kills
Another major source of fly infestation is the road deaths of animals that happen accidentally. Dead cats, squirrels, porcupine, and rabbits will lure houseflies. If a dead deer is left on the road, it can lure more than thousands of house flies. Hence, such animals have to be removed and disposed off by workers quickly.

Prevent House Flies, Prevent Diseases!
If you wish to stay healthy and prevent the occurrence of diseases, then you will have to take appropriate measures to prevent house flies. A bit of effort from your side can save your health for a lifetime!