YOUR GUIDE TO SUMMER FLY CONTROL
A quintessential part of the Australian summer, it’s often hard to keep flies away from your backyard barbecue. In this Hivemind article, we have some tips to help you stop them from being a nuisance this festive season.
What questions will this article answer?
Why are there so many flies in summer?
The hot weather provides ideal conditions for them to breed, and drives them indoors to seek out shade and breeding sites.
Common types of flies you’ll notice in summer
You’re most likely to encounter houseflies, bushflies, blowflies, horseflies and mosquitoes.
Problems caused by flies
They can be a huge distraction, spread disease and contaminate sterile surfaces.
How to spot a fly outbreak
You notice a consistently large number of flies, as well as droppings and maggots.
How to prevent flies in your home or business
We recommend covering and sealing over entry points, installing fly screens, keeping food stored away and waste tightly secured.
Professional fly prevention
Treatments include insecticide aerosol sprays, fogging, dusting powder and baiting units such as fly killer units.
Choose Allstate for reliable and effective fly removal
We’re available 24/7 to all suburbs of Adelaide to manage all fly outbreaks.
Why are there so many flies in summer?
Although flies can survive all year round, they certainly seem to hang around more often during summer.
This is because the hot weather provides ideal conditions for them to breed. In fact, it significantly speeds up the time needed for their eggs to hatch and for their larvae to mature into adults.
The heat can also drive them indoors to cooler places like your home, to seek out shade and protection, and look for breeding sites.
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Common types of flies you’ll notice in summer
While there are an estimated 30,000 species of fly in Australia, we’ve put together a list of the ones that you are more likely to encounter this summer.
Houseflies
Attracted to food scraps, compost and waste, houseflies are dull grey in colour, with 4 stripes on their thorax. They grow up to 1/4 inch long.
Bushflies
With a similar appearance to house flies, bush flies can grow up to 2-6mm long. They are drawn to body fluids on mammals, such as sweat, saliva and tears, as well as animal waste.
Blowflies
Large and shiny looking, blowflies are usually 2-18mm long, dull grey or black coloured and covered with hairs. They prefer to feed on rotten food including waste from hospitality venues, as well as dead animals such as birds and rodents.
Horseflies
Feeding on blood from mammals, horseflies are drawn to livestock and humans. They are quite large and easy to spot, as they grow up to 10-30mm long, and have a grey or black colour.
Mosquitoes
Well known for their itchy bites as they draw blood to feast on, mosquitoes are a type of fly. They are mostly grey coloured and grow between 0.1-0.4 inches long.
Problems caused by flies
An outbreak of flies can put your home or business at risk of these issues:
Constant buzzing noises
Having a swarm of flies can be a constant noisy distraction and affect visibility, leading to disruption and reduced productivity.
Contamination of food and sterile surfaces
Along their foraging adventures, flies have contact with unsanitary areas that contain waste, including toilets and decomposing meat which are filled with germs and diseases. These can be picked up by the fine hairs on their body and transferred to other places through their droppings, vomit and saliva.
Spread of disease
You could be at risk of food poisoning, parasitic worms, diarrhea, salmonella, typhoid, dysentery and trachoma.
How to spot a fly outbreak
While you may notice a few flies around every now and then, here’s how to tell if you’re about to experience a full-blown outbreak:
- You consistently notice a large number of flies
- You can see fly droppings, known as “spotting”, which look like dark spots on benches, tables, floors and window sills
- You notice creamy coloured maggots, which indicates there is a breeding site nearby. This is most commonly a waste area
How to prevent flies in your home or business
As notorious scavengers, flies are drawn to a variety of potential food sources. While some flies are attracted to decaying organic matter including rotten protein and waste, others are more drawn to sugary substances. Either way, it’s important to deter them from coming inside and causing a nuisance.
Physically covering all potential entry points is a good starting point. Consider installing fly screens over windows and doors, particularly in the kitchen and waste areas. Seal gaps around doors and windows.
We also recommend avoiding leaving food out in the open and keeping waste covered. With their highly sensitive antennae, they’re able to detect food sources from long distances away. So, you can consider regularly cleaning your kitchen by wiping and clearing away food debris and spills from tables, benches and sinks, washing dishes and cutlery, as well as mopping floors. Remove garbage and pet waste regularly and make sure bins have tight-fitting lids.
Remove water sources by fixing leaking taps, pipes and drains. Also, don’t forget to remove food blockages from pipes and drains.
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Professional fly prevention
All our fly control services are compliant with food standard HACCP, to ensure that the treatment you receive at your business are compliant with health and safety regulations.
We’ll usually begin by assessing the area for potential fly attractants and breeding sites, then provide advice on the best ways to remove them.
For severe outbreaks, we recommend treatment including insecticide aerosol sprays, fogging, dusting powder and baiting units.
If you’re in a commercial or industrial facility and needing a longer lasting solution, we can install a fly killer unit.
Pest Management Programs for commercial and industrial businesses
Flies can be a significant problem in the food industry. We understand how important it is to protect the reputation of your business by upholding government guidelines on food standards, handling and safety.
That’s why our integrated pest management services will provide you with ongoing, regular assistance to ensure that you stay up to date with pest control.
Drawing on our 35+ years of experience in pest control, we use a systematic and proven approach to prevent all potential pest activity at your business and to meet the requirements of auditors. Contact Allstate today for more information about long term pest control for your business.
Choose Allstate for reliable and effective fly removal
For many of us, it’s a nuisance and distraction to have to constantly swat flies away whilst trying to enjoy summer festivities and outdoor dining.
That’s why at Allstate, our expert pest control technicians are fully equipped to combat all fly outbreaks in residential, commercial and industrial settings across all suburbs of Adelaide. Available 24/7, we are always ready to answer your urgent enquiries.
As a family-owned business, we’ve been providing pest control since 1986. We use modern, innovative treatments which are nontoxic for pets, people and the environment.
Covered by competitive warranties and a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all our services, you can even make use of our payment plans to access fast fly extermination at any time.