What Attracts Flies

Flies are a group of insects, which bear two pair of wings. Belonging to the order Diptera, there are about 120,000 species of flies. Majority of them are adapted with movable head, compound eyes and an active flight ability. As they are found in abundance, many homeowners are concerned with fly infestation problems, both indoors and in the vicinity of the house. Understanding what attracts flies is the first step for effective control of flies in and around the homes, which we will discuss in this article.

Fly Control: What Attracts Flies the Most

On an average, flies live for about 3 weeks, which you can learn from maggots life cycle. These types of flying insects undergo various life stages and mature into adults. Besides the irritating sound that they make while flying, some species of flies are vectors and play a crucial role in transmitting diseases to humans and pets. Take for example; the common house flies are known to spread as much as 100 types of infectious diseases by contaminating our food and drinks. Thus, learning how to kill a fly is imperative to minimize risk of contacting diseases.

Regarding the query 'what attracts flies', the answer varies with reference to which fly species you are referring to. Let's take the example of three most common flies that we encounter frequently, namely, house flies, fruits flies and drain flies. The house fly is attracted to rotten organic filth, while fruit fly gets attracted to decaying fruits. Drain fly, on the other hand, require moist habitat and organic matter for laying eggs. Various aspects concerning 'what are flies attracted to' are highlighted below:

Outdoor Fly Control
Considering the fact that fly infestation starts in outdoor areas, it is best to begin fly controlling from outside. Determine what attracts flies outside, and remove things that serve as feeding and dwelling places for them. Outdoor attraction for flies includes garbage, vegetation pile ups, pet droppings and stagnant water. Remove all these breeding sites to prevent fly entry inside house. Also, learn how to kill maggots in trash cans to prevent them from developing to adult flies.

Indoor Fly Control
Coming to indoor fly control, 'what attracts flies in a house' is the most common query that lingers on everyone's mind. Indoor attraction for flies includes garbage bins, uncovered foods in kitchen countertop, spillage of sweet drinks (or beer) and overripe fruits. In addition to these, houseplants soaked in water can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. Clean trash bins daily and place homemade fly traps inside the house to control flies.

Fly Preventive Measures
If you are wondering what attracts flies to humans, it may be because of some unusual smell or open wounds. Whichever fly species you refer to, most of them are attracted to moist, decaying organic matter. So, to avoid their infestation in outdoor areas and indoors, you should keep your home clean, throw away decaying foods, seal garbage bins tightly, remove pet feces immediately and remove trash bins daily. Consider cleaning or fumigating the home surrounding to avoid foul odors, which attract flies the most.

As you now know what attracts flies, you can decide effectual pest control methods for targeting flies. If possible, follow eco-friendly approaches to kill flies, rather than opting for pesticides or electronic devices at the first trial. As a thumb of rule, the attraction sites for flies are related with their feeding habit. In short, they are attracted to areas, where the food is available. Hence, if you remove their food sources from indoors and outdoors, more than half of your task for getting rid of flies is done.