Why You May Have Flies in Your Home

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Almost everyone knows the annoyance of hearing a fly buzz around your house or picking up a banana and seeing a bunch of tiny flies scatter. Fly infestations can be both frustrating and difficult to deal with. Like many other pests, flies will enter your house looking for food, water, or shelter. There are a few different species of flies that can enter your home, each will be attracted to something different that you may have inside your home. This makes it important to know what they are looking for and how to make sure you are not making your home look like an attractive place for them to invade.

What Attracts Flies

Understanding why a fly might enter your home is the first step in prevention. Not every type of fly will be attracted to the same thing within your home but they are almost always looking for either shelter, food, or water. The most common flies you’ll find in your home are:

• House Flies: House flies enter your home looking for food. They are attracted to decaying and rotting organic matter, feces that may be in your yard from pets, and animal carcasses. This includes rotting food, especially in garbage cans, opened beer or wine bottles, and sugary syrups.
• Fruit Flies: These flies are attracted to fermenting food. Fruit flies can usually be seen buzzing around your fruit bowl, looking for overripe fruit and vegetables but they will also eat fermenting food inside your drains and garbage cans.
• Cluster Flies: Unlike house or fruit flies, cluster flies only enter a home looking for shelter and warmth during the fall and winter then will emerge and try to leave the house in the spring

How to Prevent Flies

It can be extremely difficult to fully prevent flies but there are a few simple things you can do to prevent flies in your house. Prevent flies coming into your home by:

•  Filling any cracks or holes you see in your walls, window screens, and doors: This will help keep not only flies but a multitude of pests from invading your home.
• Keeping doors and windows closed: Open windows and doors are an invitation to flies.  If you do not have screens on your windows and doors make sure to keep them closed.
• Throwing away or storing food: Make sure you are not leaving food uncovered and throw away old food and drinks in a secure garbage can, both inside and outside.
• Picking up after pets: Flies are attracted to feces. Picking up after your dog will stop flies from hanging out in your yard.
• Cleaning up your yard: Remove old leaves and piles of debris to make your yard less attractive for flies.

Ensuring Your Home is Fly Free

Taking preventative measures will assist in keeping flies out but they are extremely persistent. Many big box stores will sell various fly deterrents and killers that can be costly and ineffective in the long run. The best and easiest way to keep flies out of your home is to contact a local experienced exterminator, like Rocket Pest. At Rocket Pest, we have over 65 years of extermination experience. Our technicians will be able to expertly and effectively get rid of your unwanted pests. Give us a call today at 864-232-2406 for free expert advice!