Flies can be real pests around your home or business, particularly if in large numbers. For some businesses, particularly those in the food and beverage industries, they can be a huge concern due to the impact they can have on consumer health.
Facts about flies
Below is a list of interesting facts about flies you need to know!
1. Incredible rate of reproduction
Female house fly can lay over 2,000 eggs in just one month and the flies only take 10 days to fully develop once hatched. If you have a small fly problem, it can very quickly progress into an infestation.
Interesting reads: common signs of fly infestation
The warmer it is, the faster flies will hatch and grow. An average garbage can is capable of producing over 1,000 new flies a week.
2. Short life period
If you found that house flies invade your house, flies can only live for about 30 to 50 days before they die if they are not provided with food source!
3. Only have a pair of wings
Unlike other insects that have two pairs of wings, house fly has only one pair of membranous wings. Second pair of wings is reduced and looks like a pair of miniature drumsticks. This pair of wings (known as “halters”) is used for balancing during the flying process.
4. They don’t have teeth
Instead, they have a long tongue called a proboscis, which sucks up food like a straw. Some flies drink nectar or blood. House flies like the food we eat.
When a fly lands on your lunch, it vomits on the food. Acids in the vomit dissolve the food so the fly can suck it up. Yuck… disgusting!
5. Active in day light
Much like humans they are very busy during the day and become inactive at night, particularly when it’s sunny and warm.
According to the Cornell University Department of Entomology, they get most of their activity when it’s sunny and the temperature is between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperature dips below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, or when the sun goes down otherwise, they return to their resting state.
6. Each species have their own diet preference
Different species of flies are attracted to organic material, different food sources and thus to different baits.
Some are attracted to meat scraps, some prefer ripe fruit, and some likes yeast or milk products. They can only digest food in a liquid state so they have to dissolve solids in saliva or regurgitated stomach acids.
7. They have favorite spot for resting site
Flies rest periodically on walls and ceilings near their food source. They are attracted to natural daylight, and the smell of fly specks left on nearby walls and ceilings, as well as particular food smells. Flies lay their eggs in their food source.
8. Flies are capable to see what is behind them
They have thousands of tiny lenses, called ommatidia, which make up the eyes or vision of a fly. These compound eyes allow flies to see 360 degrees at once.
9. Several species have similar genes like human
Fruit flies only have four chromosomes, but their genes are very similar to a human’s. That also makes them popular in the lab for reproduction purposes
10. Potential contamination of your food
Flies can defecate for every 4-5 minutes and they do it anywhere. With that you can be sure that they can even do it on your food or on you. Hence, it makes it easy to transmit diseases from them.
Another reason why it is easy for flies to contaminate food is because of their ability to stick on a surface or place for long. This is due to their stickiness of the pads of their feet.
Explore more about the 5 interesting facts about flies that you should know through this short-animated video below and subscribed to Rentokil Indonesia YouTube channel and we’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest pest tips and facts videos.
Wondering how to get rid of flies? Contact Rentokil today for an effective solution to get rid of flies.
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