It may seem that insects choose to bother us during the summer, yet the real reason for their population boom is a complex interplay of winter rain, food source availability, and rising temperatures. That’s right, because the prevalence of flies at this time of year has to do with the weather or, more specifically, with the impact of heat on food.
Insects are ectothermic or “cold blooded”, which means that their body temperature depends on the external environment. Therefore, in summer, an increase in temperature is generally correlated with an increase in the activity of insects.
Many species of insects emerge from a winter resting phase in spring and summer to begin their winged adult life. These highly mobile, hungry, and sex-obsessed young adults are the ones who interact with us during the summer.
When we think of summer, we imagine sunny days at the beach, outings to the park or the countryside, and barbecues in the garden or on the beach. Most people consider summer to be one of their favorite times of the year, and it’s understandable since we generally have lots of quality time with our loved ones, as well as fun activities in the sun. However, there is no summer without flies. No matter where you go, there are everywhere in these hot months. As we have commented, it is mainly due to the reproduction cycle of flies.
There are different types of flies, but they all have similar breeding cycles. The flies reproduce only in the warmer months. They look for dirty places to lay their eggs; they prefer garbage or animal waste to reproduce. Some even prefer to use the bodies of dead animals. After one to two weeks, the eggs they lay can complete the life cycle through the larvae and then into the adult form. As it is, the most common place to find fly eggs is a garbage can.
Flies tend to enter homes easily but then find it difficult to get out again . They fly towards the light from the windows, but when the windows are closed, the flies cannot escape. Once inside, flies can lay eggs in your own garbage before you even know you have a problem. They are usually attracted to sugary and sweet foods, but they also land anywhere food is available, including meat or fish. Since flies tend to stay in bacteria-infested areas, they carry those bacteria with them when they touch food, hence they can transmit diseases, including salmonella, E. coli, or cholera.
Although house flies will appear the most around the house, most species, such as flower flies, will be busy eating the garden bugs for free. The natural food source for many flower fly larvae is adult aphids. The larvae of the flower fly eat a staggering number of aphids, which could kill the plant of these pests in a matter of hours.
How to reduce the number of flies at home
First of all, cleaning after cooking or using any type of food or drink is absolutely essential. Flies are always looking for food, so it is important to clean anything that can make our home more attractive to them. Even if it doesn’t look dirty, cleaning food handling surfaces with an antibacterial cloth can be a solution.
Keeping the house dark at night, whenever possible, also helps. Have you noticed that when you watch a movie at night the flies seem to land right on the screen? This is because flies, like many other insects, are attracted to light.
