20.01.2017
It is very unpleasant when a fly flies in the apartment and not one, but a whole swarm. These insects not only annoy with their buzzing, but can also infect a person with many dangerous diseases, such as diphtheria, dysentery and even cholera. To effectively remove these pests, you need to find out why flies appear in the apartment, and only after that you can start taking active steps to destroy them.
- Where do they come from
- Reasons for the appearance
- What to do if appeared
- Prevention of the appearance
How many eggs does a fly lay
Common flies are one of the most common species of the family, which can also be found in non-domesticated environments. Their lifespan depends on the ambient temperature, and therefore, the full life cycle can take up to 4 weeks.
On a note!
The reproductive function of insects is quite well developed: during the season, a pair of opposite-sex individuals is able to recreate a family of many thousands. One female lays up to 1000 eggs in her life.
In the process of life, the insect undergoes 4 stages of development (egg, larva, pupa and adult).
Pest control methods
Flies are carriers of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the appearance of such neighbors in the house is highly undesirable. Read about how you can make fly traps here.
In order to maximally protect yourself and your home from these insects, you need to follow simple rules:
- get rid of garbage in time, especially organic waste;
- use mosquito nets on the windows to prevent insects from entering;
- keep your home clean;
- use chemical means for destruction;
- residents of private houses, farmers, keep the room for animals clean, inspect them for open wounds, and keep the compost pit closed.
Knowing how these unpleasant insects multiply, you can prevent their wide spread throughout the house, apartment or area.
Egg development process
Mating of insects occurs in the spring. The male fly climbs onto the female's back, remaining in this position for some time. Sometimes flies also mate in flight: the male grabs the female with his legs and clamps her wings, taking off into the air. This fertilization process is observed in hoverflies.
After copulation, the female goes in search of a suitable place where she will subsequently lay eggs. Moreover, the female is guided exclusively by the sense of smell and taste. Places with all kinds of human waste, where there is an accumulation of rotten fruits and vegetables, rotten meat products, as well as cattle manure, are favorable for laying eggs.
Fly life cycle
Having picked up a secluded place, a pregnant fly lays about a hundred eggs, the length of which does not exceed 1 mm. After several hours, they become worm-like legless larvae, referred to by fishermen as maggots. This period of development can vary: at home, it usually takes about 8 hours, but if eggs laid by a fly develop in nature, then larvae from them may appear after 20 hours.
On a note!
The insect is able to live in conditions from 10 to 40 degrees, while the most favorable temperature is 18-25 degrees.
House fly
The housefly or housefly is a representative of the family of True flies, which has formed its own separate taxon in the course of evolution, split off from wild relatives due to its attachment, if I may say so, to the haunted habitats of humans.
The question of what a fly looks like is easy to answer. This pest cannot boast of anything outstanding in its appearance.
This cheeky insect usually does not exceed 1 cm in length, has a simple gray body color with a yellow tint in the lower part of the abdomen. Also, the thoracic segment of the house fly has several black stripes, and a pair of faceted eyes are located on the head. These are known to be flying insects that have two pairs of wings.
These domestic freeloaders are extremely fertile, and this is the main danger of allowing their uncontrolled reproduction in conditions of closeness of life with humans. One female individual can lay more than a hundred eggs at a time, and the breeding period for these insects lasts their entire short life.
No wonder there is a saying "breed like flies." But we will talk in more detail about the features of the reproduction of these pests a little later.
As promised, in this review we will dwell in more detail on the analysis of the housefly lifestyle; learn how flies breed; let us determine what the life span of a fly depends on.
Now we propose to walk through all stages of the life of this insect in order to track the entire cycle of their existence. So let's go.
How the larva develops
This stage of the pest's life is called "nutritious", its duration is usually no more than a week. During this period, the larvae rush in search of heat, food and moisture, going deeper and deeper into organic waste. In this way, they hide from their natural enemies (birds and animals), as well as the sun's rays harmful to them. With the help of digestive juices, the larvae liquefy food to a consistency acceptable to them.
On a note!
After 5-6 days, the grown fly larva, the size of which increases 60-80 times, begins to darken, acquiring a brown-brown color. After which it pupates, passing to a new stage of its development.
Should I be worried?
Yes, you have to worry. Houseflies are believed to transmit at least 65 different diseases to humans. Bacteria, viruses that carry, cause food poisoning, diarrhea, eye infections, dysentery, cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, anthrax, leprosy.
They fly from the garbage to the table, capable of carrying more than a million bacteria on the legs and body. Before modern antibiotics were invented, they were definitely fatal.
The housefly vomits into your food. She only digests liquid food, so when she sits on a sandwich, she immediately spews saliva on it. Then he sucks in vomit. Some of the saliva will remain on the bread when you are about to bite it off.
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They leave spots. Small black dots that you see in places where pests have spent a little time are their feces.
Chrysalis stage
The most passive stage in the development of a fly is the pupal stage, the duration of which does not exceed 5-7 days. The hardening skin of the larva is transformed into a doll cover (puparium), inside which the process of metamorphosis is completed: the tissues of the larva disintegrate and all vital organs of the individual are formed. After the required time has elapsed, flies (imago) are born.
Breeding flies
Ways to get rid of flies
Having appeared in an apartment in winter, flies begin to actively reproduce. Unsanitary conditions and dirt contribute to an exponential increase in the number of pests.
Therefore, first you need to do a general cleaning at home and find a nest of flies. By destroying the larvae, you can avoid their further reproduction.
Here are the steps you need to take to get rid of flies.:
- you need to take out the trash.
- The bin must have a sealed lid.
- Food must not be left on the table, it must be wrapped.
- You need to seal all the cracks. Close the ventilation with gauze.
- Flower pots should be checked.
- Wipe dry places where high humidity is observed.
- There should be no food crumbs or leftovers on the table or floor.
Chemical substances
Flies can survive in winter only inside a warm room. If you get rid of them completely, the possibility of re-infection is minimal. Chemicals are the most effective and fast way to kill pests.
These include:
- sticky tapes. Covered in a sticky substance, the smell of which attracts flies. She flies to the tape, sticks and dies. The tapes are effective and safe for those around you. But this is not the most pleasant decoration for the interior.
- Aerosols. Have a directional effect. The most popular fly control is dichlorvos. Dangerous to humans due to high toxicity. The room is treated and closed for a couple of hours. It is necessary to spray the spray, wearing a protective mask on the face, otherwise problems with the respiratory tract may occur. Pests die within 60 minutes after spraying. In this case, the action of the aerosol is enough for a period of 14 to 60 days.
- Fumigator. When heated, vaportrin evaporates from the plate, which is deadly to insects. This substance is slightly toxic and safe for humans. However, the fumigator should not be used in rooms where small children and pets live.
Physical aids
Chemicals are effective but not always safe for humans and pets. If there are not so many flies in the apartment in winter, you can use a simple fly swatter to get rid of the misfortune.
An alternative to a store-bought item would be a tube-wrapped newspaper or slippers. You will have to run after the fly, but you do not need to spend money on more sophisticated tools.
An electric trap is capable of getting rid of a large number of pests. It emits light that flies fly towards.
The trap hits the victim with a weak electric shock, fatal to insects, but harmless to humans. The corpses are lowered onto a special tray. These traps are dangerous for other pets.
Electric fly swatter are effective against single migratory insects. They take up less space than traps and are much cheaper. Moreover, they are more effective than mechanical swatter. A light touch of the insect is enough for it to be electrocuted.
Folk ways
Consider how to deal with parasites using folk methods in winter:
- Dissolve sugar and ground hot pepper in warm water. Pour the solution into plates and arrange around the apartment. Flies will be attracted by the sweet syrup, while pepper will be fatal for them.
- Buy snapdragon at the pharmacy. Its smell is extremely unpleasant for insects. You need to boil the pharynx in milk (two tablespoons of herbs per liter of milk). Pour the broth into containers and arrange in the rooms.
- Turpentine, kerosene, myrtle oil, eucalyptus oil have odors unpleasant for flies. A few drops can be added to the water used to wash the floors.
- Spread sprigs of lavender, mint, cloves, basil, tansy, wormwood and bay leaves around the apartment.
- Put pots of geraniums on the windows, the smell of which is unpleasant to flies.
Development of the imago
In order to soar into the air, the newly-born individual is forced to spend several more days among organic waste, waiting for its wings to dry out and get stronger.As soon as the insect gets on the wing, it is complete and capable of reproduction. Usually the young female lays the first clutch of eggs after 1-2 weeks from the moment of birth.
With the onset of autumn, most of the flies die. The surviving individuals remain for the winter, going in search of favorable secluded places. With the arrival of warmth, the breeding of flies resumes.
Where do flies come from in the apartment
There are several types of flies that prefer to appear in the house, although many are unaware of this. They have external similarities, and also lead a similar lifestyle, so a non-specialist can hardly grasp these differences. With the arrival of spring, house flies appear in a person's home, which feel uncomfortable in the natural environment. Somewhere in the month of August, biting flies appear - flies, while at any time a meatfly, which is distinguished by a gray color, or a fly with a characteristic green or blue tint, can penetrate into the dwelling.
In a closed room, flies can appear on their own or a person can bring them in without suspecting anything about it. Adults can easily appear in the apartment through the cracks that appear in the walls, in the window sills, as well as through the ventilation ducts. They use any flaw or any oversight that a person leaves as a result of his life. It may not be tightly closed doors, loose mosquito nets, etc. But even with constant control, these insects seem to appear out of nowhere in a person's home.
Man himself is able to bring into his home flies that are at the stage of eggs and larvae. Flies lay their eggs on ripe or rotten fruits, plants and flowers. Green flies can easily appear in a home if the owners have left spoiled meat or fish somewhere. This type of fly develops in such stale food products.
Interesting to know! Flies can appear in the house even in winter, which makes this process even more mysterious. Many people think that in winter there is definitely no place for flies in the apartment, since they hibernate with the onset of winter. But when the sun begins to shine through the windows, the air temperature always rises in this place, which awakens these insects. In such conditions, the activity of the fly does not last long: it is either destroyed by the owners, or it finds a new shelter for itself and falls asleep again.
Preventive actions
Do not forget that flies are the main carriers of infectious diseases and pathogenic bacteria. During flights, insects carry dangerous particles very quickly. Especially unfavorable is the appearance in the house of a green carrion fly, which lives both among flowering strong-smelling plants and in dirty places: manure, various rotting waste, as well as on decaying animal corpses.
Due to the fact that flies reproduce quickly enough, their penetration into the house is completely undesirable. To prevent their spread, you must follow simple rules:
- do not leave vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, sweet and other products for a long time in the open, since they are a favorable environment for the development of eggs;
- try to keep the house clean by timely disposal of food and household waste;
- use mosquito nets: as flies appear in housing, usually flying through windows or doors;
If the pests still managed to appear in the house, it is necessary to use folk and chemical means to destroy them.
What to do if appeared
What to do if flies appear in the apartment? There are many answers to this question. Next, we will describe the most popular ways to kill or expel insects.
spring-cleaning
This method involves the elimination of the source of attraction for insects.In the kitchen, you need to wash the refrigerator, cabinet and other surfaces, remove from the table, wash the dishes.
To prevent pests from entering the apartment, store stale food in a separate sealed container, cover the trash bin with food waste, constantly treat the trash can with disinfectants.
Using a fly swatter
If general cleaning in the kitchen did not give the desired result and the flies reappeared in the apartment, you can try to eliminate them with a fly swatter. If there is no such device, use old newspapers or magazines that are wrapped in a tube.
A huge disadvantage of the method in question is considered to be insect stains on the ceiling and wall, so many housewives began to use electric fly swatter. Such a device runs on batteries and does all the work without the participation of the landlord.
Using homemade traps
If for some reason a person cannot buy special sticky traps for flies, then you can make insect bait yourself with the help of improvised means. First, make a syrup (50-60 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters of water with the addition of lemon juice). Next, cut pieces of paper of the required length, spread with the prepared solution and leave to dry. A loop hole is made at the top of the trap.
After the syrup dries, the strips are hung in places of maximum concentration of flies. Another option for a homemade trap is the use of a milk solution with the same concentration of sugar. The liquid is simply poured into a jar, after which containers are placed around the perimeter of the apartment.
Here's another way to make homemade fly traps.
Using a mosquito net
An anti-mosquito net on the doors and windows will prevent the appearance of flies in the apartment, will make it possible to ventilate the premises without fear of pest attacks. It should be remembered that flies can crawl into the smallest crevices, therefore, damage in the mesh should be repaired immediately after emergence.
Life cycle of a midge
The insect goes through three stages of development. During growth, the larvae molt twice: 24 and 48 hours after formation. At this time, they feed on the substances of the decaying fruit and the microorganisms involved in this process. They pupate after 4-5 days. In this state, another 4-5 days are spent, during which metamorphoses occur, changing, developing and preparing organs for transformation into imago.
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The first mating in females occurs no earlier than 12 hours after final development. Only from the second day they lay eggs, at a time - 50-80 pieces.
Depending on the air temperature, the answer to the question of how long Drosophila live is different. In the warm period - 10 - 20 days, in the cold - up to 2.5 months.
What is the difference between the fruit fly
This insect has a number of other names, such as vinegar or wine fly. Firstly, this insect is tiny in size, with a body length of no more than 3 mm. Secondly, they move in extremely numerous flocks, at an enviable speed. Because of this, they bother a person.
Fruit flies prefer to feed on rotten fruits, berries and vegetables, as well as other food waste that is not of the first freshness. They are especially attracted by their wine smell, or rather products that are in fermentation conditions. Wine fly larvae also feed on tiny microorganisms.
These ubiquitous insects are difficult to confuse with other insects due to their characteristic movement and diet. If some very small insects are swarming over the rotten foodstuffs, then these are most likely Drosophila flies. It is almost impossible to meet lonely flying creatures. If a fruit fly was seen somewhere, then you can be sure that in a couple of minutes there will be so many of them that it is impossible to count.