Flies are very common pests and can be found almost everywhere, in and around your home, in restaurants, in grocery stores, and just about everywhere in between. They are so common that when they land on a plate of food, we often don’t think twice about it. But, have you ever really stopped to think about whether or not flies are more than just a nuisance? Do these pests pose any dangers? Should you be more proactive about keeping these flying pests out of your home? Here is some helpful information to help you learn more about the common flies that enter our homes.

The three most common house-infesting flies found in the New York area are the house fly, the fruit fly, and the cluster fly. There is no question that having flies living and buzzing about inside your home is a nuisance, but are these pests really a danger? The answer to this question is yes!

Before house flies found their way into your home, they lived outside, landing and feeding on some very unsanitary things including carrion, garbage, and feces, and in the process, picking up dangerous bacteria, diseases, and parasites. Once inside your home, these flies continuously land on food and other surfaces in your home, potentially spreading dangerous parasites and diseases including typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and salmonella, all of which have the potential to make you and your family very ill.

Fruit flies feed on and fly around decaying food and garbage, which, like house flies, puts them in position to introduce diseases and bacteria into your home. In addition to spreading diseases, fruit flies will contaminate food found inside your home by laying their eggs on fruits and vegetables that are being stored in kitchen and pantry areas. Fruit flies are also prolific breeders; if just a few of them find their way into your home, you could be dealing with large-scale fruit fly infestation in a short period of time.

Cluster flies pose significantly less danger to people than fruit flies and house flies. These flies typically live outdoors; these pests only enter inside during the fall in order to have a safe place to overwinter. Cluster flies do not lay their eggs on our food; instead, they lay their eggs inside earthworms. However, it is still important to remember that cluster flies do have the potential to introduce parasites and bacteria that they have picked up while living outside into your home; therefore, keeping cluster flies out of your home and away from your family and food sources is imperative to you and your family’s well-being!

To help you keep flies out of your home, here is a list of common mistakes that homeowners make which allow flies to enter homes and contaminate food sources:

• Storing fruits and vegetables out on the counter instead of inside the refrigerator.
• Leaving doors or windows open for extended periods of time.
• Not repairing screens with holes or rips in them.
• Not making sure that outdoor garbage cans have locking or tight-fitting lids on them.
• Using regular white outdoor light bulbs instead of sodium vapor lighting, which are less attractive to flies.
• Leaving dirty dishes in the kitchen sink overnight and not thoroughly cleaning out sink drains on a regular basis.

If you are experiencing problems with flies inside your home, don’t just ignore the problem and hope it will go away; contact Thomas Pest Services instead! Our professionals can put into place the long-term services needed to eliminate these disease-spreading pests from your home and keep them from returning. To learn more about our affordable and highly-effective fly control services, give us a call at Thomas Pest Services today!