The summer season is just around the corner, and that means just one thing. Pretty soon, your home and yard will be swarming with flies, and you will be frantically trying to get rid of them.
You already know that flies are gross, but you may not realize just how disgusting they are. Flies are more than unsightly and annoying – they can be a real threat to your health and your family. Here are some even grosser things you may not have known about the common housefly.
Flies Carry Disease
Flies carry a variety of truly frightening diseases, but this disease risk is often underappreciated. If you have flies in your home, you also have millions of germs, just waiting to infect your home and family.
Many of these illnesses are highly communicable, so your entire family could be infected. Worse still, these fly-borne diseases can be particularly dangerous for older people and those with preexisting medical conditions – one more reason to invest in quality pest protection before the summer starts to heat up.
Flies Are Attracted to Rotting Meat
One of the reasons flies carry so many diseases is the way they eat. Flies are attracted to some of the grosser things in the food chain, including rotting meat.
It is no secret that feasting on rotting meat makes flies even more gross, and that gives you one more reason to send them packing. You can use this attraction to your advantage by purchasing a fly trap and stocking it with some of the grosser things flies like to eat.
Flies Eat Through Regurgitation
Just when you thought it could not get worse, it does. Not only do flies feast on rotting meat and spread disease, but they soften up their food through regurgitation.
When a fly lands on your favorite picnic fare, it throws up a little, softening up the food and eating its fill. Then it flies away, leaving the rest of your food on the table.
Flies Are Profligate Breeders
Sometimes it seems like flies spring out of nowhere, and that is almost the case. While those flies are not truly coming out of thin air, they are breeding faster than even the best fly swatter can kill them.
Flies are amazing breeders, and a single pair can produce thousands of maggots in a surprisingly short period of time. That is why it is so important to stay on top of your fly situation – if you fail to act quickly, the population could quickly get out of control.
Summer is a great time to be outdoors, but not if you are surrounded by thousands of flies. These flying insects are even grosser than you thought, so it is time to start making your fly eradication plans.