Flies are a nuisance in homes, yards, restaurants and even workplace. Flies are associated with unhygienic conditions and it is very disturbing when they land on your food or surfaces. Let’s get down to what attracts flies in your yard and how to control them.
Flies come in various species with common housefly living around human settlements. The insects feed on human foodstuffs and wastes. Flies are known to transport various infections such as diarrhea, typhoid and cholera. This is why they are unwelcome in homes or in outdoor barbecue parties.
There are various ways of keeping flies away outside but they will remain to be temporal solution to the problem if we don’t understand what attract flies.
Are Flies Attracted to Light?
During daytime, most flies are active, this is when they are searching for food or a mate. When not actively feeding, flies may be found resting on indoor or outdoor surfaces such as floors, walls, fences, garbage cans, window glasses and on plants.
At night when there is darkness, flies will prefer resting. However, they will get attracted to bright light from your bulbs. Like most bugs, flies have a positive response to light. It is believed that, they use light for navigation as they search for food or warmth.
Light is commonly used to lure bugs into traps or zappers. The type of light and spectrum matter for this purpose. Usually, bug zappers and fly traps work with the help of a UV blue light which is good at luring them to their death.
Changing your bright white bulbs to yellow light is a popular way of keeping bugs away from your porch light. However, this will not work for mosquitoes as they are not attracted to light. Mosquitoes detect carbon dioxide in breathe and sweat which they use to locate their host for blood.
What Else Attracts Flies?
Apart from light, flies are also attracted to the following:
1. Garbage and food wastes
Garbage provides food and place where flies breed from. Any waste associated with the preparation, cooking and serving of food at home and in public will attract large swarms of lies. Flies quickly detect these materials through the foul smell resulting from rotting.
2. Animal waste
Flies get attracted to animal waste including dung, waste from feeds and decomposing carcasses. They also love sewage sludge and solid organic waste in open drains. This is where they obtain moisture and food. It is unfortunate this is where flies obtain and translocate disease causing germs.
3. Organic manure
Piles of decaying animal and plant materials such as droppings, grass clippings, compost heaps and other accumulations of decomposed wastes material will attract a large population of flies. This is where most flies lay and hatch their eggs besides having quick access to their food.
How to Control Flies in your Yard
Controlling flies in your yard not only keep you safe from infectious diseases but also assures you peace of mind when hosting visitors in your backyard. The following are effective ways of controlling flies in your yard.
High sanitation and hygiene conditions
Generally, flies are attracted to a dirty environment. Cleaning your outdoor areas and surfaces will greatly reduce the population of flies in your yard. Power wash your patios, collect leaves and all decomposing material for a clean backyard.
Properly dispose of garbage and food waste
Garbage bins should be covered and closed tightly before they are emptied. The waste from preparation, cooking and serving of food should be dumped away from your home preferably at the nearby municipal waste collecting points. Trash bins should them be cleaned before reusing them.
Remove animal waste from your yard
Immediately remove animal waste from your yard including dung and feed leftovers before they attract flies or create unpleasant odor around. Waste from pets should be collected into a trash bag and wrapped completely before they are collected and taken to the landfill.
You can also burry dog or cat waste into the ground but the area should be away from your yard or any nearby water sources. Livestock waste on the other hand can be taken into a designated area in the yard as a compost heap. Keep turning the compost to cool it down and accelerate decomposition as a way of discouraging pests.
Keep your yard kempt and dry
Most bugs including flies and mosquitoes love damp unkempt areas in the yard. To discourage them, soak up any standing water in the yard, cut down tall grasses and shrubs and remove idle items and debris from your compound.
Grow plants that keep bugs away
Flies have a strong sense of smell which help them locate their food. Strong scents from plants are known to repel most insects. You can grow plants that keep away bugs in your yard to control the population of flies. Example include; lemon grass, mint, lavender, basil and rosemary among others.
Use baits and traps
You can use traps and baits to lure and kill flies. This is a principle used in bug zappers where a UV light attracts bugs into a charged grit for electrocution. However, trapping and killing flies can end up affecting non-targeted insects which are harmless or beneficial in nature.
Use chemical control
You can decide to use an insecticide to kill flies and other bugs in your yard. While this will not provide a permanent solution to the problem, it will partly offer instant relief from the pests. However, insecticides may also kill harmless insects or end up into the nearby streams.
Contact pest control agencies
You can contact a nearby pest control agency to help in managing the problem of flies in your yard. They have the skill and right equipment to handle any type of bug that is causing you trouble.
Final Thought
Flies and mosquitoes are dangerous insects around human settlement. They are mainly feared for spreading infectious diseases. Fortunately, you can control these dreaded bugs in your yard as recommended in this guide.
