One of the most annoying pests is the fly. They have always been a problem for businesses and homeowners alike. But how do you tell when you have a full-blown fly infestation, rather than just a temporary influx of these pests? There are a few signals to look out for that will help you to confirm your suspicions.
During warmer months, the fly population naturally increases, but this does not necessarily mean that you have a problem on your hands. The number of flies in your home or workplace will subside slowly unless your space has become a breeding ground. IWESCO offers professional pest control services that can help you to remove flies and other pests that pose health risks.
Five signs of a fly infestation
1. More flies than ever before - This is the most obvious way to tell if you have a possible fly outbreak on your hands. If you are noticing an unusually large amount of these buzzing pests in and around your home or office, then you may need to start looking for their breeding sites and potential food sources. Check any areas where there may be exposed food, standing water or waste.
Flies like to hang around warm environments that are close to food and water. You need to act quickly and decisively as flies can breed at an alarming rate and a problem can quickly turn into an infestation. Inspect your bins, compost, gutters and drains for swarms of flies. Observe exceptional hygiene practices and kitchen cleanliness to reduce the chances of them finding a home in your house.
2. Clusters of tiny dark spots - Keep a close lookout for tiny clusters of black spots, about the size of a pinhead. These most often occur on light fittings and the upper sections of walls, but they can also appear around dust bins and water. These tiny specks are fly droppings and are a telltale sign of their presence, even when no flies can be seen. It also indicates that they are staying in the vicinity of your home or office due to an abundance of food.
3. Eggs and maggots - Tiny, white, oval-shaped eggs in your dustbins, garden refuse or food scraps indicate that flies are breeding. These eggs will soon hatch and small white maggots will crawl, surprisingly fast, throughout your home. Where there are maggots, there is likely going to be a fly infestation soon. It also hints that a suitable breeding site has already been found. You need to contain the maggots and remove any eggs before they hatch.
4. Bad odours - Foul smells attract flies as they usually come from potential food sources, whether decomposing animals, rotting vegetation or old food. If you can smell a bad odour, chances are that flies can too. Try to follow the scent and find the source before the flies turn it into a breeding site or feeding hotspot. These sources of foul smells need to be removed immediately and the area cleaned or rinsed down with water to prevent any lingering scents from attracting more flies.
5. Heat waves - As mentioned before, fly populations naturally increase in warm weather. When you have a heat wave or a warm spell of fine weather, keep an eye out for the above signals and be prepared to take swift action. While different fly species have various lifecycles, they generally all speed up as the weather becomes warmer. This means that eggs hatch more quickly and that maggots turn into flies in fewer days. They then breed with one another sooner and the whole cycle repeats itself more rapidly.
If you think that you have a fly infestation, you need to call in expert pest control services as soon as possible. Our highly-trained team has the right equipment and knowledge to deal with such outbreaks. We also use eco-friendly pesticides to remove all sorts of pests without posing more of a threat to the natural environment. We can also install fly traps and bait stations in your home or office to eradicate flies on an ongoing basis.
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IWESCO offers specialised cleaning and waste control services to industrial and commercial customers in South Africa. These services are aimed at minimising our customers’ impact on the environment. Our services also include pest control, garden maintenance, fogging and disinfecting. Our staff are highly trained to offer the most professional services. IWESCO is a Level 2 B-BBEE supplier with ISO 14001 certification for environmental management.
We are a one-stop shop for all your contract cleaning and waste control needs and have a national footprint. Our head office is located in Tshwane but we can provide services to any industrial and commercial client in the major metropolitan areas around South Africa, including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Mbombela and more.
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