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House flies hangout at places like dumps, sewers, and garbage heaps. They feed on fecal matter, discharges from wounds and sores, sputum, and all sorts of moist decaying matter such as spoiled fish, eggs and meat. But House Flies do have one use. House Flies affinity for corpses makes them quite useful to Forensic Entomologists. Forensic Scientists use the knowledge of the flies’ life cycle to gauge the amount of time a corpse has been decomposing.
Characteristics
House Flies cannot bite.
House Flies are generally 3/16 to 1/4 inches in length
Males are slightly smaller than the females
Females have more space between eyes than the males
The body of a House Fly is covered with hair like projections
There are approximately 100,000 species of flies in the world
House Flies have two translucent wings and a gray thorax marked with four dark stripes
House Flies eat rotting organic matter, such as decaying food and flesh, feces, and mucus
House Flies are the most common species found on hog and poultry farms, horse stables and ranches
Reproduction
House Fly eggs are laid near food source for larvae
House Fly eggs are laid in just about any warm, moist material, manure or fermenting vegetation
Hatchings take place, in warm weather, within 12 to 24 hours
The young maggots become fully grown in 3-7 days
When adults emerge they begin mating immediately
Female house flies can lay as many as 500 eggs in a lifetime
An entire life cycle; egg, larva, pupa to winged adult may occur in 6-10 days
Adults may live an average of 30 days in the wild
Prevention
Fly swatter
Good sanitation
Fly paper and fly traps
Seal garbage cans and bags thoroughly
Serious infestations may require a licensed professional
Seal all cracks and small spaces around the home preventing flies from enter the home