Warmer weather, sunshine and lighter evenings are finally here. That means dinner on the patio, drinks in the garden with friends and the odd barbecue. For a lot of us, a cool glass of wine and the smell of food on the grill is what summer is all about.
A handful of uninvited guests can spoil it, though. Wasps, ants and houseflies are the usual culprits, and all three turn up the moment you sit down outside. You can keep them under control if you know what you are doing, and that is where we come in.
This is the third post in our short series on common summer pests. We started with wasps, then moved on to ants. Here we are tackling the housefly.
Why houseflies are more than just annoying
Few things test your patience like a housefly. It has the whole house and garden to explore, yet it will always pick the exact spot where you can see it, hear it or feel it land on your face.
The nuisance is the least of it. Houseflies are very good at spreading disease, largely because of what they eat and how they eat it. They are drawn to rotting plants and animal waste, and they feed by vomiting onto their food to break it down before slurping it back up. When that food is your burger or your potato salad, anything the fly was sitting on a moment ago comes with it.
If a fly has landed on something you were about to eat, the safest move is to throw the food away. It is not worth the risk of passing something on to your family or guests.
Keeping houseflies out of your home
Most of the time you can repel and catch houseflies without much trouble. Window screens stop them getting indoors in the first place. Sticky fly paper deals with the ones that do make it in, and there are some effective aerosol insecticides on the market too.
The picture changes when houseflies keep arriving in large numbers and you cannot find an obvious source. That usually points to a breeding site somewhere nearby, and it is the moment to bring in a professional. Our housefly removal team can find what is drawing them in and clear your home of the problem properly. Get in touch and we will talk you through it.