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Blow flies and house flies are both found in New Jersey and considered “filth flies”. They can carry various diseases and often frequent decaying matter, trash, and feces, among other yucky things. While house flies are quite plain looking, blow flies are larger and a bit mesmerizing with their metallic blue and green coloring.
Blow Flies Vs. Houseflies: What’s the Difference?
House flies pick up the intensity in their numbers in the Northeast when the season starts to change. The fall of the year seems to bring out swarms of all varieties— more so than other times. House flies and blow flies are two types that can be easily mistaken for each other because of their similarities, but they are different in many ways. Both house flies and blow flies seem like a harmless nuisance, but it depends on where they’ve been that dictates their level of danger.
Remember, many house flies land on fecal matter and rotting materials outside. So, if they come into your home and land on your food or surfaces, anything they touch spreads the germs around. Did you know that there are more than 16,000 types of flies identified on this continent?
The good news is that you’re only going to deal with a few specific types in the New Jersey area. Two of the most common pests are the standard house fly and the blow fly. The term is deceptive because folks call any fly that gets into the home by this name, but there is a specific species that’s easy to identify.
The Housefly
While house flies are prevalent around the country, they’re believed to have originated from the Middle East. If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t seem to catch that nagging fly to swat it, it’s because they have excellent vision. Looking at any house fly, you can see that their eyes are quite large.
In fact, they can process visual information seven times faster than you can, so they are experts at getting out of harm’s way when necessary. They have a flicker fusion rate, which allows them to see you coming toward them in slow motion. This will enable them to quickly assess the situation before you have a chance to grab them.
They have three compound eyes. You can tell a distinction between the males and females based on the spacing of the eyes. The females have a more distinct space between the eye placement, while the males’ peepers are closer together.
Housefly Appearance
When it comes to appearance, the house fly is nothing stunning to look at. They don’t have the shiny colors of the blow fly, which tend to be blue or green in hue. The standard house fly can get rather significant in size, and they typically measure anywhere from 6 to 7 mm in length.
The females are larger than the males, and their wingspan can grow to around 13 to 15 mm. Oddly enough, the latitude of where the fly is located will dictate their size. In some geographic locations, the flies grow more prominent than in others. The house fly has different variations of gray and black on them, and tons of tiny hairs cover the entire body.
They have one pair of wings, but they’re so translucent that you can hardly see them. While you may think the house flies want your food, they’re made for a liquid diet. Their mouth is very limited in capacity, and they suck fluids using their retractable mouthparts.
Another interesting fact is that they can taste with their legs. That’s right; when they walk through something, their body can use their chemoreceptors to taste what they’re in to see if it’s something they can eat. If it is a solid food, they will release saliva to soften it so that they can eat it.
What does it mean when flies rub their legs together? This means they’re engaging their tasting abilities through their chemoreceptors, and they get a taste of whatever they’ve landed on. They have six legs in total, and at the end of each leg is a set of claws. The claws allow them to land on your ceiling without falling off.
The Blow Fly
While blow flies have many similar features and behaviors of house flies, they do have their own identity. Blow flies are slightly bigger than house flies and will go as far as to lay their eggs on living animals. This is concerning for livestock because blow flies will typically swarm around horses, cattle, goats, etc., and lay their eggs within any open wounds to their nose or eyes. Blow flies are found all over the world and are highly attracted to strong odors. The blow flies’ smelling abilities are its superpower as they can smell decaying matter from 1 mile away!
Blowfly Appearance
When it comes to appearance, the house fly is nothing stunning to look at. They don’t have the shiny colors of the blow fly, which tend to be blue or green in hue. The standard house fly can get rather significant in size, and they typically measure anywhere from 6 to 7 mm in length.
The females are larger than the males, and their wingspan can grow to around 13 to 15 mm. Oddly enough, the latitude of where the fly is located will dictate their size. In some geographic locations, the flies grow more prominent than in others. The house fly has different variations of gray and black on them, and tons of tiny hairs cover the entire body.
They have one pair of wings, but they’re so translucent that you can hardly see them. While you may think the house flies want your food, they’re made for a liquid diet. Their mouth is very limited in capacity, and they suck fluids using their retractable mouthparts.
Another interesting fact is that they can taste with their legs. That’s right; when they walk through something, their body can use their chemoreceptors to taste what they’re in to see if it’s something they can eat. If it is a solid food, they will release saliva to soften it so that they can eat it.
What does it mean when flies rub their legs together? This means they’re engaging their tasting abilities through their chemoreceptors, and they get a taste of whatever they’ve landed on. They have six legs in total, and at the end of each leg is a set of claws. The claws allow them to land on your ceiling without falling off.
Lifecycle Of Blow Flies and House Flies
Do you ever notice how it seems like once you have one fly in your home, they multiply very quickly? The average female house fly can lay up to 500 eggs during her lifetime, but her batches are usually done in 75-150 at a time. While she’s an expert egg layer, she will only mate one time in her life.
After the house fly has reached adulthood, the male can begin sexually reproducing after a mere 16 hours, but it takes the female a whole day for such activities. Males can mate many times, but the females will reject any further advances after she’s bred just once in her life.
She will save the sperm she collects from the male, using it whenever she’s ready to produce offspring. So, if you ever catch two flies stuck together mating, it’s a unique occurrence as it will only happen once for that female. The female lays her eggs in places where she knows they will be safe from harm, typically some rotting material.
About 24 hours after the eggs are laid, the larvae can feed and move about where she’s placed them. In warmer weather, the maggot can turn into larva within a couple of weeks, but it can take up to a month if the weather is cooler. Larva hate being around any light, so they like to stay in warm, moist, and dark locations, which makes manure piles or decaying animal carcasses perfect.
At the third part of their transformation process, they will find a cool and dry place to rest so they can turn into pupae. It takes anywhere from 2-6 days for the pupae to develop in warm weather, but it can take 20 days or more if the temperatures drop below 50 °F. Once the pupa is done with the metamorphosis process, they turn into a full-grown house fly.
The process to become a fly lasts longer than the flies in adult form, as they only live for up to 30 days.
Areas Where Flies Love To Dwell
Whether you’re dealing with a blow fly, or a house fly, it doesn’t matter; they both will be where they can dine. Infestations often happen in the kitchen or bathroom, but they’re not against a basement or attic area either. They will go where they can find food, which is why there seems to be a vast majority around your dinner table with you.
If you live in a rural area where there are pastures close by, you might be surprised at the number of flies that you see. Once you have a food source for them, they will stay till they die. While fly swatters and fly tape work for smaller numbers, they can quickly get out of control.
Keeping Flies At Bay
If your yard is overgrown and there are weeds all around, you’re going to have a higher population of flies, among other things. Leaving the doors to your home open without a screen will increase house fly activity on the inside. Also, picking up animal waste from your yard on a regular basis will keep flies from hanging around and keep larvae out of the waste.
Trash cans are always a hot spot for house flies, especially ones that stay uncovered. If you have a trash can that stays uncovered inside your home, you might be able to repel them with certain scents. Lavender, basil, and citrus can deter them from the area since flies hate those smells.
If you have screens on your doors, it would be helpful to keep an eye out for holes to form. The screen should fit tight around the doorways and if not some sealant may be needed.
The Dangers Of Flies In Your Home
The real danger to having blow flies or house flies in your home of any variety is their feeding habits. You’re having dinner with your family, laughing and talking, and you shoo a couple flies away. The problem is that when your back is turned, a fly lands and walks around through your food. You’re none the wiser, as you didn’t see it.
The real problem is that they can contaminate your cuisine without you even knowing it. The food is contaminated and not editable, but you eat it anyway. Many folks won’t throw away “good food” just because a fly landed on it.
However, it’s a fact that both blow flies and house flies frequent dead animals, rotten food, manure, and trash, and when they fly into your food, they infect your food with germs. Did you ever wonder what diseases these flies spread
- E-Coli
- Anthrax
- Salmonella
- Tuberculosis
If that list isn’t enough to scare you, then there’s more they transmit that’s not listed. The key is to get rid of them. You can start by being proactive and not rolling out the welcome mat.
Getting Professional Help
While most fly problems in this area are manageable using stuff from a local hardware store, there are many times the population can get out of hand. It can seem like a plague has descended on your home, and you need the help of a professional. Call in our expert team when you need more than a fly swatter to combat your fly issues.
We can teach you ways to keep the flies away, as well as getting rid of these pesky bugs from your home. You want your house to be safe and happy, so we can help put the fly issues to rest.