I have had loads of calls about flies appearing in the house over the last few days.
These horrid things are called Cluster Flies and basically are living in your loft or roof space. With everybody being indoors over the last few weeks, it seems that lofts has warmed up due to heating being on all day causing the flies to emerge from hibernation.
So what are cluster flies?
The cluster fly is slightly larger than the common house fly – about 9mm in size. The thorax is dark olive grey, with fine golden hairs which can easily be rubbed off. There are no distinct lines or stripes behind the head and the abdomen has irregular light and dark grey areas.
Their life-cycle is a bit of an odd one. The female lays eggs in the soil near the burrows of earthworms. The tiny maggots that hatch from the eggs seek out earthworms to feed upon. As cold weather progresses, adults seek protected places to spend the winter, particularly during September and October. Most roof and loft spaces are warm enough to promote re-emergence throughout the winter with more activity again in early spring.
When they emerge, they tend to head for the windows or any available light. Some are very active, whilst others are pretty sleepy. They crawl out of light fittings and any cracks on the roof or loft hatch.
Complete control of cluster flies is almost impossible since the over wintering adults are concealed in walls, attics, etc, however we do provide several treatments which can be effective in reducing the numbers both now and for future appearances. Unfortunately, once your roof is chosen as a hibernation place, it is likely to recur each year.
Thankfully, cluster flies pose little or no health risk as they do not feed on faeces or decaying flesh, unlike house flies and blue bottles. They are just very annoying and seem to have a very load buzz!
If you are suffering from Cluster Flies, please call us to discuss the treatments available and how we can minimise the impact on your property (and sanity!).
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