What is that unwavering “buzz” and “ting” noise that you constantly hear banging into your window right now you ask?
It’s fly season… Well, almost fully fly season, so here are all the facts that you need to know about:
Cluster Flies
Where do they come from?
Cluster flies emerge in the spring, summer and fall. Often in large numbers (clusters), they enter houses to find a warm place to hibernate during the colder months. These flies do not bite humans and are strictly parasitic on earth worms.
What do they look like?
The physical appearance of a cluster fly resembles very much to house or a bottle fly. Adult cluster flies are dark gray in color and about 8 – 10 mm long. They have yellowish golden hairs on their thorax. The abdomen of a cluster fly has a prominent dark and light coloured chequered pattern.
Unlike house flies they do not have dark stripes on their thorax and also they don’t have bluish or greenish metallic coloured bodies like the ones that bottle flies have. At rest, both the wings of a cluster fly overlap across the abdomen.
What is their life cycle?
Per season, there are generally 3 to 4 life cycles of cluster flies. The beginning of a typical cluster fly lifecycle begins after the adults leave their over-wintering sites in the spring and lay eggs on the soil that contains earthworms. The eggs are mostly laid in the soil cracks.
After 3 – 4 days these eggs hatch and the maggots (larvae) enter the body cavities of earthworms. These larvae then feed on the host earthworms for few days. The maggot stage in cluster flies lasts in about 13 to 22 days.
After this they molt and pupate in the soil. Pupal stage lasts 11 – 14 days after which adult flies come out and are ready to start the cycle again.
The total life cycle of a cluster fly is 30-50 days
How do I get rid of them?
If you have found that your cluster fly issue has become a little out of hand for you, you can give us a call. We will safely remove and prevent cluster fly habitation from occurring in and around your home.
It is important that if you do try different removal methods, such as sprays etc. that you read the label very carefully. Any type of over-the-counter pest prevention may carry some sort of health risk, especially to children, pets and seniors. It’s always best to leave it up to the professionals!