Flies are nuisance pests and often cause diseases. I find a few of them inside my house and often don’t mind them because I know they’ll go away soon. However, I woke up one day and discovered hundreds of dead flies inside my home. So, I researched what may have caused them to die.
So, why are there dead flies in my house? There are dead flies in your house because they choose your property as their temporary shelter during the wet season. They can’t withstand winter temperatures. Thus, they enter where it’s warm. Since flies have an average lifespan of one month, it’s not surprising that you see them dead in your home.
According to Colorado State University Entomology Professor Whitney Cranshaw, flies are transient creatures. Therefore, they’ll move inside houses for temporary shelter during the cold months. Moreover, the female flies may soon lay their eggs on your food to become adults.
Most flies thrive within a month and eventually die. If they swarm inside your property during the winter, they’ll also die in your home. Don’t be surprised to see hundreds of flies on your windowsill.
Why Do I Keep Finding Dead Flies on My Windowsill?
You keep finding dead flies on your windowsill because there’s an infestation of cluster flies in your building or house. However, having them on your windowsill isn’t proof of poor house cleaning. Instead, they chose your property to hibernate and the crevices in window frames are where they can remain during the winter.
You’ll often notice them around late summer to early autumn because they’re searching for a place to hibernate. Moreover, they travel in big groups and often live in a roof void. Thus, people also refer to them as attic flies. If you see dead cluster flies on your windowsill, they chose your property as a place for them to hibernate.
Cluster flies aren’t dangerous. However, if you don’t deal with them today, they’ll be back on your property next year. You may contact pest control for professional and prompt treatment. These experts can treat the adult resting sites, usually after the first winter frosts, to ensure these flies hibernate together in the area.
Pest control experts often use a ULV fog generator to eliminate the cluster files. However, you can’t go up the loft space an hour after fogging because they use poison. On the other hand, it’s not efficient to fly proof a property. However, you may seal the entry points and caulk the windows to prevent entry.
Do you prefer to eliminate these obnoxious flies? Here are some tips:
- Ensure that your window screens have no flies where flies can enter. You may replace a damaged screen to prevent cluster flies from getting inside your home.
- Check your windowsill or window for crevices, holes, or cracks, and use caulks to seal the possible entry points.
- Get rid of the garbage that may draw flies into your house. Dumpsters and garbage cans should be far from your home and windows.
- Use a fly trap near a window to trap the flies. I recommend the Catchmaster Window Fly Traps that are available on Amazon. Click here to have yours delivered to your front door.
Why Are There Suddenly Flies in My House?
There are flies suddenly in your house because they multiply quickly in a brief time. Once they enter your abode, they lay eggs near food sources. They thrive in warm temperatures but become dormant during the winter season. Unfortunately, they may choose your house as their temporary shelter.
Flies swarm around your house for four reasons:
- They reproduce faster, depending on the food availability, species, and environmental conditions. Their lifespan lasts for up to a month; however, a female fly can lay 500 eggs in six batches. Moreover, it only takes up to ten days for an egg to become an adult fly. If you see flies around your house, these adult flies search for entry points to get inside for breeding and find food.
- Flies breed on food sources, so they get inside your home and lay their eggs on dirty drains and the kitchen garbage bin.
- Flies are omnivorous and will eat anything in your home. They get inside in search of food. If you’re negligent, you’ll find a swarm of flies inside your house.
- They reproduce during warm temperatures but seek temporary shelters during the wet season. They may find your home a secure place; thus, they settle inside to keep warm.
If you worry about a fly infestation, you should prevent them from reproducing inside your house. Flies search for moisture around food sources or garbage. Therefore, you should keep your trash cans covered and take them out at night. Moreover, it would help keep these bins clean by rinsing them and then drying them.
Additionally, you should seal any plumbing leaks and use dehumidifiers if there’s too much humidity in the house. Moreover, it would be best to keep your home clean and dry. Finally, it’s hard to eliminate flies once they settle in your home. Thus, it would help if you prevented them from getting inside to reproduce.
Why Do Flies Suddenly Drop Dead?
Flies suddenly drop dead because of their short life span. House flies can live up to 30 days, while fruit flies last 50 days. They may also die inside your house because of stress. Moreover, they die if the temperature falls below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Typical Life Cycle of Flies
A female fly lays eggs on food sources; then, larvae feed on them to become pupae, then adult flies. The eggs can take up to seven days to turn into larvae. Moreover, they reproduce quickly; thus, an infestation may become severe. The lifespan of an average house fly is 30 days. Flies are active during the summer, but they can also reproduce even in winter.
- Stress Among House Flies
A housefly may find it stressful and disorienting inside your home. Thus, you’ll often find it trying to escape through your window. It may eventually die because of the stressful condition.
- Cold Temperatures
Flies are active when it’s warm; however, they become inactive and eventually die when the temperature drops. Female flies often lay their eggs during the summer faster, and flies often perish outside at colder temperatures. On the other hand, they survive if they seek temporary shelter inside the home.
Temperature affects the rate of flies’ maturity and survival. For example, eggs may hatch within eight hours if the temperature reaches 99 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, if it drops to 59 degrees, the eggs may hatch in two days.
A young fly becomes an adult within four days under optimal conditions. However, it reaches maturity within 30 days in colder temperatures. Flies become inactive if the temperature drops to 45 degrees, but they die if the temperature reaches 32 degrees.
I conducted a study via online forums to find out where dead flies were being found in various homes. This analysis will also provide the probable cause of the mass of a dead flies.
| Where were the dead flies found? | Probable cause of the infestation |
|---|---|
| Bedroom near the window. | Cluster flies that consume nectar. They were trapped in the house, and they attempted to escape via the bedroom window. I recommend Dr. Killigan’s Fly Inn that is available on Amazon. Click to have yours delivered. |
| Flies that accumulate around the skylight. | Cluster flies that entered the house through the attic vent. Once the temperature is ok outside, they will attempt to leave and since a skylight is lit during the day, they will attempt to leave by this route. |
| Flies that appeared on the kitchen counters. | Some people leave the lights underneath the cupboards lit during the night. Flies are attracted to the light and if the counter is clean enough, they will not have a food source causing them to die on the countertops. |
What Could Cause an Infestation of House Flies?
An infestation of house flies is due to a ready supply of decaying material that enticed flies to deposit fly eggs. They can breed very quickly when the food supply is abundant, and when conditions are warm.
Everyone prefers a fly-free home, and you may wonder what’s causing the flies infestation in your house. Moreover, you may find it frustrating because you can’t seem to get rid of them. Houseflies are also health risks because they are unsanitary, and whatever germs they carry can cause diseases affecting the whole family. Click the get Dr Killigan Fly Inn delivered to your door.
It may seem normal for you to see a fly inside your home, but you should worry if the swarm is in large numbers. Here’s a list of causes of flies’ infestation:
- You think that they will die naturally.
If you know that an adult fly will eventually die soon, you may not act if you see flies buzzing around you. You become complacent until you notice that flies don’t seem to expire as expected. You don’t realize that female flies can leave their eggs, and such eggs will become adult flies soon. If flies thrive on your property, you should think of ways of eliminating them.
- An adult fly breeds rapidly.
A female housefly lays 150 eggs simultaneously six times during its short lifespan. Therefore, one fly can multiply at least a hundred times while in your house. Unfortunately, you can’t dismiss this innocent creature because it can infest your home in a flash.
- Your house provides the warmth they need to live.
The eggs require warm conditions to survive and become adult flies. They need at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit to thrive. Therefore, if you notice a swarm of flies inside your house, you should reduce the temperature to prevent the eggs from hatching.
- You have rotting matter in your house.
A female fly lays eggs on rotten material; therefore, you should cover trash bins to prevent access to female house flies. Moreover, you should fix leaks in your garbage disposal unit and search for other pollutants on your property.
- You don’t deal with flies immediately.
Your complacency may be why there’s an infestation in your home. If you see a few flies inside, you should eliminate them immediately. In addition, you may use tools to ensure that they don’t breed on your property.
What Are Cluster Flies and How Do You Get Rid of Them
Cluster flies are flies that don’t lay eggs on human food but take shelter in your home during the winter and cluster at your window during the summer to exit. You can eliminate them by vacuuming or swatting, using flypaper, traps, or an approved pesticide, and sealing interior gaps and cracks.
Adult cluster flies can reach up to 2/5 inches and have a prominent checkered pattern on their abdomens. Moreover, they have golden hair, two large eyes, and a striped pattern on their head. As a result, you may often confuse them with smaller houseflies, which move faster. In addition, cluster files move in large groups in warm conditions.
Here is a video that shows you how to deal with cluster flies:
Here are ways to eliminate cluster flies:
- Use the vacuum cleaner or fly swatter.
Cluster flies buzz around the rooms or hide within the walls. You can’t use insecticides because you’re killing many flies attracting rodents and beetles. On the other hand, you may use a vacuum cleaner or fly swatter because this type of fly moves sluggishly.
- Use flypaper or traps (click to get your traps delivered to your front door).
You’ll discover that you can trap cluster flies quickly with sticky traps or flypapers. In addition, you may create a sweet water solution and put it inside a jar without a lid. It will attract the flies and trap them. Then, throw away the contents and make another sweet mixture until you completely get rid of the flies.
- Use an approved pesticide for indoor use.
You may buy an insect spray with pyrethrin, a chemical from chrysanthemum flower extract, as an ingredient if you prefer to kill these flies immediately. Direct the mist on the flies and avoid spraying near water supplies because they are harmful to fish. Remember to read the label carefully, as the insect spray may contain other ingredients toxic to beneficial insects.
- Use caulk to seal cracks and crevices.
Ensure that you seal even the most minor cracks on door frames, baseboards, and windows to prevent flies entering your home. You may also fill the gaps along with vent registers and electrical outlets.
What Could Cause Flies to Appear in Your Basement?
Flies that appear in your basement are caused by stagnant water in your basement drain. This water is the perfect breeding environment for drain flies. Also, house flies infest a basement due to animal carcasses, trash, organic material, stagnant water, or other infestations.
If you suddenly find flies in your basement, it may be caused by any of these factors:
- Animal remains
Some flies are on the lookout for animal carcasses for breeding and food purposes. If you notice an infestation of blowflies, green bottles, or blue bottles, you should check if an animal has died behind the drywall or between pipes. You should find this decaying animal because these flies are dangerous to your health.
- Trash
If you store your garbage in the basement before collection, it’s not surprising to find a swarm of flies. Small flies and gnats can access the trash bags to lay their eggs on rotting meat or old food. Larvae will soon eat the decaying matter, and when they become adults, you’ll see them flying around your basement. Therefore, it’s best to keep your trash outside your home or cover the containers.
- Organic material or stagnant water
A sump pit can accumulate organic material and stagnant water. If you don’t frequently flush it, it can become a breeding ground for insects, such as gnats and flies. Therefore, you should expel, clean, and pump it out regularly.
- Other plagues
Flies can lay eggs in animal manure. Therefore, if you notice flies in the basement, you should search for other types of infestation, such as rats or mice. Flies love to breed on animal droppings.
Final Thoughts
Flies can get inside your home to seek temporary shelter during the cold months. However, they may also enter if there’s garbage or rotten food where female flies can lay their eggs, which can snowball into adults and further reproduce if you don’t deal with them immediately. Keeping a clean house and sealing all gaps and cracks where they can pass to get inside are surefire ways to prevent them from thriving in your home.