Do house flies bite?
You’re probably wondering if those pesky flies, the ones that manage to get into your home through who-knows-where and buzz around enough to drive you insane, bite.
A housefly is an inevitable part of your life, but buzzing through your house is not the only thing they do.
The knowledge that they do not bite, however, is cold comfort when you consider the fact that they are disease-carrying vectors that are just as capable of causing illnesses and diseases as flies that do bite.
How to tell if it is a housefly.
Your common housefly is a dull grey with dirty yellow patches on its abdomen, and longitudinal lines on the thorax.
You probably don’t care how it looks, and ideally, you should be protecting yourself against all flies in general, but it might help to know how they look so you can analyse potential bites.
Why can it not bite?
Houseflies suck. No, really, they do.
A House fly does not bite as they have no teeth, stingers or anything that can pierce your skin. They have soft, fleshy tongues for mouths called proboscis which sucks up food like a straw.
So they aren’t bloodsuckers like mosquitoes or stingers like stable and horse flies.
How do they consume food?
They mostly consume liquid food. Some flies drink nectar or blood.
Houseflies absorb food through their proboscis and feed on soft, decaying food like kitchen waste fruit or vegetable peels, rotting meat and any sticky substances.
If the food is too solid, the housefly will first suck up all the moisture from its surface, before vomiting or spitting the saliva and digestive juices from its previous meals on the food and then proceed to eat it once the juices soften it.
I know! Its is disgusting, isn’t it?
They don’t bite but they can still kill!
Just because houseflies do not bite, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t vectors of diseases.
Houseflies are deadly carriers of diseases like typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea and other infections. They carry bacteria on the surface of their mouths, and on the pads of their feet.
When they sit on objects-or people- in your house, or accidentally on your food, they transfer it onto that surface.
A female housefly will lay hundreds of eggs on surfaces and this is a potential health hazard to watch out for.
Flies that do bite.
There are flies out there that do bite.
- Mosquitoes are the most common flies that bite and make up for around 80% of flies that do bite.
- Stable or horse flies are found around horses, around stables where they mostly feed on animals.
- Sand flies leave large welts that, like other bites, cause redness of skin and irritation, but they are also capable of causing serious allergic reactions if not treated.
Other flies that bite include biting midges, black flies, snipe flies, yellow flies and deer flies, to name a few.
Prevention.
You need to watch out for all flies, not just ones that do bite.
Houseflies almost always manage to find a way into your home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take preventive measures to reduce the risk of infections.
- Practising general household and personal hygiene.
- Keep your food and other perishable food products covered.
- Do not allow your garbage to overflow or leave it uncovered.
- Do not allow water to stagnate around your house. If there’s a tiny puddle in your garden or a dripping hose that pools, houseflies will find it and use it as their own personal breeding ground.
How To Get Rid Of House Flies?
Here at the fly killer guide, we have written several articles about dealing with these annoying flies.
This article has everything you need to know about controlling house flies.
The Bug-A-Salt 2.0 is one of the best tools on the market for getting rid of flys and has received plenty of positive feedback.
You can see our full Bug-A-Salt review here.
Or maybe you would like to check out some of the best electric fly swatters.
Finally, you may be interested in making a homemade fly trap.
References.
1) The Feeding Habits of Biting Flies
2) Housefly