FLIES (ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH (EH) UNISEL)

 FLIES

True flies are insects of the order Diptera. The most obvious distinction from other orders of insects is that a typical fly possesses a pair of flight wings on the metathorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax. (Some species of flies are exceptional in that they are secondarily flightless). The only other order of insects bearing two true, functional wings plus any form of halteres are the Strepsiptera and in contrast to the flies, the Strepsiptera bear their halteres on the mesothorax and their flight wings on the metathorax.

Flies also divide by two types

1.bite (sand flies, houseflies, deerflies)
2.non bite (bottleflies, screworm flies)

LifeCycle of Flies..

The life cycle of a house fly begins in the egg stage. A female house fly is capable of laying up to 150 eggs in a batch. Over a period of a few days, she will produce five or six batches of eggs. Female house flies favor damp, dark surfaces such as compost, manure and other decomposing organic material for egg laying. House fly eggs resemble individual grains of rice.

Within a day, house fly eggs hatch into larvae, also known as maggots. Maggots are legless, white insects that feed from the egg-laying site for three to five days. During this time, maggots molt several times. They then choose a dark place to pupate.

Fly pupae are similar in function to butterfly cocoons: their hard, brown shells protect the inactive, developing flies. Over the course of three to six days, the pupae develop legs and wings, ultimately emerging as full-grown house flies. Within two to three days, female house flies are capable of reproduction.

What is Maggot?

A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Dipetra); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as housefiles, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane Flies.

1. Maggot is like fly larvae are of wide importance in ecology and medicine other roles, various species are prominent in recycling carrion and garbage.
2. Attacking crops and foodstuff, spreading microbial infections,
3. Causing  myiasis.

Behaviors.

As with fleas and ticks, maggots can be a threat to household pets and livestock, especially sheep. Flies reproduce rapidly in the summer months and maggots can come in large numbers, creating a maggot infestation and a high risk of myiasis (a maggot infestation of living tissue) in sheep and other animals. Humans are not immune to the feeding habits of maggots and can also contract myiasis. Interaction between humans and maggots usually occurs near garbage cans, dead animals, rotten food and other breeding grounds for maggots.

When maggots turn into adult flies and start the life cycle over, numbers will grow exponentially. if unchecked, but disease, natural predators and parasites keep the population under control. Sealing garbage and using a garbage disposal or freezing rotting leftovers until waste collection day helps prevent infestation. Introducing an environmental control, such as Histeridae, can also help reduce maggot populations.

Place of Flies breeding

1. Market
2. Domestic house
3. Farm

3 Ways to Control Fly Breeding Sites,

1. when they get into our homes they tend to land on our food, buzz in our faces and become tiny nuisances that are quite hard to get rid of.
2. While you could chase a fly around with a swatter (or a shoe) all day long,
3. one of the best ways to combat flies is to go after them where they breed, outside of your home, and keep them out of the house in the first place.

Mode of Transmissions.

1. Fly feces
2. On their body and led hairs
3. Through their vomits
4. On their mouth parts

Disease bring by Flies.

1. Cholera
2. Myiasis
3. Typhoid
4. Salmonella
5. Tuberculosis
6. Leprosy
7. Anthrax

8 Natural Remedies to Get Rid of Flies.

1. Make Flypaper Strips at Home to Catch Flies

The market is flooded with flypapers, sometimes also called fly ribbons, a pest control device. These are made of paper coated with a fragrant, sticky and often poisonous substance which traps flies and other flying insects. The poisonous substance used in these flypapers can be toxic to humans and animals too. So why not use homemade fly papers! They are easy to make and work as efficiently as the commercially available flypapers.

Get this:

• Corn syrup- ½ cup
• Sugar- ¼ cup
• Paper, brown paper or thin cards
• Scissors
• Thread

Do this:

• Cut 2 inch wide strips from the paper or card. Punch a hoe or two at the top of each strip and thread it to make a loop to hang at the places where flies come.
• Mix the corn syrup and sugar.
• Coat one side of each strip with the corn-sugar syrup. If the syrup drips, place a bowl underneath the hanging paper.
• Now hang these strips where you see the flies most. They’ll get attracted to the sugary syrup and when they land on these strips, they’ll get stuck to it.

2. Use Plastic Water Bags to Keep Away Flies

This is rather interesting and a very effective way to get rid of flies. You just need to have a clear plastic bag filled with water. When you hang this bag at your outdoor entrances, flies will not be able to enter your house. There are at least two reasons explained for this remedy which seems to be beyond logic. One is that the flies are not able to see the water bag as a water bag. Due to their structure of eyes, clear water filled bags are seen as something resembling a spider’s web by the flies. As such, they don’t come near such thing. The other reason states that the reflection of water is enough to disorient the flies and to create some unexplainable illusion to them. You may also see fruit stand with water bags hanging on their stalls. They do it to keep the flies off their fruits shop.

Get this:

• Clear plastic bag (gallon size)- 1
• Water

Do this:

• Fill the plastic bag with water. Keep it halfway full with water.
• Tie a knot at the mouth of the bag to secure it properly. You may also use a thread or a rubber band for the purpose.
• Now just hang this water filled plastic bags near your entryways, garage doors or any other such outdoor entrances.

3. Try Apple Cider Vinegar to Trap Fruit Flies

This home remedy is particularly good for eliminating fruit flies because they get attracted to smell of anything which ferments. Apple cider vinegar is made by fermenting apples and thus flies can’t resist its smell, especially when you heat it up a little. Heating up the vinegar release ore smell.

Make a fly Trap with Apple Cider Vinegar

Get this:

• Apple cider vinegar- ½ cup
• Glass jar (with or without lid)- 1
• Funnel or paper to make one (if using jar without a lid)- 1

Do this:

• Heat the apple cider vinegar. You can do this by using microwave oven or heat it in a pan over your gas burner.
• If using a jar with lid, make some holes on its lid, big enough to let the flies enter the jar.
• If you don’t want to destroy the lid, you may also use a funnel. If you can’t find one, make a funnel with paper by folding and stapling it in the shape of a cone leaving a hole at the narrow end.
• Now fill the jar with heated cider vinegar and place the lid with holes over it.
• If using funnel, place the funnel on the mouth of the jar with narrow side inside the jar.
• Now place the jar where flies are seen most of the times.
• Let it be there for a day. Flies will get attracted to the smell of vinegar and enter the jar through the holes. Once inside, they get trapped. Flies can’t figure it out that they can even fly out from the same hole that worked as their entrance.

4. Make Lemongrass Spray to Keep Away Flies

This is one remedy that will not only keep flies away from your house but will also keep your home refreshingly aromatic. Flies don’t like the smell of lemongrass just like lavender and many other plants and oils. So, you can use this essential oil got from lemongrass to make your flies spray that also works as room freshener.

Get this:

• Lemongrass essential oil- 10-12 drops
• Hot water- 4 tablespoons (about ¼ cup)
• Spray bottle

Do this:

• Pour 10-12 drops of lemongrass essential oil into your spray bottle.
• Now pour hot water over this oil.
• Shake well to mix both the ingredients.
• Now spray this all along your doorways and windows or any other space from where flies enter your house.
• You can also spray it directly on the flies whenever or wherever you spot them, just keep the bottle handy so that you can find and use it easily.

5. Use Wine to trap Flies

Now this is something that wine lovers will be hesitant doing. After all, you need to waste some of your wine to lay trap for flies. As these flies get attracted to anything that is fermented, wine makes a good choice as a bait for them. You may use red wine or white wine whatever is available with you.

Ways to Use Wine to Make a Fly Trap

1. You may pour about ½ a cup of wine in a glass and place it somewhere near where flies will spot the glass. After a while you’ll find some of them floating in it.
2. To be doubly sure that flies don’t just fly away after having some, use some dish wash liquid too. Take a bowl or a pan and pour some wine in it. Also pour a little dish wash soap. Now place the bowl where flies are seen the most. Once they land on this solution, they’ll not be able to escape.
3. You may leave some wine in the bottle itself and place the same without cap close to the area frequented by flies. If the mouth of the bottle is too wide, use a plastic wrap to cover it. Poke some holes on this plastic wrap so the flies could enter the bottle. They would never exit through the holes.

6. Make Clove Oil Skin Lotion to Keep Away Flies

While clove can be used as as an effective flies repellent, you may also use its oil to make a skin lotion so that you may not be disturbed by flies till they are fully exterminated from your house. However, you can not use clove oil directly on your skin which may cause irritation and burning sensation along with damage to your nerve functioning. Use some diluting agent to make this very useful skin lotion to deter flies.

How to Make Flies Repellent Skin Lotion with Clove Oil?

Get this:

• Clove oil- 1 tsp
• Olive oil or Witch Hazel- 10 tsp
• Small bottle to store

Do this:

• Pour clove oil and your choice of diluting agent like olive oil or witch hazel into the bottle. Always use 10 parts of diluting agent with 1 part of clove oil.
• Shake well.
• Apply this lotion on your uncovered body parts whenever you need to keep the flies or any other insects away from you.

 7. Milk Sugar Pepper Trap for Fruit Flies

If you are bothered a lot by fruit flies, here’s an age old recipe to make a sugary milky trap for them. This method has been used in England since ancient times. As sugary substance does attract fruit flies, it seems to be used in this milk recipe for trapping flies.

Get this:

• Milk- ½ liter
• Sugar- ¼ cup
• Ground black pepper- 4 tbsp

Do this:

• Pour the milk in a saucepan.
• Add sugar and pepper to the milk.
• Now let the solution simmer for 10-15 minutes.
• Now take some shallow dishes like soup plates and pour some of this milk solution in each of them.
• Place these dishes all around your house, especially where flies come most of the times.
• Flies will get attracted to this solution and when they land on it, will suffocate and drown.

8.  Honey Trap for Flies

This is literally a honey trap where you use honey to trap the flies. While the sweet fragrance of honey will attract the flies, the sticky nature of honey will not let the flies escape. In fact, you can even use any fruit jam for the purpose. The smell of fruits anyways will bring the flies near your trap and they will get stuck once they enter it.

Get this:

• Soda Can or a Plastic bottle- 1
• Honey- 1-2 tsp
• Water
• Dish soap liquid

Do this:

• To make the trap, cut the soda can or the bottle in two halves. The bottom half will be bigger than the top half.
• Now fill the bottom half with water. Fill it halfway.
• Put a few drops of dish soap in the water.
• Now take the top half of the soda can or the bottle (without cap) and place it in an inverted position over the water filled portion of the can or bottle. The mouth of the can or bottle with hole will be into the water filled bottom.
• Now smear honey or fruit jam near and all around the mouth of the can or bottle which is inside the bottom part.
• Place the honey trap close to flies infested area.
• Flies will get attracted toward the honey and once they get near it, will drown into the water through as they enter the bottle or can through its hole. They won’t figure it out how to exit from there and will drown in the water

Control of Flies

1. Good Solid management

2. Keep surrounding clean

3. Clean the kitchen thoroughly

4. Flies hate the nice smelly such as lavender, calamondin orange.

5. vinegar