Shoo Fly! The Best Fly Traps

• Stable Flies
• Flesh Flies
• Blow Flies
• Houseflies
• Blue and Green Bottle Flies
• Dump Flies

Besides being a major irritant, flies are also known for spreading some pretty nasty diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, anthrax, yaws, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever. They are also responsible (indirectly) for poultry death and low weight in cattle.

• A female fly can lay between 400 and 600 eggs
• A fly’s life cycle is around 30 days
• A fly is attracted by movement
• Flies can smell over 750 yards
• If not emptied, one garbage bin can make the perfect breeding ground for as many as 30,000 fliesIn warm weather, a fly can produce an entire generation in under two weeks

The commonly-seen flies we face in our homes, around farms and other places include:

Musca domestica or the housefly is possibly the most common pest and can be found in houses, poultry farms, recreation areas, restaurants, barns, and anywhere else there is food and people. They lay their eggs pretty much everywhere, but poultry or animal manure is their favorite place. Also, decaying garbage provides excellent conditions for breeding. They’re strong fliers but also travel using animals, vehicles, and even wind currents.

Stable flies are also called dog flies and they’re the blood-sucking types. The usually bite animals but will also bite humans. Adult stable flies can travel up to 70 miles. They resemble houseflies in both color and size but they have a bayonet-like mouth, designed solely for the purpose of sucking blood. The bites are painful and persistent stable flies will carry on biting even if they’re swatted.

Flesh flies are known as scavenger flies because they feed on dead carcasses and meat scraps. Females lay eggs directly on the food source and the larvae eat feed on that. Their life cycle is between eight and 21 days.

There are a few species of both types that are found in residential areas. Bluebottles, green bottles, and bronze bottles are usually more abundant in these areas. They breed in animal manure, decaying animal matter, and scraps of meat. Adult flies are very active indoors and are attracted to light, which you probably didn’t know. Their entire life cycle lasts between nine and 21 days.

No matter how clean you keep your house, there’s still a chance of flies. Any food smell is an attractant so unfortunately there’s not much you can do. Garbage piles draw flies too because of the rotting waste and food. Flies live off decaying things.

Ripening fruits attract flies because of the scent. Feces and manure are attractants so if you have pets of any type you can be guaranteed of flies. Also, if an animal like a squirrel or a bird dies nearby, the carcass will attract the flies.

They’re not dangerous as in they can rip your face off or attack you in swarms. The only flies that bite are horse flies, but that doesn’t mean the rest are harmless.

Flies are basically germ carriers with wings. Because they live on and off dead animals, rotting food, in sewers, and in feces, they carry bacteria wherever they go. For example, the fly sitting on your sandwich right now was probably in a pile of doggy doo two minutes earlier and somewhere even worse 20 minutes before that.

Obviously, it is totally impractical to set up hundreds of Venus flytraps around the house. Fortunately, there are various ways you can trap flies, with some being more effective than others while a few are a lot less appealing. Each seems to have its own pros and cons, so the final decision will come down to your personal preferences.

Zappers are highly effective but, let’s be honest, they can’t be used in areas where food is being prepared. For home kitchens and restaurants a trap with a sticky adhesive is a better choice.

UV lights get rid of flies quickly and effectively and you don’t have to worry about unsightly sticky papers or knocking things over that have liquid inside. The only downside is that not all flies are attracted to UV lights.

A simple but effective way of trapping flies is with adhesive papers or ribbons. These work really well but they’re not particularly nice to look at and are best suited for outside and in areas where they won’t be seen.

Containers, either bags or bottles, have a way for a fly to get in but not out and it’s usually filled with a liquid that serves as an attractant. The idea is that the flies eventually drown. There are reusable ones as well as types that can be disposed of. We prefer the disposable ones personally.