flies Archives - Pest Control Philippines

August 17, 2021September 19, 2022

6 Things That Attract Flies to Your Home

What are the things that attract flies to your home?

Animal carcasses and manure
Rotting fruits and vegetables
Sweet and fermented liquids
Exposed garbage cans
Dirty drains
Other flies

Flies are a big problem for most homeowners. Other than the buzzing sounds they produce, they can also cause the spread of viruses and bacteria in your residence. This could cause food poisoning, diarrhea, typhoid fever, and more. To prevent these problems, you should know the things that attract flies to your home. Keep on reading!

Animal Carcasses and Manure

Flies love animals—their carcasses and waste specifically. If you have dead rats and mice in your walls, they might attract a horde of blowflies into your home. These pests love to lay eggs in decomposing animals and rotten meat. If you see them in one area, it might be a sign that it’s time to clean up a dead animal’s body.

If you have pets such as cats and dogs, be sure to clean after them. Neglected animal feces left for long periods can attract flies. Aside from this, droppings from critters, rodents, and birds could also add to the problem.

Rotting Fruits and Vegetables

Most flies are attracted to moist and organic matter—such as rotting fruits and vegetables! If you accidentally left produce out in the open for some time, it could trigger fruit fly infestation into your home. After preparing your dishes, make sure to clean up and refrigerate any leftovers. Cover any gap in your doors and windows where flies could enter or else you can also contact experts to avail window services. Denver window installation can also help you out in preventing flies that could enter home. If you have compost, make sure that all your ingredients are covered with a top layer of soil to prevent flies from getting to the decaying materials.

Aside from rotting produce, fruit flies are also attracted to ripened fruit. So if you’re waiting for your mangoes to reach the ripe stage, it’s better to keep them in the fridge. Fruit flies can puncture the skin of overripe fruit to feed and lay their eggs.

Sweet and Fermented Liquids

Aside from rotting fruits and vegetables, fruit flies are attracted to sweet and fermented liquids. If you have spilled liquids from cola, syrup, liquor, vinegar, and more—you might see these pests in the area. They favor almost anything that goes through the process of fermentation.

As always, clean up any spills after you consume and prepare foods and drinks with fermented liquids on them.

Exposed Garbage Cans

One of the most common causes of flies in your home is garbage. They can easily access all of their favorite foods in one place—such as animal carcasses, manure, rotting fruits, vegetables, and more! Most flies lay eggs in moist and decaying organic material so they can propagate. For houseflies, eggs can hatch between eight to 20 hours.

To prevent flies from infesting your home, make sure that all garbage cans are tightly covered. Empty these frequently to prevent the trash from piling—which creates gaps in the lid for flies to penetrate.

Dirty Drains

Now that you know that flies are attracted to organic matter, you might understand why they still frequent your home even if you have a clean kitchen. This is because some flies like the bacteria and organic material in dirty drains. This problem can occur if you have a leaky pipe.

To solve this issue, have a professional plumber fix the leak on your drains. Clean these pipes properly to prevent a recurring infestation in the future.

Other Flies

Other than the food that attracts flies, you also need to get rid of the infestation immediately to prevent more of them from coming into your home. Flies rest on walls, floors, and ceilings near their sources of food. Sometimes, you might also see flyspecks on these places—which are the stains from their excrement. Flies and their waste attract nearby flies into your home.

If you want to remove flyspecks on your walls, you can combine borax and a water solution to wash the stains off.

Key Takeaway

A clean and hygienic home is key to preventing a fly infestation. Cover all the garbage cans, get rid of pet feces immediately, remove traces of food and drinks from surfaces, and clean up the drains regularly.

Now that you know the things that attract flies to your home, you can address an infestation by targeting the root causes! If you have a persistent pest problem, you can contact Topbest—a professional pest control team in the Philippines. You can schedule a free consultation with us by clicking here!

December 14, 2016January 18, 2019

4 of the Deadliest Insects in the World

Every creature in the world plays an important role in balancing the ecosystem. However, despite their significance, some insects are perceived as pests because of their harmful effects to both humans and the environment. There are many types of insects – such as ants, cockroaches, fruit flies, and termites – that can damage your house and spread various diseases. One of the best means of avoiding and preventing them from invading your home is by seeking the help of various professional pest control companies. Familiarizing yourself with the various pests that may invade your home is also very beneficial. To do this, check some of the deadliest insects below and the reasons why you should avoid them.

Anopheles Mosquito

Mosquitoes are some of the most terrible and annoying pests in the world. This insect feeds on human blood and can spread various diseases. One of the deadly types of mosquitoes is the anopheles mosquito. It is known for transmitting blood-borne diseases like malaria – a disease that is responsible for more than one million deaths every year. A German entomologist, Johann Wilhelm Meigen was the first person to describe the genus anopheles.

TseTse Fly

Found in Africa, tsetse fly is a large biting fly that tends to feed on the blood of a vertebrate. It resembles a house fly; as a matter of fact, both insects’ size ranges from 8 to 17 mm. This insect is a carrier of trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness. Like an anopheles mosquito, the tsetse fly bites humans, transferring the disease to its victim. Sleeping sickness is characterized by fever, headache, and joint pain.

Giant Japanese Hornet

The giant Japanese hornet or Asian hornet is one of the most dangerous insects in the world. It only takes 20 to 30 of this type of wasp to annihilate a hive of honeybees! Aside from posing a threat to other insects, Asian hornets are also dangerous to humans. After all, its sting can knock you out due to the various toxins it contains. Actually, its sting has an enzyme that is capable of disintegrating human tissue and a high concentration of Acetylocholine – a chemical that causes pain. You should definitely stay away from this insect because unlike bees, the Asian hornet can sting repeatedly.

Fire Ants

Fire ants are usually found in Asia, America, and Europe. Unlike other types of ants, fire ants build their home in large mounds of soil. Although they generally feed on plants and small insects, fire ants can still be lethal. Their venomous sting does not only leave a burning feeling, it also leads to swelling. Although a few stings are easily remedied, you won’t stand a chance if their whole colony swarms you. Every day, fire ants contribute to the destruction of crops and cause over 150 deaths.

Most insects are small, but don’t be fooled by their size; even the smallest ones can transmit fatal diseases and venom. Avoid fatal situations by staying away from the mentioned insects above.

February 26, 2016July 19, 2019

4 Harmful Insects You Never Want to See Around Your Home

Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of good insects but unfortunately for every good one there’s an equally bad one. Any human in this planet is definitely inclined to hate immediately at a sight of a pest and most would even call up termite control immediately upon seeing such.

It’s sad and scary to think that there are small things in this world that are deadly and harmful. In this light, let us discuss these types of insects that we wouldn’t want to run into especially in the vicinity of our homes.

Locusts

Luckily this insect that hails from the family of grasshoppers isn’t essentially a threat to the human race they are instead a threat to our agricultural sector. They usually attach in swarms of several thousand insects hence posing a huge danger to the millions of acres worth of crops. They won’t kill us but they destroy our food source. If you have plants in your home make sure you keep them safe from these pests because they will for a fact gather up their soldiers of locusts and siege war against your plants.

Wasps

These are truly terrifying creatures but even more terrifying because these wasps and bees are something you will find absolutely anywhere. There are even people who are allergic to the sting of wasps. As a matter of fact, around 53 people die to wasps because of allergic reactions to their stings. So be careful if you have a family member who is allergic to stings because they can go into anaphylactic show which leads to death. To be safe from bees and wasps simply close your windows. Shoo them away too if you can but if that don’t work simply call up pest control.

Fire Ants

These fire ants are the cause of 150 deaths every day and they also destroy crops which make it a double kill. Usually, they are found in soil and sand; they feed on plants, crickets, and other smaller insects. Fire ants are very deadly because their sting is very venomous. A few small stings from these can be cured but if you are swarmed by a huge group of fire ants then chances are you won’t live. Luckily for you, if you spot any colony of fire ants you can simply call termite control for help.

Tse Tse Fly

Flies, in general, are very annoying pests and they love nothing more than just to suck on our blood. And this is the worst part about Tse Tse flies they spread the disease by sucking on blood. Most of these types of flies can be found in Africa and they kill around 250 to 300 victims in a year. The disease they transmit is most commonly known as the sleeping sickness and if not treated immediately it can cause unnecessary bodily functions which can lead to death.

When it comes to keeping our home safe from diseases and illnesses it is best to practice hygiene and sanitation in order to fight unwanted infestations. If problems arise you can always call on us, Topbest your handy pest control buddies.

August 10, 2015October 27, 2020

Monsters on Me: Insects that Live on the Human Body

We’ve all heard of various parasites and insects living inside our bodies, but what of insects living on us? This isn’t just a mite problem a simple pest control can deal with; it might take more than that.

Here are the insects that creep and live on the human body. Beware because after reading this you might have an urge to take a bath.

Eyelash Mite

Eyelash Mire Pest control

Demodex folliculorum or eyelash mites, are tiny parasitic mites living in the hair follicles of your face. These are found mostly on your eyelashes but can also in the nose and cheeks. Generally, eyelash mites are not harmful. Almost everybody probably has them and won’t notice there’s a parasite feeding off of their oils. In fact, scientists claim there is a sort of symbiotic relationship between eyelash mites and humans— we let them live on our faces, while they in turn remove the dirt and oil from our hair follicles.

While having eyelash mites has benefits, the adage too much of anything isn’t good applies to them as well. Demodicosis is the phenomenon of having so much eyelashes mites on your face that it becomes infected and your eyelashes fall off. This usually happens to people who have too much make-up or who don’t remove it before sleeping.

It’s important to keep your face clean. You may use tea tree products and no tear baby soap on your face twice a day. If you suspect you have demodicosis, avoid wearing make-up for at least two weeks. Once you’re allowed to wear make-up again, be sure to replace your old kit with a new one. Lastly, regularly change your sheets and pillow cases with clean ones.

Scabies Mite

Infestation starts when the female burrows into the skin. A male then moves into the burrow site and mates with the female. The male mite dies afterwards, and the female begins laying the eggs. After a few days the eggs hatch and move to the surface of the skin to mature, then the cycle repeats again.

Scabies are severely itchy and can be transmitted through direct contact. They are also resistant to soap and hot water. You will have skin rashes that will look like small red bumps and blisters.

You’ll need to go to the doctor once you suspect your itch is because of scabies. If the doctor confirms this, you will need immediate treatment. Medication to treat scabies is mostly for external use only might be told to apply it on your skin from the neck down.

Head Louse

Pest Control Louse

Head louse (commonly known plural form, head lice) are wingless parasites spread through personal contact or by sharing hats, combs, and other head accessories. This is usually a common problem with children.

You may feel a tickling when you have lice because they’re moving on your head. This makes you itch until you get small red sore bumps which may lead to bacterial infection. Usually when one is infected with lice, everyone else in the family should be treated.

Doctors recommend using a medicated shampoo, lotion, or cream rinse. Depending on how dire the lice situation is, external medication may be enough but if it’s severe, you may be required to take oral medication. Expect that it will take a few days for the itching to stop.

Human Botfly

Botfly_Topbest

The human botfly, also known as torsalo, is one of many fly species considered to be parasites to humans. Botflies infest the skin and live the larval stage in the subcutaneous layer of the skin. The lesion caused by the larvae will become hard and painful; sometimes people can even feel the larvae moving as they take a bath.

When infested with the botfly, your white cell count will elevate and a significant amount of macrophage will be found around the wood and this is why pus is usually secreted.

These are just some of the insects found on humans. You’ve probably heard of the more common ones like dust mites, bed bugs, and ticks; but the ones listed here are equally dangerous or vexing, surprisingly not well-known. Keep a look out for signs and symptoms so that you can keep yourself and your family from being infected.