The insect world may be fascinating to some, but no one can deny the often it is disgusting. Of all of the insects in the world, few are more disgusting than the common house fly. It’s everywhere. You can find it in every state in the United States, and on every continent in some form. But the question today is how house flies spread diseases. Flies routinely carry over a million bacterium because of their diet. They eat manure, carrion and trash. They also regurgitate on food spreading more disease.
The common house fly is considered a greater threat to human welfare than any other non biting insect. These insects are constantly feeding on decaying meats and waste. They regurgitate on their food in order to digest it, passing on more diseases. They have hair covering their bodies that carry all sorts of bacterium, viruses and filth. They are part of a group of insects known as filth flies, for good reason.
LIFECYCLE
The common house fly undergoes a complete metamorphosis. The female house fly deposits her eggs on plant or animal refuse, where they will hatch as larvae. The larvae feed on the material that they were laid on. Eggs can hatch in as little as 24 hours and the larvae take about a week to pupate. Once they exit the pupal stage, they are adult flies.
Flies reproduce outrageously quickly. If two flies started mating in April and every egg survived to adulthood without any interruptions, scientists theorize that there would be around 191,010,000,000,000,000,000 flies by August. Of course, this could never happen because there are so many predators and pathogens that attack flies. They are at the bottom of the food chain, after all.
MYIASIS
Myiasis is when living fly larvae survive in the intestinal track of a human or other animal. Often in these situations, live worms will be found in a person’s stool. Myiasis is caused by a person eating fruits or meats that have gotten old, and a fly has laid eggs on the food before consumption. The skin of larvae is very resilient and can survive in the harsh conditions of the stomach and intestines. It will consume food that the host has eaten to survive, until it makes it through the entire digestive tract.
Many people with myiasis have no symptoms except worms in their stool. But some people experience abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Myiasis is not only found in the digestive system, sometimes it can occur in an open wound, the eye, ears, nose, mouth or genital area. All forms of myiasis are rare, but they do occur in the United States. Preventing this disease involves controlling the female fly before she deposits her eggs on food. This is a job for a good Oklahoma exterminator.
OTHER DISEASES
There are many diseases carried by the fly. Because of its diet and the way it eats, it can put people at risk of diseases such as Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Escherichia, Enterococcus and Chlamydia. These diseases can be very uncomfortable and many times life threatening. Other disease carried by flies are food poisoning, typhoid fever, dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, ophthalmia, and parasitic worms. This is why it is important to contact an Oklahoma pest control company to control flies.
LARGE DISEASE CARRYING FLIES
The first of the large flies is of course the house fly. In addition, the blow fly is also a carrier of disease. It is so named because its larvae develop inside the body of a dead animal, giving the body a bloated look. They are known by their shiny green or blue abdomen. Flesh flies develop much like house flies, but prefer animal material to lay their eggs on.
Stable flies are not known to live in filthy situations, but they do feed on blood. Because of this, they can transmit diseases, but are not known to. Cluster flies are also not filth flies, but they do infest homes. These insects lay their eggs on earth worms, and then the larvae eat the worm alive. A Tulsa exterminator can help.
SMALL DISEASE CARRYING FLIES
Fruit flies are attracted to sweet or fermented liquids such as liquor, syrup, soda pop and vinegar. They are often found around rotting fruit because of this, and will lay their eggs there. Phorid flies consume filth and can overrun a home with sheer numbers. Drain flies feed off of decomposing plant matter often found in dirty drains. Fungus gnats are long legged insects that feed on fungus. They can often be found where large amounts of pigeon feces are.
HOW TO ELIMINATE FLIES
Flies are gross and present a definite health issue. The best way to eliminate these pests is to call a Tulsa pest control company. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we can quickly get you a free estimate. Contact us today. We’re here to help!