You know it’s getting warm again when you start wondering how to get rid of the flies…
Ah, summer in Northland. The musical chirring of cicadas, the peaceful droning of honey bees, the joyous trilling of birds on the wing… And the low-pitched buzzing of flies. Constant, irritating, impossibly loud, and frustratingly just out of reach. Yes, it’s fly season again here in Northland, and we’re all getting ready for a bumper crop of the winged demons, with a hot summer on the cards. Are you ready to face the onslaught? We’ve got the lowdown on which flies will be your greatest problem, and how to keep them at bay.
Of course, the only 100% effective method for getting flies out of your house is with our NorthPest fly spray service… But we’ll get to that later!
‘Fly season’ is throughout spring and summer as their ideal breeding conditions are warm, damp weather, which starts off in the spring, then gets worse as the weather gets warmer. The best time to treat your house for flies is in December/January – personally we treat our own home in January, as it works best when just done, and January-March are often the worst months for flies in Northland.
Most common problem flies in Northland
As Sun Tzu famously said, ‘know thy enemy’. Well, in this case, it’s all about knowing which flies are the ones to watch out for!
Here’s our official NorthPest guide to nasty Northland flies: now at least you’ll know what to call the annoying creature that keeps soiling your ceiling!
Blow flies – big fast fliers, often metallic in appearance. Fly in super-fast, fly out just as fast and/or die nice and quickly following a fly treatment.
Common House Fly – smaller black fly or grey fly with black stripes – more annoying because they spend more time landing on people, furniture, benches, etc. and not as much time on treated surfaces (following a fly treatment).
Lesser House Fly – even smaller fly which flies in a square pattern around the centre of rooms. These flies can fly all day without landing, so they are the worst to control – a blast of fly spray in their flight path is the quickest and most effective way to get rid of these types flies (or a fan to create air movement). They are usually found near where chickens are kept, as they breed in chicken poop.
Remember: All flies despise wind, so you will always see more of them on a calm hot day.
How to keep flies out of your house
It’s not easy to keep flies out in the hot weather, as we all want our windows open for maximum airflow! In fact, maximum airflow is exactly what you need if you want to keep those pesky flies at bay – here are some pro tips for keeping flies out of your home this summer.
- Blow harder – Use fans inside, flies don’t like wind so if you keep the inside of your house breezy they’re likely to buzz off!
- Put a lid on it – Keep lids firmly on rubbish bins both inside and out, and freeze food scraps until rubbish day.
- More distance please – Keep compost bins and/or lawn clippings as far away from the house as possible.
- Keep it clean – Remove pet faeces (dog poo) from the property daily.
- Thin it out – Trim thick foliage close to the house – especially bamboo, flies love bamboo – so that it is thin enough to see through (allowing wind to flow through and therefore flies won’t rest/breed there).
The best way to get rid of flies – the moment of truth
We have to be honest: even when you take all of the steps mentioned above, there’s every chance your fly problem will continue. Simply because: it’s Northland! We have a fly problem here, with our long, hot summer days and our muggy summer evenings, the flies are in heaven. While you can reduce the occurrence of flies in your home, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to completely rid your home of them…But with a comprehensive fly treatment you can certainly gain some control of the amount in and around your home.
NorthPest fly treatment – areas we treat:
When we carry out a fly treatment, we treat areas where flies will usually land. On the inside, these areas are ceilings, around light fittings, door frames, window sills and framework. On the outside we treat eaves, around window frames, porches/entranceways, outdoor living areas and the north facing side of the house. In short, anywhere our little winged friends like to rest after a hard day’s annoyance!
This treatment is your best bet with getting flies under control, so if you’re really getting hot under the collar about flies in your home, just give our friendly team a call and we’ll take care of the rest.
