A Helpful Guide To Blow Fly Control For Streator Property Owners

Blow flies, also called bottle flies, are harmful pests. They're known to spread many diseases and are closely associated with dysentery, gastritis, eye infections, food poisoning, ulcers, and bacterial illness. Why are they such a threat for disease transmission? Because blow flies are attracted to dirty things. They breed in rotting organic matter, feed on decaying animals and rotting vegetables, eat animal feces, and they are attracted to urine-soaked fur. If all of this isn't bad enough, they're known to lay their eggs in the open wounds of pets and livestock. Contact with filthy things makes blow flies efficient mechanical vectors for microorganisms and a threat for the transmission of human pathogens. It is not a good idea to allow blow flies to live in your yard, and it is definitely not good to allow them to get into your home. Here is a quick and helpful guide to help you keep blow flies out of your home.

Reduce Attractants Around Your Home

There are many ways you can attract blow flies to your yard. If you have lots of blow flies around your home, it is likely that you'll have blow flies getting into your home. All they need is an open door. Use these tips to reduce blow fly attractants:

Keep on top of trash management. Life can get busy, and it is easy to forget to put your trash receptacles out on the curb. But when you forget, your trash will sit for longer than a week, and your receptacles can start to smell. When this happens, be sure to clean and disinfect them. This will remove odors that attract blow flies. It isn't enough to make sure your trash is in sealed containers.

Clean things up. If you have anything in your yard that has an odor of decay, you're going to attract blow flies. This can be food left in the yard, or it could be a dead animal. If you have a lot of blow fly activity, inspect for the presence of carrion.

Remove dead or dying plants. If you have plants in your landscaping that are rotting, you may have more trouble with blow flies. It depends on the plant.

Pick up dog droppings. Blow flies eat animal feces and are drawn to properties that have dog, horse, or livestock droppings.

Address compost issues. If you have compost, you know that there is a way to mix your compost so that it doesn't have a smell. If you don't mix it properly, the foul smell that is generated will attract blow flies.

Standing water. Water is a building block of life. Address any conditions that allow rainwater to sit.

Seal Entry Points

While blow flies can get into your home when you go in and out through your doors, they can also find another route. Blow flies can get in through:

Damaged weatherstripping around exterior doors. If you can see light coming through a gap in your weatherstripping, it is likely that blow flies can use that gap to get inside.
Damaged or missing door sweeps on exterior doors. A fly can slip right under your door if you let it.
Gaps around door and window frames.
Gaps around wires and pipes that pass through your foundation wall.
An unprotected ventilation exhaust.
A weep hole.
Holes in window and door screens.
Holes in wood that have been created by wood-destroying pests.
Cracks in foundation walls.
Chipped mortar around bricks.

Blow Fly Control

Now that you know the trick to preventing a blow fly infestation, it is time to discuss blow fly control. While there are some measures you can take to get control of blow flies, such as locating and eliminating breeding sites or using sticky traps, we recommend contacting a licensed professional. There are far too many ways blow flies can cause illness. You should meet this disease threat with an appropriate response. If you live in Streator, contact Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators. Our team can find the root of your blow fly problem and develop a fly-control solution to appropriately address your infestation. We have the experience and training to get the job done right. Connect with us today.