Green flies in the house: what to do?

The melodious name of the gold fly is deceptive. The shiny insect is one of the blowflies. It is a dreaded vector of disease. We show you how you can quickly banish the pest from the house.

Recognize gold fly

The gold fly (Lucilia sericata) is common throughout Europe, Asia and North America. She belongs to the family of Blowflies. Her body is golden-green in color and has a metallic sheen. For this reason it is also called the golden-green blowfly. Green flies appear in summer, from June to September. They are between 5 and 11 millimeters in size and are diurnal. However, the shiny flies rarely feed on nectar. Much more often they are on rotting meat or animal excrement. The insects can perceive the smell over several hundred meters.

By the way, gold fly larvae are strikingly pink in color. They are also known as pinkies.

Damage from the gold fly

The gold fly lives where there are people. It belongs to the storage pests. The females lay their eggs in meat. In this way, it can transmit food-damaging and pathogenic germs.
The gold fly transmits diseases, for example:

• diarrhea
• typhus
• cholera

If green flies settle on wounds, blood poisoning (sepsis) can occur.
Food in which green flies lay their eggs becomes inedible.
Storing it in the refrigerator doesn't help. The development of fly maggots in meat can only be stopped by cooking or freezing. Nevertheless, the meat is inedible after the eggs have been laid.

Tips to protect against green flies

Secure your apartment from flies

Make sure that flies do not get into your home. Use fly screens. Balcony doors can also be locked in this way. The specialist trade offers various solutions, and custom-made products are also possible.

Protect food

The gold fly uses sausage and meat to lay eggs. Take simple measures to prevent her from finding breeding grounds.

Tips:

• cover all food
• Remove leftover food

Eliminate waste

Green flies like to lay their eggs in meat and fish waste as well as in the droppings of pets. In a short time the maggots develop and the flies get into the house.

Tips:

• Keep waste tightly closed and dispose of it regularly
• Do not leave used dishes open
• Wash pets' food bowls frequently
• Carefully clean the litter box, bird cage and rabbit hutch
• Wash out garbage bins with a vinegar solution

Note: The garbage cans in front of the house should also be cleaned every now and then to protect them from blowflies.

Find causes

If you notice an increased number of blowflies in your home, look for the cause. Often a dead mouse in the building is the cause of the plague of flies. A dead bird in the front yard or the remains of raccoons and co. Can also attract the flies.

Use natural fragrances

What smells unpleasant to people is attractive to gold flies. Turn the tables around! Use fragrances against the pests. However, you can do this without chemicals and your home will be filled with pleasant smells.

Tips:

• Spread lavender bags or bunches of dried lavender around the apartment.
• Use vinegar cleaner for cleaning
• Buckets or boxes with basil, Lavender and rosemary plant, place on the terrace or on the balcony
• Pots with peppermint set up in the apartment

By the way, the green fly can't stand the smell of tomatoes. Plant your tomato plants near the windows or stand pots on the balcony.

Design the garden close to nature

An effective measure against pests such as the green blowflies, however, is the natural design of the garden. Wherever birds and small animals feel good, flies are food. Their distribution is limited in a natural way.
Spiders are natural enemies of flies. If you notice a cobweb on the balcony or facade, don't remove it.

Catch flies in traps

Fly traps can help fight the pests. The sticky tapes attract the insects with their fragrances. They will then stick to the trap. However, the sight of the fly traps is very unsavory.

An alternative to the ugly adhesive tapes is the self-made fly trap:
Fill a mason jar with a mixture of water and sugar. Close the jar with a lid. Drill holes in the lid. Put it in the apartment. Alternatively, you can put a leftover jam or honey in the jar. The flies are attracted to the sweet substances and can no longer find their way out of the glass.

Tip: Carnivorous plants are attractive and great for protecting against flies, mosquitoes, and other insects. Keep your apartment fly-free with pitcher plants, Venus fly traps, sundew or butterwort.

fly swatter

A fly swatter costs only a few cents. It has been used to get rid of flies for generations. However, their use often causes stains on the wall. Today, there are battery-powered flies eliminating devices on the market. With a weak current that is harmless to humans, flies are killed quickly and without staining the wall.

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