Gold Flies: Fight the pesky flies

The small, iridescent green flies can be quite annoying. We will show you how to recognize and fight the annoying gold fly.

Each of us knows the annoying flies in iridescent colors. But very few people know that these goldflies (Lucilia sericata) can also have health consequences for us and we should therefore not underestimate them.

The goldfly belongs to the bluebottle family (Calliphoridae) and is also often called golden-green blowfly. Goldflies are widespread throughout the world - they are found primarily in Asia, Europe and North America.

Goldflies: profile and characteristics

Adult goldflies are five to eleven millimeters in size and have hair all over their bodies. Its body is greenish to golden in color and has a metallic sheen. They are diurnal and their flight time is from June to September.

A female goldfly can lay up to 3,000 eggs over the course of her lifetime, providing a huge number of offspring. On warm days, goldflies can fly several kilometers to find suitable nesting sites and food. Especially in kitchens and other areas where there is food, the goldflies find optimal breeding material. The ivory-colored larvae of the goldfly often hatch after just one day and then burrow into the breeding substrate. The larvae are up to eleven millimeters long and complete their development after five days and pupate. Then, when the temperature rises to 30°C, the goldflies hatch after about a week. Anglers like to use the fly larvae as bait, and they also serve as food for lizards and other animals that are kept in terrariums and feed on insects.

The goldflies belong to the storage pests and prefer the vicinity of human settlements, because that is where they find excrement, decaying substances and nectar in the many flowering plants. In Central Europe, goldflies can train up to eight generations over the summer and thus provide a significant number of new flies.

This attracts the gold fly

Goldflies are often found on decaying fabrics and are particularly attracted to the smell of rotting flesh. They can smell this smell over several kilometers and are drawn to it like magic. They feed on decaying foods such as rotting meat, which is also where they lay their eggs. The fly maggots then eat into the rotting food and make it inedible for humans.

The harmful effect of the gold fly: more than just annoying

Goldflies are not only annoying creatures that disturb us during our afternoon coffee, but they can also cause serious damage to food and harm our health. As already mentioned, the goldflies belong to the storage pests and thus pose a threat to the health, because they are able to kill disease-causing and food-decomposing germs transfer. If such germs are now transferred to our food, they can trigger diarrheal diseases. The blowflies are also a trigger for blood poisoning when they come into contact with open wounds. They can also transmit diseases such as summer diarrhea, typhus or cholera.

The goldflies are also a real nuisance for animals, because if they lay their eggs in the wounds or on the skin, a skin disease can develop, also known as wound myiasis or fly maggot disease will. This disease can even lead to the death of animals. The goldflies like to lay their eggs behind the ears of the animals, sheep are particularly often infested. Incidentally, this wound myasis can also be triggered in humans by goldflies.

In addition to the many harmful effects of goldflies, there is also a useful area of ​​application, because they can be used to pollinate seed crops.

Prevent gold flies

To prevent goldflies, you can easily attach insect screens to your windows and doors and thus prevent the small pests from entering your living space. Also, always keep your groceries tightly closed to keep the goldflies away. Also, keep in mind that it is also possible for flies to lay their eggs in the fridge - so it is also important to seal the food properly in the fridge.

In order to keep goldflies away from your four walls, you should also pay particular attention to cleanliness. Avoid leaving leftovers out for a long time, because that's where goldflies find their food. Empty your organic waste regularly, especially in summer, and always take your kitchen waste to your bin immediately compost. Also pay attention to food residues that accumulate on the ground around your organic waste, for example, and remove these breeding grounds for goldflies as well.

Drive away and fight gold flies

Goldflies can be controlled using a variety of methods. There are UV traps that emit ultraviolet light to attract goldflies, which then get caught on an adhesive film. There are also models where the flies are killed by an electrified grid. Such UV traps are often used in the catering trade and must not be used outdoors, because that is where useful insects such as hoverflies attracted and fought.

Adhesive fly strips or insect sprays are used particularly often in the household to control goldflies. The simplest method is of course still the tried and tested fly swatter, but here you have to catch every single fly. An improvement on the classic fly swatter are electric fly swatters, which use batteries to generate a small amount of voltage you no longer have to hit the flies with full force, because the electrical voltage already kills the flies when you get close to them comes.

Another interesting method of combating goldflies are natural carnivorous plants. These special plants feed on insects such as flies and can help you fight annoying goldflies. Here you can learn even more about carnivorous plants, especially zur venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), and how to properly care for these plants.

Summary to drive away and fight goldflies:

• While UV traps are an effective control method, they also attract and kill beneficial insects, so we recommend alternative control
• As an alternative to the classic fly swatter, you can also use an electric fly swatter, which often leads to faster success
• Carnivorous plants such as the Venus flytrap feed on goldflies, among other things, and can catch them on their own

In this article you will also find various Plants that naturally repel flies.