Houseflies are some of the most common household pests out there. And they can sustain the infestation by laying eggs and replenishing their populations. Know your enemy. Here’s everything you need to know about houseflies and housefly eggs.
Here is what you need to know about housefly eggs:
1. Houseflies are some of the most common household pests
Houseflies are everywhere. You can see them inside homes, including those that are not really suffering from a real housefly infestation. You can see them in your garden, lawn, and yard, buzzing around and becoming a nuisance. And you can see them when you are camping and enjoying nature.
Houseflies are always in close proximity to humans. This is because they are attracted to food and water sources, and these are easily found in areas with human activity, including your home and your campsite.
2. Female houseflies will lay hundreds of eggs in their lifetimes
Houseflies don’t really care about their young. Female houseflies will just lay eggs and let them develop on their own. Because of this, housefly infestations are easier to manage compared to infestations of other pests with a caste system or social understanding, such as ants and wasps.
But still, you don’t want to underestimate houseflies as pests. Female houseflies lay about 75 to 150 eggs at a time. And in their lifetimes, they can lay up to 500 eggs. These numbers are just estimates. Female houseflies can lay more eggs in ideal conditions, especially in warmer temperatures. And they can lay fewer eggs in cooler temperatures.
3. Female houseflies lay their eggs on organic materials
Even though female houseflies don’t really care about their eggs, they still make sure that the emerging larvae will be able to thrive on their own. This is why female houseflies lay their eggs in areas abundant with resources. And here’s the thing – houseflies will practically eat anything organic, including animal corpses and feces.
If an area has anything organic in it, it is vulnerable to housefly eggs. This is part of the reason why you always see maggots around dead animals and inside garbage cans. The maggots are the larvae that have emerged from housefly eggs.
4. You may find housefly eggs even on human food
Houseflies will eat anything organic including, of course, human food. This means that human food is also vulnerable to housefly eggs. But don’t be overly paranoid. Female houseflies are more likely to lay eggs only on old and spoiled food, especially if it has been left alone for a long time. The female houseflies will see that the food item is both edible and safe, making it a perfect place to lay housefly eggs.
If you are currently eating and houseflies suddenly land on your food, the houseflies are probably not looking to lay their eggs there. They are probably just trying to enjoy the food as much as you do. However, you still don’t want to eat food that has been touched by houseflies. They spit and defecate on food.
5. Accidentally eating housefly eggs is generally not harmful
Because houseflies can lay eggs on food, there is a chance that you accidentally eat housefly eggs. Accidentally eating housefly eggs is generally not harmful. The housefly eggs will pass through your digestive system normally and eventually die from the acids and enzymes in your stomach. However, there are cases where the housefly eggs survive, develop into larvae, and go out of your body with your poop. This is called intestinal myiasis.
But these are rare cases. What you should be more concerned about is the food you have just consumed with the housefly eggs. If houseflies have laid eggs there, it’s likely that the food is old and spoiled. This can lead to food poisonings and other food-related medical conditions, like diarrhea and vomiting.
6. The housefly’s life cycle has four stages
Like many insects, houseflies have a four-stage life cycle, namely the egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. The eggs can develop into larvae within 24 hours. The larvae, also known as maggots, will then feed on the organic matter around them to develop and sustain themselves. The larvae will spend the next 5 to 10 days growing and molting their skin several times.
After that time period, the larvae will develop into pupae, and they will transform into adult houseflies in 3 to 5 days. The adult houseflies can survive for multiple weeks. But they can thrive for a few months when the conditions around them are ideal.
7. Housefly larvae are also called maggots
People are often confused between larvae and maggots. Do houseflies develop larvae or maggots? What’s the difference? Well, there is no difference at all. They are one and the same. Housefly larvae are also called maggots.
Housefly eggs are small white casings that can be as small as 1.2 millimeters. What emerge from them are housefly larvae, also called maggots, that can be as big as 9 millimeters. Housefly larvae are also white. And they have two distinct black hooks on their heads they use for feeding. They have an incredible appetite, being able to eat food equivalent to multiple times their body weight.
8. Houseflies carry disease-causing microorganisms
Why do you need to get rid of houseflies and their eggs in the first place? Well, they carry disease-causing microorganisms. Since they eat anything organic, houseflies often find themselves in unsanitary areas, such as sewers and garbage cans. In these areas, they can get disease-causing microorganisms that they can pass onto you.
Some of the diseases they can cause include cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, salmonellosis, and typhoid fever. Among these, cholera and typhoid fever are the most dangerous. They can be life-threatening if not treated immediately.
9. Keep your home clean to prevent housefly infestations
Prevention is better than cure. Prevent housefly infestations by not giving houseflies accessible organic materials where they can lay housefly eggs. The most common culprits around your home are exposed compost piles and garbage cans, rotting fruits and vegetables, uncleaned pet feces, and generally unsanitary areas indoors like bathrooms and kitchens.
If you happen to have a housefly infestation, call pest control professionals. But if you want to get rid of the infestation yourself, you can try using commercial products like pesticides.