Bottle Fly

• Bottle Fly Biology and Identification
• Bottle Fly Image
• Inspecting for Bottle Flies
• Bottle Fly Elimination
• Fly Elimination Products

Bottle Fly Biology and Identification

Bottle flies, Greenbottle flies,  Bluebottle flies, and Blowflies are all common large flies, noted for their metallic blue or green coloration.   These flies are often flying up and down in a window, making their characteristic buzzing sound.  Blowflies are scavengers who deposit their eggs on decaying meat, fish, garbage, fecal matter and dead animals.  These materials on which Bottle Flies deposit their eggs are the key in their elimination: find and eliminate these sources!   Complete development (from egg to adult) can require as little as 10 days or as much as 3 weeks.

Bottle Fly Image

Inspecting for Bottle Flies

Bottle flies breed in damp organic material such as garbage and dead animals, therefore most of these pests found indoors actually originate from an outdoor source.   Small numbers of Bottle flies in a structure usually point to an outdoor source.   If large numbers of these flies are found indoors, it may be a sign of an indoor infestation.  Indoors, look for signs of dead rodents or birds that may have been living in walls or crawl spaces, or even living in lower cabinets and under major appliances.  Outdoors, inspect the area for dead animals; any nearby dumpsters or other garbage containers should be inspected.

Bottle Fly Elimination

Blow fly and Bottle Fly elimination includes:

• Sanitation
• Exclusion
• Baiting
• Surface Sprays

Sanitation measures not only include cleaning garbage containers and dumpsters, but also include moving such containers as far from buildings as possible and making sure that their lids are kept closed at all times.  Check dumpsters for properly fitting lids.  If amount of refuge is too much for the container, ask for a larger one or see that all dumpsters are emptied more often.   Keep areas around dumpsters as clean and dry as possible.  If a great deal of moist organic material is disposed on a regular basis, first place these materials in sealed garbage bags, then properly dispose of them outdoors.  These flies have also been found in decaying grass (check your compost pile) and animal feces.

Exclusion involves properly fitted doors and windows which inhibit the migration of flying pests to the inside of buildings.  Check for any vents or screens that need repair.  Inspect for areas where birds or rodents have easy access to the building.  Seal all cracks around doors and windows where even large flies can "squeeze through" tiny openings.

In cases where there are garbage containers or dumpsters, baiting and surface sprays should be used to kill flies.   Baits should be re-applied after every cleaning or rainfall.  Use baits inside dumpsters and the area around such trash containers, if there are no non-target animals (dogs or children) in the immediate area.  Are there homeless people going through the trash at night?  If so, do not bait inside the container, but bait the area surrounding the receptacle.  Surface sprays should be applied to the surfaces where flies rest.  They should also be used around windows and doors where flies try to enter a building.  Wettable powders such as Cyper WP  will work best for this application.

Space sprays and pheromone traps can be helpful tools in eliminating indoor Blowflies, but the elimination of their breeding sources is the only guaranteed way to eliminate them.  Make certain that all possible sanitation measures have been implemented before relying on chemical sprays to eliminate flies.

Fly Elimination Products

Professional Pest Control Products
6920 Pine Forest Road
Pensacola, Florida    32526

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