Cluster Flies
In Flies, Pests, Pests in August, Pests in July, Pests in September, Pests in Summer
Cluster Flies:
At last the weather has got slightly warmer. This brings insects out of hibernation. One of the first to make a difference to a pest control company are Cluster Flies. These flies gather in cavities to hibernate for the Winter. They are not feeding or breeding but are only interested in hibernating. As man has erected buildings there are now unlimited ‘cavities’ to use as hibernation sites. Remarkably once a site has been chosen it is used every year. It is thought that the site location is passed down through several generations by Genetic memory.
The flies that come out of hibernation in the Spring only live a few weeks so it is thought their descendants go back to the same hibernation site, but this cannot be proved one way or another unless some one does genetic testing on the flies. There are several species of cluster flies the main one in the South of England being parasitic on earthworms. Flies normally prefer one side of the building (often the south side). Once they have left the hibernation site they mate and the female lays eggs in the soil which hatch into grubs that burrow into the soil and find an earthworm which they feed on. Once developed they leave the earthworm, move near the surface to pupate where they emerge as adult flies and the cycle continues.
It is thought that wet Summers lead to Autumns with high populations of Cluster Flies due to the availability of earthworms. The wetter the soil the nearer the earthworms are to the surface which makes finding them easier for the newly hatched grubs. Another common species throughout Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Oxfordshire and South Buckinghamshire is one that breeds in cattle dung. This can lead to localised problems with cluster flies near farms with dung piles.
To book a pest control treatment or free advice then please call us at PEST UK: 0330 100 2811 (local rate) or 0800 026 0308 (free from land lines & some mobiles).
