All flies go through the same life cycle - adult, eggs, larva and pupa. Depending on the species and weather conditions, the life cycle can vary from as much as four weeks to as little as a couple of days. Several management practices can be employed to help minimize the development of fly populations, primarily by eliminating breeding sites.
 

Many common species of flies such as blow flies (e.g. bluebottle and greenbottle flies) and the common house fly, breed in garbage, manure, rotting plant material, dead animals or the feces of dogs or other domestic animals. They can also infest carcasses of animals in hidden places of a home such as a dead squirrel, bird or mouse in the attic or other inaccessible location. They feed on nectar, pollen and decaying plant and animal matter.
	Blue Bottle Fly
	Around the house, place and seal all garbage in plastic bags before putting it in the garbage can. Use garbage cans with tight-fitting lids and wash them from time to time. Place garbage cans away from the house to reduce the occurrence of nuisance flies nearby. Dispose of garbage weekly. Don’t leave moist pet foods out for an extended period. Cover compost piles with black plastic that will heat the material and kill larvae. Pick up dog and other pet feces daily.
Blow Fly "Blow Fly," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Around the barnyard, eliminate potential breeding sites such as rotting bales, straw, mulch, leaves, manure and animal waste. Any potential fly breeding material may be spread thinly on fields to allow it to dry to prevent fly development. Drain areas of standing water. Flies often breed in the wet organic material at the base of livestock water troughs.
	Household Fly

Animal carcasses
Dispose of all animal carcasses properly. While a carcass may be stored outside during winter, it must be disposed of properly during warmer weather, or it can become a “fly factory”, producing thousands of flies in as little as 24 to 48 hours in the summer heat. Carcasses may be removed by a commercial operator, or may be buried or burned.
 

Manure management Manure is a prime breeding ground for flies. Solid wastes can be collected and composted until they can be spread thinly on fields. Liquid wastes can be pumped from holding pits and spread. The best time to spread manure, as far as fly control in concerned, in the spring as soon as the fields are dry enough to travel on, and again after September 15th when there is little chance that fly larvae will complete their development. Since the weather is likely to be cool, nutrient losses and odor problems are minimized. Use equipment that breaks the manure into fine particles. For liquid manure, soil injection is the ideal, and second choice would be dribble tubes.    Liquid Injection Method Avoid hot windy weather and always consider wind direction in relation to your neighbors before spreading manure. Work the manure into the soil as soon as possible, for nutrient benefits as well as fly control.

Mechanical Spreader Breaks Manure into Fine Particles

For more information on the manure management, contact Loni Scott with Manitoba Agriculture and Food in Morden at (204) 822-5461, or your local Manitoba Agriculture and Food office.

Land fills Household garbage is the predominate material in land fills. Occasionally, wet farm garbage such as spoiled grain, straw from livestock transport vehicles, and so on may be disposed of at the local landfill site. Landfill workers should be notified as the material arrives and it should be properly buried as soon as possible as it may be infested with maggots (larvae) and pupae which could hatch into thousands of flies in as little as a few hours. Unless wet garbage is buried every few days, countless flies may emerge and disperse to neighboring farms and communities.

Road kills Like farm animals, road-killed animals can also become fly factories within a day or two. Flies escaping the carcass can create a major problem for neighboring farms and residences and move far down wind as well. A small animal such as a cat, squirrel or gopher can produce hundreds of blow flies while a larger carcass such as a deer can produce tens of thousands. Promptly report road kills to the local Manitoba Highways office for removal.

Green Blow Fly Leon Higley, UNL Entomology) University of Nebraska

Fly control
Total reliance on insecticides to control flies is not a long-term solution. Management of fly development is the best approach. However, when necessary to apply insecticides, rotate their use to minimize insecticide resistance.

Other methods of controlling fly populations include the use of natural enemies such as parasites, predators and pathogens. Some of these are available from the US but special permits must be obtained from Agriculture Canada to import them into this country.

A variety of effective flytraps may be used, from homemade screen traps, to commercial glass jar traps. And then there is always the trusty fly swatter.
 
 
 

Did you know??

...... The life cycle of a common housefly may be a little as 8 days. A pair of flies, beginning their operation in April, if all their offspring and descendants were allowed to survive, would result in 191 quintillion, 10 quadrillion (that’s 191,010 plus 15 zeros!) flies by August. Allowing 1/8 of a cubic inch per fly, this would result in a layer covering the Earth to a depth of 47 feet! Thank goodness for predators, parasites, pesticides and bad weather!

......Under ideal conditions, Blow flies may produce as many as 8 generations in one year.