Can You Call an Exterminator for Flies?
Flies are best known for showing up when you’re ready to enjoy a meal outdoors. While swatting a fly is an effective way to deal with an occasional one outside, you might need a more aggressive tactic once you deal with a major infestation. Calling an exterminator is an option that can help you quickly eliminate large swarms of flies.
When Should You Call an Exterminator for Flies?
Seeing more than a couple of flies in your house signifies that you might be dealing with an actual infestation rather than one that managed to slip in through the front door.
Female flies can lay up to 500 eggs over three or four days, so an infestation can quickly get out of control. Contacting an exterminator as soon as you notice several flies makes it possible to disrupt the breeding process before hundreds start flying around your home.
Also, outdoor fly problems can be just as bad as indoor ones. Having large amounts of flies living outside of your house increases the chances of them coming inside.
Plus, flies can carry and spread up to 65 different diseases. If you, your children, or your pets spend large amounts of time outside, ignoring an infestation could lead to someone falling ill.
Fly Infestation Causes
The usual way that an infestation begins is when a fertilized female finds decaying matter where she can lay her eggs. Flies aren’t picky about what type of matter this happens to be. They may lay their eggs in rotting fruit, manure, or even the pieces of food stuck in the kitchen sink drain.
Usually, you’ll find some decaying matter near where a fly infestation begins. However, the problem can quickly spread to other parts of your property. For instance, garbage bins can be an infestation source since they often contain food waste. Compost bins are another place where a fly problem might start.
Keep in mind that having a fly infestation doesn’t mean that you maintain an unclean home or commercial building. They often come through a building’s doors, windows, and other cracks. Once there, it doesn’t take much for them to find small pieces of decaying food or other debris that serves as a breeding area.
How Does an Exterminator Get Rid of Flies?
Exterminators use several tactics to manage fly problems. First, they thoroughly inspect the property’s indoor and outdoor sections. During the inspection, they’ll take note of any areas that appear to be breeding grounds for the flies.
Once they identify the main source of the problem, they can recommend procedures such as removing decaying matter, pet waste, or other attractants.
The inspection may also reveal how flies are getting inside your property. For instance, there might be a hole in a screen or a door that doesn’t close. Keeping windows and doors open without a proper screen is a common way for flies to get inside.
After the inspection is complete, the exterminator may choose to use several different tactics to get rid of the flies. They might use non-chemical measures, such as sticky fly traps or ultraviolet light.
Chemical applications are also effective for eliminating fly problems fast. Exterminators frequently use sprays indoors and around outdoor breeding areas to get the problem under control.
The exterminator you call should outline how they’ll treat the problem so that you can be prepared to take any necessary precautions. For instance, you might need to protect your pet from baited fly traps.
Exterminators also tend to use various control methods for fly issues since the infestations can be extensive.
DIY Fly Control VS. Hiring a Professional
When facing a fly problem, it is only natural to wonder if you can do it yourself. After all, flies seem to be more of a nuisance compared to danger for most people. While you might not think of trying to trap a rat, killing a few flies seems no big deal.
There are several types of DIY methods that work well on smaller infestations. Flypaper can be hung over a sink where there seem to be flies coming up from the drain. Or, you might choose to clean an infested garbage bin and add a cover.
The decision of whether or not you should try a DIY method or call an exterminator will require thinking about the following factors.
Check Out the Extent of the Infestation
If the fly problem is contained to one spot that you can thoroughly clean, you might not need an exterminator. However, widespread fly problems will require the help of a professional.
You’ll want to call an exterminator if you see flies on two or more parts of your property. This is usually a sign that the flies are breeding in more than one area, which makes DIY methods much more challenging to use effectively.
Get Help Identifying the Source
Sometimes, you might have no idea where the flies are coming from. This commonly occurs if some type of decaying matter happens deep within the plumbing system on your property. Or, a water leak could break down materials inside your home’s walls.
If you have yet to learn where the problem stems from, then using a DIY method is much harder. Professional exterminators have the knowledge and equipment necessary to locate hidden fly problems.
Think About Long-Term Results
Most DIY methods, such as over-the-counter foggers, are meant to provide fast relief from the problem. This might be ideal if you need to quickly get flies out of your house before you host a party, or you could find that this is perfectly fine if it’s just a problem inside of a trash can.
Exterminators come to your location with strategies that are more potent than what you can pick up at the grocery store. Although the sprays are safe for humans and pets, they are meant to have residual effects. Using a spray that keeps working for several weeks is one of the more effective ways to avoid having this problem again.
Consider the Need to Treat Additional Pests
The prospect of having more than a fly problem on your property might be tough, but living in denial could worsen the problem. Flies and other pests tend to like the same things. Cockroaches also feed and breed on decaying organic matter, and other insects tend to use the same entrance as flies.
Choosing to handle the fly problem yourself could cause you to allow another type of infestation to get out of control. By calling an exterminator, you can get your property inspected for all types of pests. If there’s more than one type of problem, then the exterminator can suggest a treatment plan to eliminate all of them.
If you choose to try a DIY method, remember to keep checking to ensure it works. The initial fly problem might go away, only to return once the eggs begin to hatch. At the first sign of a recurring infestation, you’ll definitely need to contact an exterminator for advice.
