Where do houseflies come from, is it normal for them to appear

[Monique]

Where do houseflies come from, is it normal for them to appear out of nowhere? They've been a plague the last few days, just when you think you've killed them all others will appear. Right now I can spot another three of them

All the windows are closed and I definitely have nothing rotting, except a busted egg that I found in the egg tray. There are no mice in the building that I know of, there are no pets, my neighbor is still alive so.. Could they be fleeing from the outside cold, or don't they really care about that?

 

[Borek]

Spontaneous generation?

Edit: on the more serious note - when it gets cold, they just look for some crack to hide and wait for Spring, at least that's what I see around a house here.

 

[Monique]

Spontaneous generation?

Only fruit flies can do that

 

[Borek]

That's not only flies, from what I see around here, also small shops appear from nowhere. It usually starts when people build some new houses. Once they move in, after a few weeks, there is a small shop around. I have seen this process many times.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Where do houseflies come from?

Houseflies.

Don't kill them, all their relatives come to the funeral. Just make them feel unwelcome. Perhaps a sign that says no dogs or flies allowed.

 

[Monique]

Don't kill them, all their relatives come to the funeral.

Whoops, about 50% of them were cremated in the halogen lamp (anyone want toasted housefly?). The stench in unbearable when they do that, but it's probably a sign to them that Uncle Crosseye has just left this world. Maybe I should put one of the victims on a needle and pin it outside of the window as a warning

 

[qspeechc]

The best is when they collect on the window trying to get out. That's when it's easiest to kill them.


(What? You thought I'd say you let them out? Never!)

 

[Evo]

Where do houseflies come from, is it normal for them to appear out of nowhere? They've been a plague the last few days, just when you think you've killed them all others will appear. Right now I can spot another three of them

All the windows are closed and I definitely have nothing rotting, except a busted egg that I found in the egg tray. There are no mice in the building that I know of, there are no pets, my neighbor is still alive so.. Could they be fleeing from the outside cold, or don't they really care about that?

At least you just have flies. I had another bunch of wasps come inside last week. I am pretty sure they are coming in through the fireplace.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

At least you just have flies. I had another bunch of wasps come inside last week. I am pretty sure they are coming in through the fireplace.

A few years back I had a nest in the space between ceiling and roof in the den. At 6 in the morning I noticed a smudge on the wall near the ceiling. I put my finger on it and it went through the wall paper and a swarm of yellow jackets flew into the room. I hightailed it to the hardware store for some bug spray and hoped to get back before my family woke up. When I got back home there was nary a wasp alive in the house. They had all settled in the ceiling lamp and died there.

 

[Dembadon]

Where do houseflies come from, is it normal for them to appear out of nowhere? They've been a plague the last few days, just when you think you've killed them all others will appear. Right now I can spot another three of them

All the windows are closed and I definitely have nothing rotting, except a busted egg that I found in the egg tray. There are no mice in the building that I know of, there are no pets, my neighbor is still alive so.. Could they be fleeing from the outside cold, or don't they really care about that?

Last month we had an infestation. It was absolutely disgusting, as well as embarrassing, as we keep a pretty sanitary household. We consistently killed upwards of 5-6 files every evening for about 2 weeks straight. I ended up finding the source of the invasion to be at the bottom of one of our garbage cans; they were spawning from a layer of maggots which covered about 60% of the bottom of the container.

We keep our cans on the side of the house by the vent for the washer/dryer. I can't say for sure whether or not the vent was their point of entry, but they were definitely finding a way in, against all of our efforts to shut them out.

I washed out both cans with bleach-water and have not had a single fly since.

Edit: All that to say; the source could be outside. Even if you have all of the windows and doors closed, they could be entering through floor vents, chimneys, attics/crawlspaces, etc. Look around in those places for any dead / rotting things, and you will find them.

 

[Monique]

At least you just have flies. I had another bunch of wasps come inside last week. I am pretty sure they are coming in through the fireplace.

Yeah, that would be worse but the big black flies are pretty disgusting though.

Edit: All that to say; the source could be outside. Even if you have all of the windows and doors closed, they could be entering through floor vents, chimneys, attics/crawlspaces, etc. Look around in those places for any dead / rotting things, and you will find them.

This house is around 450 years old, so there definitely are crevices in the window sills for them to crawl through and there is a ventilation grid in the bathroom, besides that everything is pretty much sealed. Maybe there's something lying in the back courtyard or on the roof (I don't have access to it, so I can't look), I'll put something in front of the bathroom ventilation grid and see if that stops them from coming in.

 

[Moonbear]

I've been having a lot of flies getting in lately too. I think it's because the weather is warm longer than usual, so they're getting one more chance to breed outside and sneak in. I figure they're sneaking in when I open the doors to come and go. There really isn't any other place for them to be coming from. The trash gets taken out regularly (and even when it isn't, the lid on the can is pretty snug sealing...even odor doesn't escape), I don't have any fruit or vegetables lying on the counters from them to come from there. In fact, I cleaned the house pretty thoroughly top to bottom this past weekend and there seem to be MORE flies now, so I can't imagine them breeding any place inside. That leaves me assuming they're finding a way to sneak in from outside. I'm going to have to ask the cat why I don't find any dead flies, though.

 

[WhoWee]

This house is around 450 years old

That is fascinating. This is straying from the topic, (but I don't think anyone will mind) do you know the history of the house?

 

[Monique]

That is fascinating. This is straying from the topic, (but I don't think anyone will mind) do you know the history of the house?

The only thing I know is that the previous person who lived here was a woman who became pregnant and had to move because she wouldn't be able to climb the staircase (it's pretty steep: a 70 degrees incline). I tried a google search, which yields a lot of hits, but nothing historical. I have wondered about the inhabitants, maybe I should visit the city archives sometime. My grandparents lived nearby, but I've never had contact with them. It would be interesting to find out how much family history there is in this neighborhood.

 

[Loren Booda]

Well, there are houseboats, so why not houseflies?

 

[DaveC426913]

If time flies like an arrow,

why do fruit flies like a banana?

 

[rootX]

Where do houseflies come from, is it normal for them to appear out of nowhere? They've been a plague the last few days, just when you think you've killed them all others will appear. Right now I can spot another three of them

All the windows are closed and I definitely have nothing rotting, except a busted egg that I found in the egg tray. There are no mice in the building that I know of, there are no pets, my neighbor is still alive so.. Could they be fleeing from the outside cold, or don't they really care about that?

Weird coincident. I also noticed three of them in my room for past two days but I don't see them anymore today.

 

[DaveC426913]

Weird coincident. I also noticed three of them in my room for past two days but I don't see them anymore today.

Y'all may find a correlation between the appearance of flies, and the occurrence of rain a few days prior.

 

[Redbelly98]

Spontaneous generation?

That was exactly my initial thought on a response.

Y'all may find a correlation between the appearance of flies, and the occurrence of rain a few days prior.

Sir, if you are suggesting that flies cause rain to have happened in the past, I shall have to ask you to review your special relativity!

 

[rootX]

It been raining for past few days and I just saw one fly.

 

[Moonbear]

I figured out where mine were coming from. Since I was mostly coming and going in the dark, I hadn't notice that the Halloween Jack-o-Lantern had developed a healthy population of flies, right next to the front door...so they would come in when ever I opened the door. So, now I know where houseflies come from...pumpkins! It makes sense, they would have to come from something larger than the small fruit that fruit flies come from since house flies are so much larger.

 

[lisab]

It been raining for past few days and I just saw one fly.

Wearing SCABA*?


*Self Contained Airborne Breathing Apparatus, of course!

 

[Borek]

So, now I know where houseflies come from...pumpkins! It makes sense, they would have to come from something larger than the small fruit that fruit flies come from since house flies are so much larger.

Perfect use of logic

 

[Danger]

Keep in mind that even when the flies themselves are not around, their eggs still are. Their life cycle is so fast that you might not notice the larvae before they emerge as a new generation of flying pests. Someplace that you don't dust constantly, such as the top of a door sill or between the panes of an unsealed window, are perfect for them. I don't know what the longevity of an egg is, but I've had flies show up in the middle of January, when it was -30° C outside, months after the last sighting.