Flies: Identify source early

Dr. Janis Reed, BCE, Technical Services Manager, Product Development Team, Control Solutions Inc.

Flies are what I consider a “source” problem: There’s always a cause, or source, the insects are using to develop through their life stages. When a customer calls with “flies” in their structure, the first step, as always, is a proper identification. A few quick questions to ask include:

• Are you able to collect five to 10 specimens for identification?
• Are they small flies or large flies?
• In which room or area are you seeing the most flies?
• Have you recently left the doors and windows open?
• Have you had a rodent problem or noticed a bad smell recently?

It’s important to make the identification as early as possible. This will help identify possible sources of the infestation. In turn, this will help you, and your client, quickly identify the areas in which the flies are breeding.

Another quick tip: If customers are seeing maggots, imagine the source of the maggots as the center of a bullseye. The maggots will travel out, in basically a straight line, away from the center of the target. When searching for the source, imagining a bullseye will better help you locate it.

Once you have a proper identification and locate a source, it’s typically a simple — albeit, usually unpleasant — task to remediate the situation. Patience and persistence are nearly always the key.