Flies

6 Steps to Getting Rid Of Horse Flies Naturally

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Horse with lots of fly in face

Horse flies are blood-feeding insects which use their sharp mouthparts for biting mammals for drinking blood that comes out of the wounds. Female horse fly starts laying eggs on leaves overhanging water once they feed enough. When the eggs hatch, the flies’ larvae burrow down in the moist soil for survival and feeding on snails …

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Horse Fly Trap: How to Get Rid Of Horse Fly Quickly With Three Effective Traps?

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Horse fly and blood on skin

When it comes to flies, we assume that they are the least harmful insects around us. It is nothing but a misperception. These tiny flying insects, present almost everywhere around us can be problematic, when it comes to certain species like the horse fly. This fly is no different from many other flies around us, but it is not the appearance that merely matters. These flies can cause serious concerns. The result of various researchers reveals that when we talk about the ferocious breeds of flies, this kind of flies tops the list. Their mouth is the primary organ that makes the difference. They are unique because of their cutting and tearing ability.

Horse flies are a real threat to the animals especially the farm animals. They feed on their blood. Unlike the mosquito bite, the horse fly inflicts painful bites with their scissor-like jaws. They usually stay closer to the regions that are rich in the water content and have comparatively higher temperatures. They love staying close to the beaches and the lakes. It is imperative to get rid of them as soon as possible and control the losses caused by them. This eradication is possible only if they are correctly identified. Before considering various methods and ways of checking the risks associated with the horse fly let us see what they look like and how they live.

Read moreHorse Fly Trap: How to Get Rid Of Horse Fly Quickly With Three Effective Traps?

Tsetse Fly Disease: Ultimate Guide to Human African Trypanosomiasis & Animal Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness)

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Tsetse fly on branch

Human African trypanosomiasis, which is also called sleeping sickness. It is a scrounging disease. There are parasites which belong to Trypanosoma genes, and they cause this infection. Tsetse fly bites transmit this infection from person to another. They get this infection either from humans or animals.

There are two types of this disease:

  • Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense: In southern and eastern Africa almost 13 countries are affected with this form of sleeping sickness. It is responsible for 4% of sleeping sickness reports which grounds chronic infection. Just after some months’ time, symptoms are recognizable, but it affects the nervous system very quickly.
  • Trypanosoma brucei gambiense: It is responsible for 96% of reports as sleeping sickness which grounds chronic infection. You cannot observe the symptoms in early months, and when it is diagnosed, the patient is already in stage 2 which is the critical one. 24 countries of west and central Africa are affected by it.

Read moreTsetse Fly Disease: Ultimate Guide to Human African Trypanosomiasis & Animal Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness)

Treating Infestation of Bot Fly: How to Remove Them Efficiently?

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bot fly lying on wooden background

Bot fly belongs to the Oestridae family. This family has several other flies similar to the bot fly like heel flies and gadflies and so on. The specialty of this family is its larva always make mammal as their internal parasite. Human bot fly is also a kind of this family that always parasites on human skin. The human bot fly also termed as American warble fly.

Appearance of Bot Fly

The adult or mature bot fly is like an undernourished or skinny honey-bee with yellowish complexion. The thorax of these flies has some hairs in it mouthparts of adult bot fly lack any rudimentary functionality.

Read moreTreating Infestation of Bot Fly: How to Remove Them Efficiently?

Buffalo Gnat Bites (on Humans) – How to Get Rid of Buffalo Gnats?

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Buffalo gnat on black background

Buffalo gnats are also known as the black flies. These are the types of the insects who live on blood. Feeding on the blood means they cause many diseases, river blindness is one of them. Most of the time they get their diet from the mammals and other animals, sucking blood. However, the male species get their nourishment from nectar. Over 18,000 species of black flies are present in the world.

Recognizing a Buffalo Gnats

Black flies or buffalo gnats are like the other flies, tiny and disgusting. Their size ranges from 5-15mm and adults are healthy and robust. They also have an arched thoracic region and large eyes. These creatures have short legs, a pair of antennae and fan-shaped relatively large wings. Mostly their color is from gray to black, but some of them have yellowish orange pigments one their bodies. The antennae serve the purpose to suck the blood from its prey.

Read moreBuffalo Gnat Bites (on Humans) – How to Get Rid of Buffalo Gnats?

Tsetse Fly: How to Get Rid of these Large Biting Flies?

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Closeup tsetse fly on white background

Tsetse fly, also known as a tik-tik fly, exists abundantly in some regions of African Continent. Its name comes from one of the languages in Southern Africa i.e. Tswana that means ‘fly.’ This fly is one of the kinds of a housefly. One can find more than 23 species of tsetse flies in mid-continent African. These bloodsucking flies dwell in open woodlands of tropical Africa. They can give rise to fatal diseases in humans as well as animals. The toxin they excrete can also result in the death of human beings.

Their bite becomes the reason of thousands of deaths every year. These biting flies should be monitored and controlled by using traps or insecticides before you become a victim of the health hazards they can cause. These flies have turned the cultivated areas of African countries into barren lands; this is the reason they are facing poverty despite many programs run in Africa to eradicate these flies.

Read moreTsetse Fly: How to Get Rid of these Large Biting Flies?

5 Popular Types of Gnats (Plus 27 Quick Facts)

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Close-up of a gnat on ground.

27 Quick Facts about Gnats

  1. The gnats can lay up to 300 eggs in a single day.
  2. They attack in large swarms.
  3. Their lifespan is very short, usually lasting from only four to five months.
  4. These creatures use dead or decayed insects or small animals as a safe space for laying eggs and providing them with nourishment.
  5. They feed on dried leaves and bad seeds, decaying animals, flies, and insects. They can live on these decaying substances for years.
  6. The male gnats do not bite, but the female gnats bite, and this bite is very painful and can transfer infections to the skin with their sting.

    Gnat isolated on white background.
    Source: http://www.getridoffliesguide.com/

  7. Female gnats bite to complete their reproduction process, they use the blood as an enzyme that rapids the reproduction process and completes it.
  8. Male gnats do not require blood to live; they can live on the nectars of flowers and plants, and suck fruits.
  9. They are highly attracted to bright and dark colors.
  10. The female gnats travel long distances in search for sucking blood.
  11. They mostly attack homes during the winter month.
  12. The female gnats are attracted towards the black color.
  13. The gnats are attracted towards ripped or rotten fruits and vegetables.
  14. The eggs are hatched and nourished to form an adult in a week.
  15. Fungus gnats take more time to reach the adult stage.
  16. The Gnats stung people to protect themselves.
  17. These species do not change their habitat for years.
  18. They are mainly found near the trees, and plants as it is the food source for them.
  19. Female of fungus gnats lives only for ten days, and their decayed bodies are used for the nourishment of little ones.
  20. They are trapped by yellow sticky tapes that can attract them easily.
  21. The bites of gnats can transmit viral diseases.
  22. Sand gnats were named due to their sand like color.
  23. Female gnats can lay up to 150 eggs from morning to afternoon.
  24. Gnats have one of the most rapid reproduction capability.
  25. They are also attracted to flowers smell which predicts them good and juicy food for them.
  26. These insects are also found near the garbage and sewage where they easily find rotten and decayed substances for themselves.
  27. Sand gnats take more time in reaching their adult stage than the other gnats.

Read more5 Popular Types of Gnats (Plus 27 Quick Facts)

8 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Drain Flies Completely

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Drain fly isolated on the white.

Close-up of a drain gnat sucking blood on human’s skin.Sewer gnats, sink flies, drain flies – no matter what you call them, these pests are a royal pain. They may not do you any harm, but they sure love to buzz around your face just to drive you mad.

As you may have guessed, these flies feed on sewage and organic matter. Considering their hangouts and diet, it’s a surprise these pests don’t transmit human disease.

Even though these flies are harmless, females can lay between 30 and 100 eggs at once, and it takes just two days for eggs to hatch into drain worms. In just a few days, the population can start to get out of control.

Read more8 Natural Ways to Get Rid of Drain Flies Completely

Fruit Flies Vs Gnats: 4 Ways to Kill Gnats & 3 Ways to Kill Fruit Flies

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Close up of a fruit fly.

You’re seeing a small bug, or several small flying bugs, concentrated around the fruit in your home. Bananas are a common delicacy that will attract fruit flies. And while you’re sure you have a fruit fly problem, you’re also wondering if these flying pests may be gnats.

We’re going to compare fruit flies vs gnats, so you can easily tell which bug is invading your space.

Fruit Flies Vs GnatsClose up macro of small sand fly gnat on green leaf.

People have confused fruit flies and gnats for so long that some people question are fruit flies and gnats the same thing?

These little fliers are similar in the fact that they’re small and fly, but they come from different families of insects.

Read moreFruit Flies Vs Gnats: 4 Ways to Kill Gnats & 3 Ways to Kill Fruit Flies