Flies are attracted to sweat, food odors, and carbon dioxide you exhale, which is why they bother you.
Why
Flies are attracted to sweat, carbon dioxide you exhale, body heat, food odors and moisture.
Species
House flies, fruit flies and others.
Habits
House flies taste with their feet and feed on food and waste.
Health
Flies can spread germs.
Control
- Keep food covered.
- Empty trash.
- Use screens and fans.
- Clean spills.
Outdoors
Fans keep them off.
Why flies show up
Flies are attracted to odors of food, garbage, decaying matter and sweat. The common house fly (Musca domestica) tastes with its feet and can detect food from several meters away. A fly’s life cycle runs from egg to adult in as little as 7 to 10 days in warm weather, and one female can lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime.
- Fruit flies are drawn to fermenting fruit, drains and trash.
- Drain flies breed in sludge in drains.
- Cluster flies enter homes in fall to overwinter.
- Flies may land on you for salt in sweat, or to groom.
Health and control
House flies can carry over 100 pathogens, including Salmonella and E. coli, on their bodies and feet. Control includes sealing garbage, cleaning spills, fixing screens, using traps and fans outdoors, and cleaning drains with enzyme cleaners. Cover food outdoors. Persistent indoor flies may signal a hidden source such as a dead animal in walls.
Why flies show up
Flies are attracted to food, garbage, moisture and body odor. House flies breed in decaying matter and can lay 500 eggs in their lifetime. They carry bacteria like Salmonella.
Health and control
Cover food, empty trash, use screens and fly traps. Fruit flies breed in ripe produce.
Why flies are drawn to you
Flies are attracted to odors, sweat, food, trash, pet waste and moist places. They use smell and sight, and a house fly can detect a food source from far away. Salts and sugars in sweat attract them, and they land to taste with their feet. Warm weather increases fly numbers.
Reducing them
Common species include house flies, fruit flies and blow flies. Keep trash sealed and emptied, clean spills, wash pet bowls, and cover food. Screens on windows, fans and fly traps help. House flies can carry bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli and spread them to food, so do not eat food they have touched in large quantity. Many flies in a closed room may indicate a dead animal or rotting material in the walls. Call a pest professional for infestations.
Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and university extension services
