The house fly can be classed under two headings. It is a generic term that applies to the common house fly, the lesser house fly and fruit flies, all of whom may enter a dwelling. It can also refer specifically to the common house fly, musca domestica Linnaeus.

The common house fly is distributed throughout the world and is a very successful breed. Its success can be attributed to a number of factors including its adaptability and resourcefulness. Although known as a house fly, the musca domestica Linnaeus can be found anywhere where there is manure or soft or decaying foodstuffs.

The amount of house flies at any given time is largely governed by temperature.  A fly's functions, including breeding, will slow as the temperature cools. It thrives and multiplies rapidly in warm to hot temperatures but doesn't like the temperature to be too hot. This is one of many attributes they share with humans. Alarmingly, house flies share some other human characteristics such as the inability to see in the dark and a liking for sweet and fatty foods. That last point may explain why they are so keen to visit out kitchens! They are less fussy than we are. They will have no problem with visiting our trash and rubbish tips looking for discarded foodstuffs.

Flies are opportunistic and curious - just like us. Although they are not curious in the intellectual sense the way that we are, they do tend to explore. This behaviour is simply their way of getting their next feed. They will fly around until something comes up! They will pick up a scent - often from a long distance - and try to find its source. If this doesn't work they just keep on flying until something does.

Flies are just as opportunistic when laying eggs. Rather than prepare an area for their eggs, they simply find a wet and warm area where there is some food and lay their eggs there. Freshly laid manure is a perfect place. The cream-white eggs are laid in clusters of between 75 and 100 eggs. Within 24 hours of being laid, they will hatch into larvae (maggots). The larvae are completely self-sufficient - another sign of this breed's robustness and adaptability. After a few days the larvae will move to drier areas (or the medium they were hatched into may dry out anyway). They will then pupate and from the puparium will emerge a mini version of a fly. After about an hour, the young fly will mate if possible and then take off and start it's life as a flying adult.

This, of course, is when the trouble starts. Flies will enter any home or business where there are openings for them to get into. Their sense of smell will generally take them to areas where food is available. We have long battled with this unwanted invasion through the use of electric fly killers such as those sold by Arkay Hygiene. These fly killers attract the flies by luring them with ultra violet light. They can also be attracted to fly traps that use a glue board that the fly sticks to. Fly traps use an attractant tablet which contains a food lure.

Flies are responsible for spreading disease - sometimes very serious disease. There is a universal need to keep them away from our food and food preparation areas. Business that prepare and produce food have a legal duty in most jurisdictions to ensure measures are taken to deal with house flies.