Flesh Fly Facts & Information

While kind of large compared to other flies, flesh flies are small enough to squeeze through a small crack or a torn screen. So, getting them is pretty easy. But there has to be something they’re attracted to in order to come into your business or home. Since they’re scavengers, adult female flesh flies are highly attracted to the smell of rotting flesh (as their name seems to suggest!). So, a dead rodent or bird in an area of your home will attract flesh flies before you can even smell it. But they’re also interested in unwashed dumpster or garbage areas (including recycling bins and trash chutes), unsealed garbage, and meat scraps. They are keenly attracted to piles of animal feces in your yard and rotting compost piles since that’s where they deposit their maggots which are “born” live from the female.

Flesh flies thrive outside in environments with decomposing organic matter, like animal carcasses, manure, and garbage. They often live near compost piles or pet waste. Inside, they typically only appear if an animal (such as a mouse or bird) has died inside a wall or attic. They do not intentionally infest structures in large numbers. However, a sudden appearance of flesh flies inside your home usually indicates a breeding source is nearby, such as a dead rodent. Check your wall voids, chimney, garage, and attic to see what is enticing them to come inside.

Flesh flies primarily cause problems as disease-carrying vectors, unsanitary nuisances, and threats to vulnerable animals and those with weakened immune systems. Moving between feces, carcasses, and human environments, they pick up pathogens on their bodies. They can spread food-borne illnesses like diarrhea and dysentery when landing on food or preparation surfaces. As previously described, female flesh flies give birth to live larvae, which they can deposit in open sores or cuts on humans and animals. These maggots can feed on necrotic or even healthy living tissue, creating painful infections. All of this can be disgusting at home but could be fatal at a hospital. And because they are drawn to meat and organic waste, their presence poses severe sanitation and regulatory problems for restaurants, supermarkets, and meat processing facilities which could lead to costly downtime, expensive product contamination, and severe reputation problems.

Preventing flesh flies centers entirely on strict sanitation protocols and physical exclusion strategies. Because flesh flies breed on decaying matter, your best defense is eliminating their food and breeding sources including disposing of organic waste in tightly sealed trash bags, routinely cleaning garbage bins and dumpster areas, and immediately removing dead animals or pet waste. Don’t forget about outside! Clear out any lawn debris, rotting fruit, and compost piles that sit close to your house or business and pick up pet waste from your yard on a daily basis. Keeping them out means repairing torn or loose-fitting window and door screens. Keep in mind all flies are pretty small, so be sure to use fine mesh in those screens! Ensure all exterior doors close tightly and install door sweeps to block gaps at the bottom as well as use caulk to fill in gaps around vents, utility lines, and window frames. You can try placing dried herbs or sachets containing mint, eucalyptus, or cloves near windows and entryways as a natural repellent and of course sticky traps and indoor insect light traps will help, too.

We’re passionate about keeping flesh flies out of your home or business because we live and work here – it’s our neighborhood, too. We’ve been keeping homes and businesses in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Tennessee safe from pests since 1972. OPC Pest Services has the experience you can trust.