There are many types of biting flies in Florida. Fly bites come from many different types of flies. The more recognized varieties of fly bites come from deer flies, horse flies, and yellow flies. These biting flies belong to a family called Tabanidae. It includes 35 species in all.
These flies can lay eggs totaling up to 1,000 in number. They’re very difficult to find or identify, and they hatch within a week. Flies lay these eggs over moist ground or water so that the larvae fall into these areas upon hatching. Needless to say, after this year, there’s a lot of moist ground and water for larvae to thrive in. The larvae stage lasts from a few months to a year, depending on species, weather conditions, and food availability. This means it won’t just be a bad upcoming season for fly bites. It’ll be a bad year or two at least.
After they drop, the larvae find organic matter. If they can, they’ll feed on animals like insects and worms. At the end, they’ll pupate near the top of soil and emerge as flies.
We’re entering a period where the flies are wintering – generally going through their larval and pupate stages. In order to mediate the number of flies in your neighborhood in years to come, it’s crucial to engage in lawn pest control now.
The best control is changing the environment of your property, and encouraging neighbors to do the same. Eliminating standing pools of water can help. Fly traps can also reduce their numbers later on, once they’re adults. Now is also one of the best times of the year to look for their egg deposits and eliminate them.
One of the best approaches remains in preservation. Birds like egrets and killdeer feed on these kinds of flies and reduce their number naturally.
As mentioned, lawn pest control can reduce their numbers and make the environment more difficult for them to reach adulthood. Insecticides can help reduce their number, but we’ll want to approach it in a way that’s safe for your family and neighborhood.
In all, the best approach picks and chooses from all of the above and remains consistent. That can be implemented by a Brevard County Pest Control service like Slug-A-Bug. Contact us today for help with Melbourne fly control today.