Solving Fly Problems

Reduce fly attractants. The best way to solve a fly issue is to get rid of the things that are attracting flies. By working with your pest management provider, you can identify what on your property may be attracting flies. For most facilities, a fly problem on the interior isn’t likely. When it comes to breeding, large flies need very decayed organic matter to be successful. The odors created by these breeding sources are usually very strong, putrid smells—decaying animal carcasses, rotting organic materials, etc. Most often, these breeding sources will be outdoors.

If the breeding source is on your property, remove it. If it is not possible to remove it, your pest management provider can discuss with you ways to contaminate that breeding source to make it uninhabitable to flies.

If you’ve never had a fly issue before and one suddenly develops, your pest management provider may ask you questions about recent changes in process to see if there’s something new that could be attracting flies.

In many cases, the entire fly breeding source may not be on a facility’s property and flies may be attracted to your facility from other areas. In these cases, removing the breeding source may not be an option, so setting up a defensive perimeter is your next course of action.

Engineer your facility to fight flies. In combination with reducing fly attractants, putting measures in place to prevent fly entry into a facility is critical. For most processing facilities, the highest risk of fly entry can be found at receiving areas where livestock may be brought in or product spillage is occurring.

On the interior, preventing fly entry can be as simple as installing door sweeps, screens, air curtains, or plastic strip doors. Educating employees to keep exterior doors closed when not in use can also go a long way toward keeping flies out. Installing a gauntlet of insect light traps and other fly traps is another way to catch flies before they enter critical processing areas.

Engineering your facility to fight flies. may also mean working with your facility’s engineering team to reduce the amount of air escaping through door seals, window frames, and other openings. This reduces heat that may be attracting flies to your facility.

The blow fly.
Image Credit: THE STERITECH GROUP, INC./DAVID WILLIAMS

In addition, when possible, ensure that your facility has positive air pressure. What is positive air pressure? We’ve all experienced it—when you open the door to a building and feel air pushing back out at you. Positive air pressure works to deter flies because flies can’t or won’t fight against the air current escaping to enter the facility. Changing the air pressure of a facility may simply not be possible, however, if it is a core problem with the facility’s HVAC system.

Odor management systems. Many facilities may be able to drastically reduce or even eliminate fly issues by addressing odor issues. When used as part of an IPM strategy, odor management technology can be an effective way to deter pests from a variety of operations. At one time, food processing facilities needing odor management systems had to invest in expensive equipment that was messy and required ongoing maintenance. Today, there are alternatives available that are compact, cost-efficient, easy-to-maintain, and utilize environmentally friendly odor neutralizers that work to eliminate odors, rather than just mask them.

Positive air pressure works to deter flies because flies can’t or won’t fight against the air current escaping to enter the facility.

Fly baiting programs. Utilizing fly baits has proven one of the most effective ways to deter flies from a facility. However, traditional scattered/broadcast granular fly baits can be problematic in processing environments where loose baits can contaminate product when they are inadvertently spread by foot and vehicular traffic.