Blow Fly
	House Fly

Blow Fly/Bottle Fly
Family Calliphoridge

Blow flies and bottle flies are important scavengers in nature as they are one of the first insects to reach a dead animal. These flies are part of the decomposition process that recycles nutrients back into the soil. In murder cases, the maggots of these flies are used by forensic entomologists to place the time of death. They also breed in garbage containers, dumpsters, and decaying vegetative matter (e.g., compost piles).

Identification
Size: Medium-sized flies from 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch in length.
Color: Shiny, metallic blue, green, or copper, depending on the species.

Habits
These flies are extremely common and can be found one to a few at a time in homes or businesses during the warm summer months. They are attracted to buildings by food odors, warm/cool air currents emitting through cracks around doors and windows or through doors propped open for ventilation purposes. The sudden appearance of dozens of blow flies or bottle flies within a building signals a potential dead rodent, bird, or other animal in the wall, ceiling, attic, or crawl space.

Tips for Control

• Throw trash away in trash cans in plastic bags. Bags reduce odors and attract fewer flies to the area.
• Locate trash receptacles as far from the building as possible
• Keep doors and windows closed unless equipped with tight-fitting screens.
• Ensure all edges of doors and windows have tight weather-stripping. Flies can squeeze through amazingly small cracks.

If the presence of these flies is due to a dead animal within the building, finding the location of the carcass and its removal is necessary, but is not easily accomplished.

	SPRING
	SUMMER
	FALL
	WINTER