With the arrival of autumn you have to fight with an annoying problem … the flies!
They are among the most numerous insects in the world, although they only live a little more than a month, thanks to their reproductive speed.
Flies are seven times the speed of a man, which is why it is so difficult to catch them with bare hands.
Insecticides are not always preferred for the abolition of this problem, so DIY and natural remedies are used which can be useful for both removing and eliminating flies from our home. Some of these solutions are:
- Vinegar and detergent – add a few drops of dish soap to a bowl of vinegar, the solution obtained will act as flypaper which will attract the fly and “imprison” it in such a way that it can no longer fly away;
- Milk, sugar and pepper – cook over low heat 1 liter of milk, 100 g of sugar and 50 g of pepper for 10 minutes and pour into a plate, the consistency of the mixture will cause the insect to drown in it;
- Vinegar and mint – let the mint leaves macerate for a week in a vinegar jar and then dilute the mixture in water, the strong smell will keep the insects away from home;
- Lemon and carnation – cut some slices of lemon and put some cloves in them, the strong smell will make the flies escape from home;
- Aromatic plants – the use of any aromatic plant (basil, mint, lavender, sambucco, lemongrass) keeps insects away thanks to its very strong smell.
Obviously it is always better to prevent the problem so I recommend if there are leftovers of food always cover them and put them in the appropriate containers, do not leave dirty dishes around or the garbage can open and clean it regularly.
Mosks… An Annoying Pest In The Home And In The Company
Although they are only a few millimetres in size and live just over a month, flies are among the most numerous and widespread insects on the planet.
Flies feed on food and manure leftovers, consume decaying bodies, pollinate plants, spread diseases, are a hearty meal for many birds and a nuisance when they buzz around.
The flies that enter the house through the windows are usually between 6 and 7 millimeters long and with a wingspan of almost twice as much.
To distinguish a female from a male is not very simple, but, in principle, the females have longer wings than the males, which, on the other hand, have longer legs.
The eyes of the females are clearly separated, whilst in the males the distance is much shorter, a domestic fly has, on the whole, five eyes.
The most evident eyes of the fly are the compound ones, big on the sides of the head and of reddish color.
They are used to see the images and are formed by a myriad of tiny elements called ommatids, which we can consider a very simplified version of our eye.
In addition to the two compound eyes, the flies have three primitive eyes on their heads, much simpler, called ocelli. These do not perceive the images but only the variations of light.
Flies are much faster than us to process the images that come from their eyes, it is estimated with a speed equal to seven times ours.
In a way it’s as if they were seeing in slow motion compared to us, and that’s why they’re so difficult to capture or smash, they perceive in time the movement of our hand or of the flycatcher, flying away before making a bad end.
Flies are not big chewers and prefer to follow a substantially liquid diet.
During the course of evolution, their jaws and jaws have gradually shrunk, so much so that they no longer have a specific function.
On the contrary, the proboscis of the flies is very evident, a small retractable tube ending with a sort of sucker is a sort of sponge, crossed by small hollows which allow the fly to ingest the sugars and the other nourishing substances.
If necessary, a few drops of saliva are taken out of the trunk to soften the solid foods.
Adult domestic flies are mainly carnivorous and are fond of rotting meat, such as that of carrions, and of material already digested, such as feces. They also feed on fruit and vegetables, preferring in these cases those in decomposition.
Flies taste food mainly by walking on it, on their legs they have receptors sensitive to some compounds, such as sugars.
The mating of the flies is rather elaborate, the females produce a substance (pheromone) to signal their availability.
It is the female that penetrates the male, with its ovipositor organ, which comes into contact with the male’s sperm to fertilize the eggs. The mating lasts several minutes and then the female looks for a place where to lay the eggs, usually chooses decaying meat or accumulations of feces. Flies can be an annoying pest at home and in the farm.