Entry entering living spaces by way of electrical outlets or baseboards the pests take shelter in attics and walls to hibernate awaiting the arrival of warmer spring weather.
Attic flies in house in winter.
Preventing attic flies is a job for the summer and fall.
So how can you get rid of cluster flies in the house.
You can recognise cluster flies because they are larger than house flies and often appear to be slightly yellow or golden because of their tiny hairs.
The adult flies are attracted to the sunny side of homes in the fall looking for ways to get inside before winter.
Naturally your house is warmer.
Thus the common name they have of attic flies.
And the easiest entrance is usually through external gaps leading to your attic.
Insecticides can be used on the outside of the house in mid september if you have a persistent problem with attic flies.
Cluster flies prefer warm areas so homeowners often find them flying around houses on sunny days in the winter and late fall months.
As much as possible seal cracks and openings around the outside of the house especially under the eaves as you would for energy conservation.
Some species of flies such as face and cluster flies lay eggs in the cracks and crevasses of a home.
The larvae develop into cocoons before hatching into adult flies.
They breed in soil and host on earthworms during.
Seeking shelter from the frost and wind they come indoors and settle down for the winter.
Last summer s abundant rainfall was favorable for development of cluster flies.
The result has been a greater than normal abundance of these large black pesky flies in houses this winter.
By instinct they seek shelter away from the elements such as in the fall when it gets cold.
Cluster flies cluster.
Don t worry cluster flies do not breed indoors.
Attic flies which are also known as cluster flies are insects that often migrate into homes in the fall where they hibernate for the cooler fall and winter months one of the best tips for getting rid of attic flies is to keep them from entering the house in the first place as trying to eliminate them after they are in hibernation can be difficult.
Basically cluster flies are just inside your house because they want to stay warm.
Overwintering insects generally stay in secluded areas until the warming and lengthening days of spring pull them from hiding.
Flies are an expected nuisance in the spring and summer but some homeowners will find themselves in the midst of an infestation in cold winter months.
They typically do this in the walls and attics of our houses.
Those large flies in your home in winter are probably cluster flies which overwinter in the protected areas between the inside and outside walls of your home or in the attic or basement.
Attic flies are especially abundant this spring.
These eggs hatch throughout the winter and the little flies have nowhere to go but the home.