Flies feed on various organic substances including excrement, and sweet and other foods.
They can reach a length of 7 to 14 mm, and reproduce in dry areas, with breeding promoted by warm temperatures.
Flies lay up to 2,000 eggs, mostly in manure, faeces, compost heaps and rubbish tips (the Musca domestica species), but also on protein-rich substances such as meat (the Calliphora vicina species). The eggs develop into white maggots, which can grow up to 12 mm long.
Their movement between bad meat, excrement and foods is not only unappetising, it also makes flies the transmitters of germs and a source of food contamination.
As a result they can transfer pathogens for infectious diseases such as cholera, dysentry, typhoid fever, salmonellosis, hepatitis and poliomyelitis.
Flies which do not bite are:
the common housefly (Musca domestica)
the meat fly (Sarcophaga carnaria)
the blowfly (Lucilia sericata)
the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster)
Flies which bite are:
the tsetse fly, the carrier of sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) - only in tropical Africa
the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans)
the horsefly (Tabanidae)
Preventive measures and control:
Avoid accumulating rubbish and rotting substances
Do not leave food or meals uncovered
Keep kitchens and cooking utensils clean
Use insecticides (Fly Trap, Insect Strip, Flying Insect Spray)
Insect repellents provide effective protection against biting flies (e. g. horseflies)