Cluster Flies vs House Flies: How to Identify and Control These Common Pests

When buzzing insects infest your house, it’s natural to believe they’re all the same. But knowing cluster flies vs house flies can be essential to effective pest control. The two species have striking differences in traits, behavior, and dangers that every American homeowner needs to know.

Introduction to Cluster Flies vs House Flies

Houseflies and cluster flies are two of the most common varieties of flies to infest homes in America, but they couldn’t have a more disparate motivation and attitude. Both fly varieties are annoying to get rid of, but knowing whether you’re trying to get rid of the one or the other will make the best way to stay away from them and prevent them from returning.

House flies (Musca domestica) are the common insect flies that buzz in and out of your kitchen, attracted by food and garbage. Cluster flies vs house flies is a primary distinction when you come to realize cluster flies (Pollenia rudis) are seeking shelter, not sustenance, when they enter your home. Understanding these simple differences is the secret to effective pest control.

Physical Differences: Cluster Flies vs House Flies Distanced

Size and Color

Their body form is the most pronounced difference cluster flies house flies. They are bigger than house flies, and they measure around 7-10mm (around 3/8 inch), while house flies measure 4-7mm (1/4 inch).

House flies possess a gray body with four black thin stripes running along their thorax, giving them a metallic sheen. Cluster flies acquire a darker gray to black body along with a checkered abdominal pattern but lack the metallic sheen of house flies.

Golden Hairs and Wing Position

Another very noticeable feature comparing cluster flies and house flies is short, yellow or golden hairs on the thorax of cluster flies. The golden crinkly hairs cause the recognizable appearance of cluster flies, though these do eventually drop with age.

Alignment of wings is also varied among these species. They overlap wings over the abdomen when resting, scissor mode, while house flies have separate wings in V-mode.

Patterns of Behavior

Patterns of Movement and Flight

The contrast between the flight patterns of the house fly and cluster fly is impressive. House flies fly jerkily and with great speed as they scurry about within the rooms and change direction quickly. They are active during the daytime and possess crazy, far-stretching movements that make them hard to swat.

Cluster flies move slowly and sluggishly, however. They fly around in a lazy, drowsy manner and will appear to be drowsy, especially when they are emerging from hibernation. This makes them easily catchable but also very noticeable as they zip around walls and windows.

Seasonal Activity Patterns

It should be noted that seasonal habits need to be taken into consideration when working with cluster flies versus house flies. The house flies tend to be most active mainly on hot summer days and year-round active in temperate conditions indoors. House flies are attracted to food and breeding material year-round over the length of their active life.

Cluster flies have a far more erratic pattern. They are only pests in autumn (August-September) when they seek out locations in which to overwinter. In the spring when they leave their winter hibernation sites. During the winter, they overwinter in cavities in walls, attics, and other protected areas and only become active with a break in the temperature below 54°F.

House flies live for only 7 days under optimal conditions, and the females lay 100-150 eggs within one batch in decaying organic matter, garbage, and animal excreta. Their short breeding season makes house fly populations grow rapidly. Thus the flies are a nuisance throughout the summer season.

Cluster Fly Life Cycle

Cluster flies also have a unique and fascinating life cycle that differentiates them from the cluster flies vs house flies. The females oviposit in soil near earthworm burrows, and the larvae infest earthworms. Egg to adult takes 27-39 days and has four generations of flies per summer.

Health Hazards: Cluster Flies vs House Flies Pathogen Dissemination

House Fly Health Hazards

Compared to house flies, cluster flies as disease vectors are much lesser in number. House flies have been found to transmit no fewer than 65 diseases to man, including typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, food poisoning, salmonella, and tuberculosis. They become vectors of these diseases by feeding on rubbish, garbage, and festering organic substances, and they transfer these to human surfaces and foods.

Spread of the disease is caused by mechanical transmission – flies spit and urinate wherever they land. They transferring bacteria and viruses. House flies are hence a critical public health problem, particularly in food preparation areas.

Cluster Fly Health Risks

Cluster flies are less of a human health concern than house flies are in the cluster flies vs house flies health comparison. They are not able to bite human beings, will not lay eggs on foods, and are not trained to be employed in disease transmission as house flies are. However, they may carry some bacteria on their external surfaces. Its huge infestations might pose sanitation concerns through their fecal matter and dead bodies.

Entry Points and Attraction Factors

Why House Flies Occupate Houses

House flies occupy houses primarily for food and water sources. They are attracted by odors in the kitchen, trash, pet food, and to any source of rotting organic material. They have a food-motivated drive and so are relentless once in their active phase.

Why Cluster Flies Occupy Houses

Cluster flies infest homes for much different reasons in the cluster flies vs house flies behavioral analysis. They seek warm, secure areas to spend the winter, often entering through cracks and crevices in late summer and early fall. They’re attracted to south walls in sunny areas and choose to occupy homes on hills or other elevated portions of land.

Prevention and Control Strategies

Preventing House Flies

Effective house fly control hinges on cleanliness and elimination of food sources, Seal garbage canisters tightly, clean kitchen counters regularly, and eliminate standing water locations. Screen windows and doors, and practice good sanitary practices around pet food areas. 

Prevention of Cluster Flies

Cluster fly control for the cluster flies vs house flies comparison requires a specialized solution. Plug up building exterior walls, windows, and doors prior to late summer. Close south-facing wall entry zones first where cluster flies tend to concentrate.

Both house and cluster flies may be treated professionally in instances of large infestation. Time and technique are, however, vastly dissimilar. House fly control entails continuous source reduction and cleaning, and control of the cluster fly entails exclusion and seasonally scheduled treatments.

Conclusion

Knowing the distinctions between cluster flies and house flies is key to successful pest management in American homes. While house flies are more of a public health problem and the subject of constant sanitation practices. The cluster flies are seasonally infesting and need to be actively excluded.

The difference in house flies and cluster flies management is merely in terms of motives – the former seek breeding and food, while the latter seek shelter in winter. Home owners can easily control both species if they understand the difference and take the right preventive measures accordingly.

For full pest control treatments and advice on cluster fly control compared to house fly control, rely on the experts at SayNoPest. Our trained staff is aware of the specific issue each insect causes . They can offer bespoke solutions to ensure your home remains pest-free throughout the year. Allow flying insects to infest your home – call SayNoPest today for effective. Trusted pest control treatments designed to meet your needs.