House flies, blowflies, and tiny flies driving you mad? Here is why flies invade Melbourne homes, the health risks, and how to actually get rid of them.
Why Your Home Suddenly Has Flies
Flies are more than an annoyance buzzing around the kitchen - they are one of the most efficient germ-spreaders in any Melbourne home. A sudden increase in flies almost always has a cause: uncovered food or bins, pet waste in the yard, a blocked drain, or - with blowflies - something dead nearby, like a rodent in the wall or roof void. Finding and removing that source is the real fix.
Know Your Fly
- House flies - the classic grey kitchen fly, breeding in bins, compost, and pet waste
- Blowflies (blowies) - large, noisy, metallic blue-green; a sudden indoor swarm often means a dead animal in the wall, roof, or subfloor
- Fruit flies and drain flies - tiny flies around fruit bowls, sinks, and drains (see our small flies guide)
- Cluster flies - gather in large numbers in roof voids and sunny walls in autumn
The Health Risk
Flies feed and breed on rubbish, faeces, and decaying matter, then walk across your benches and food. They mechanically transfer bacteria including salmonella and E. coli, and are a documented cause of food poisoning. For cafés and food businesses, visible flies are also a fast track to a failed health inspection.
How to Get Rid of Flies: Step by Step
- Remove the breeding source - seal bins with tight lids, clean up pet waste daily, manage compost properly, and remove fallen fruit
- Cut off food - cover food, wipe benches, and rinse recycling before binning it
- Block entry - fit and repair flyscreens, and keep doors closed in peak season
- Deal with the dead animal - if blowflies keep appearing in one room, something has died in the cavity; it needs to be located and removed
- Treat resting surfaces - professional residual treatments on eaves, pergolas, door surrounds, and bin areas kill flies where they land and keep working for months
Why Sprays and Zappers Alone Do Not Work
Aerosol sprays kill the flies in the room and nothing else - new flies arrive within hours if the breeding source remains. Zappers and traps catch a fraction. Lasting control combines source removal, exclusion, and a residual surface treatment - the same approach used in commercial kitchens.
Flies and Melbourne Summers
Fly pressure peaks from November to March, and homes near parks, creeks, stables, or bushland cop it worst. An exterior treatment at the start of summer dramatically cuts numbers around entertaining areas, and pairs well with a general treatment covering spiders and other summer pests.
Sick of the flies? Pest Eraze treats fly problems at the source as part of a general pest treatment for homes and businesses across Melbourne - from around $179 with a written warranty. Call 0416 528 547.
