The great thing about Wild Fact #684 is you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to observe today’s animal.  That’s right, you are able to learn about the House Fly from your couch.  This almost applies to all of our readers since the House Fly is the most common of all domestic flies and can be found worldwide.  Believe it or not, 90% of the flies found in your home will end up being the common house fly.  This may not be a good thing since they are known to carry diseases but we will talk about that a little later.

The House Fly is only 8-12 mm long and has hair-like projections covering the majority of their body.  It is possible to tell the males and females apart by their size.  The females are slightly larger and will have a greater space between their two, red, compound eyes.  If you have a dire need to distinguish between male and female House Flies then you probably need to get out of the house more often.

The good news about the House Fly is the fact that they don’t bite.  The bad news is they are still pretty gross.  Since they are only capable of feeding on liquids they will spit out their saliva on solid food to pre-digest it then they will start sucking up that fluid.  I kind of wish they would just be normal and bite me instead.  So what do these little saliva-sucking flies eat? Well they aren’t picky and will feed on a variety of things such as feces, sputum and of course decaying organic matter such as spoiled eggs or flesh.  I remember when I was a kid that I was never afraid of House Flies since they didn’t bite but had I known they were spitting on me and then sucking up my dead skin, I probably wouldn’t have been too pleased.

So if you are still with me and not completely grossed out by the feeding habits of the House Fly then I think it is time to talk about the diseases they are able to carry.  By the time I am done with this post you are going to be deathly afraid of that little House Fly sitting in your window sill.  As I mentioned these flies are able to transfer diseases from their hair, mouth parts, saliva and feces.  A few of the bacterial diseases they carry include but are not limited to cholera, typhoid and dysentery.  As well, they are able to pass along several viruses such as enteroviruses and of course hepatitis A and E.   The House Fly will also carry parasitic diseases but we won’t get into those since I know how much you love parasites.

Although this Wild Fact has made the House Fly look like a horrible and evil monster the truth is they really aren’t that bad.  Considering you have been around them your whole life and nothing bad has happened yet, right?

Well that does it for today’s wonderful insect Wild Fact.  If you are still scared then I recommend checking out the following link for some help in getting rid of House Flies but again, unless you are infested, I don’t see the harm with a few flies hanging out in the living room.  Here is the link:

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-house-flies.htm

Have a great day!