Flies and sneezes - spread diseases (House Fly)

Member Name: goosey

Product:	House Fly
Date:	01/07/09 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None whatsoever.

Disadvantages: They have very unsavoury table manners

I rate flys along with wasps and fleas and can find nothing whatsover flattering to say about the pesky critters, except perhaps they are fiendishly clever at avoiding my swat! - Moses is good at catching them though, for he has the same dislike for them as myself.

Drat! One has just flown into my room!

Everybody knows what a housefly looks like so I wont bore any one with details about it possesing two wings, is yellow bellied and has a pair of compound eyes - giving it an eyesight second to none.

There are, however one or two interesting facts about the housefly, which may not be so well known.

First and foremost it is a pest and can carry serious diseases; when you consider its eating habits. A fact which is not in the least bit surprising.

The adult, male housefly is about 6mm long, the female is larger and measures up to 9mm in length.

~~~~~~~The Lifestyle of the Housefly~~~~~~

They live solely on liquids. Their method of eating is absolutely disgusting, and does not make for pleasant reading, so skip to the next paragraph if you really do not want to know!! They spit saliva onto solid foods, this will partially digest the food whilst it is sitting on your plate. The fly then sucks it back up, ( if you haven't mistakenly eaten it first) they may then regurgitate some of the partially digested food, before re-ingesting it again. Yuuk!

I have often wondered how flies can walk on ceilings and how they seem know that I am about to biff them with a rolled up newspaper.
Well the answer is, in the first instance, flies have glands near their feet which secretes a fluid to create surface tension between the feet and wall or ceiling, thus enabling the critter to 'stick' to the surface.

Flies apparently have an incredible sensitivity to air currents and their compound eyes give them all round vision, so they can see (hundreds of )you from all angles even when facing away from the swat, their fast reactions allow annoyingly, easy escapes.

~~~~~How to fool a fly~~~~~~

First of all, a proper fly-swatter is better than a rolled up magazine, simply because the swat is perforated with holes and so the air resistance is reduced, allowing a more rapid swipe towards the fly - every nano-second counts; the holes also minimises the 'warning signal' of the air current, caused by an approaching missile, which comes too late for it to escape - usually!

The next method is to simultaneously approach both sides of the fly's (escape route) with swatters. This does work quite well, especially if you are ambidextrous.
An interesting fact that has came to light in 2008 is, that a fly, anticipating an approaching threat, calculates the angle of attack and prepares for take off in the opposite direction. - We knew that, didn't we? but it has taken some clever boffin years to prove it.

~~~~~~The life-cycle of a housefly ~~~

The female can lay as many as 500 eggs, in several batches. The maggots hatch within a day and feed on decaying organic material. Ughh!
After a week of gorging themselves, they find a dry, cool place and develop into brownish coloured pupae from which the adult fly will emerge.
Once released from the pupae, flies do not grow any more, and will live, on average, for about three weeks - If not swatted first!!
Within two days of emergence they are receptive to mating and so the horrid cycle continues.

~~~~~~~How do Houseflies spread diseases?~~~~

The obvious method of transmitting diseases is by contaminating our foodstuffs or work-surfaces with their saliva, vomit and faecal deposits. -(Sorry!) - They are capable of carrying a hundred or more pathogens such as anthrax, TB, and Salmonella, to name but a few. Some pathogens are also carried on their hairy legs and mouth!

In Conclusion:
As we already know, the Housefly is an intelligent, quick witted, mucky and dangerous pest, with us, I am afraid, til the end of time.

~~~~~~One of my odes to pests ~~~~~

THOU SHALT NOT KILL:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Lord,
If you make another world,
I wonder - would you please,
Not include such nuisances ,
As wasps, HOUSEFLIES or fleas,

But, if you really have to,
Then house them underground;
So there is no chance of contact,
When summer comes around.

For, I hate to break commandments,
but am forced to every year,
When I swat those wretched, little beasts,
Buzzing round my ear.
Goosey(2005)

Summary: Swat a fly- and save a life