Do you notice that flies seem more prevalent in Perth at certain times of the year? This can be a hassle, especially when you don’t understand its causes.

Reasons There Are a Lot of Flies in Perth

Several reasons that encourage so many flies in Perth may be related to the insects’ sensitivity to the weather changes, need for water, sensory capabilities, and the like.

For homes and businesses, flies can cause inconvenience and health risks. Make sure to review your health or business insurance if you have enough coverage in case an emergency occurs.

Now, let’s go into more detail about why Perth has so many flies below.

How Does Weather Affect Flies in Perth? 

Strong easterly winds, according to Associate Professor Theo Evans of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, were a significant factor in the rise in fly populations in Perth.

Even though flies aren’t particularly intelligent, they’re aware enough to realise that they’ll likely perish if they fly over the ocean in search of water. If you really hate flies then perhaps one way to avoid them is to fly above them or go skydiving in Perth?

But seriously, the winters are too cold, rainy, and severe for bush flies to survive in the southwest of Western Australia. As a result, the flies die off throughout the cold climate, and new flies are blown into the region in the spring.

Once the weather warms and dries, the flies can reproduce locally. For easy reference, here’s when flies mainly strike in Australia:

However, some months could still be unusually cool and damp, which slows the flies’ ability to reproduce. If the weather turns pleasant and warm with little rain, this can create ideal circumstances for fly breeding.

What Do Flies Need for Their Survival? 

Flies seek out people because we serve as moving water fountains for them. They first target our eyes, noses, and lips since they look for moisture.

To survive, all types of flies must maintain proper hydration. The ones in your house likely require moist surfaces for most activities.

Fruit flies and mosquitoes can use only damp surfaces to lay their eggs. House flies need moisture to survive, as they can only consume liquid or soluble meals.

Apologies for the graphic description, but they regurgitate saliva onto solid food to eat. The solid material is dissolved by their saliva and then sponged up with the proboscis.

And since they’re constantly urinating and salivating, they need more water. Apart from your body, make sure to check other water sources the flies can also flock onto.

How Are Flies Designed to Be Swatting Experts?

More than 30,000 species of flies exist. However, their neurological system, brain, and body are all ideally adapted to prevent being swatted.

Here are some of the flies you might encounter and what sickness they can bring:

According to scientists, the ability of houseflies to fly from any surface quickly is attributed to the evolutionary remains of wings that resemble dumbbells. These are called halteres.

However, these halteres don’t induce lifting. They are merely sensory organs.

The flies can balance themselves in the air because of their halteres. This is similar to how our inner ears pinpoint our location in space.

Flies do, of course, have other advantages. Unlike humans, they don’t have to go to an eye clinic to improve their sight; they just naturally have good vision.

Scientists have known for a long time that, compared to flies, humans appear to move at slower speeds. This makes us easy to be avoided by them.

Yet, these reasons don’t stop many people from attempting to swat them away. Over time, this motion has become known as the ‘Australians’ salute’.

Just don’t go all crazy with the swatting – you might injure your hands and suddenly earn yourself a trip to a hand or pain specialist in Perth.

What are Experts Doing to Lessen Flies? 

Despite their current surge, Associate Professor Evans noted that 30 years ago, flies were much less common than they are now.

He said that the reason for their decline was the dung beetle’s introduction to Australia.

The University of Western Australia is currently involved in a nationwide research initiative that examines dung beetles as ecosystem engineers who bury manure, improving our soils and maybe reducing the number of flies.

In short, buffalo and bush flies cannot reproduce in unburied cow manure because dung beetles bury the dung.

How Can We Avoid Flies in Perth?

Here are some steps to reduce the number of flies visiting your space.

First, this involves covering a bunch of things – food, rubbish, compost piles, and the like. Ensure the work surfaces in the kitchen and dining area are clean and organised.

For those who have pets, remember to clean up any mess and not leave food dishes outside. This also minimises the chances of calling pest control in Perth for other bugs or rodents.

Also, natural pyrethrums, frequently used to kill or deter flies, are obtained from chrysanthemum flowers. But instead of contacting a flower delivery service, we can get this substance from fly sprays.

Fly screens and sprays can be used together to help keep flies out of your house.

In addition, flies are also unpleasant when we want to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. It’s tough to keep them at bay when they appear as unwelcome visitors at our outdoor BBQs, picnics, and camping trips.

Thankfully, essential oils not only provide some incredible health advantages, but some may also keep flies away. It’s reported that Lavender, Geranium, Lemongrass, Rosemary, and Peppermint work well to ward off some bothersome flies.

And there you go! We hope you have a better idea of why Perth has a bunch of flies now and then. Use this knowledge to take extra care of yourself and your loved ones.