Houseflies, annoying and dangerous

Abstract

Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae), the common housefly, is found in close conjunction with humans and their livestock around the world. The flies cause annoyance to people and are vectors of several diseases. Commonly-used control methods (cultural, chemical, biological, traps and baits) do not result in reducing fly populations to acceptable levels. Research on integrated control approaches is required. Models based on expected climate changes predict a substantial increase in fly populations over the next decades, which may result in a considerable expansion in the incidence of fly-borne diseases, thereby endangering health and well-being of people globally. This strengthens the need for intensive studies on the behaviour, ecology, and vectorial capacity of houseflies.