Fly Bites

Learn about the causes of the frequent spread of flies during this period of the year

Flies” spread heavily at this time every year during the autumn season and with the onset of the winter season due to climatic changes and the changing seasons of the year, which causes great suffering among Egyptians.

Recently, many questions have spread on social media about the phenomenon of the flies spreading intensely during this period and about the damage that can be caused by the spread of flies.

And d. Muhammad Ali Fahim, Professor of Climate Change at the Agricultural Research Center, explained that the reason for the widespread spread of flies during the current period is that the thermal fluctuations between day and night are the highest possible, and with high humidity, the activity of insects increases in certain climatic conditions.

He pointed out that there is now an increase in activity in flies and a decrease in reproduction, unlike the summer season, there is an increase in reproduction and a decrease in activity, and the activity is very high due to normal and abnormal, the first is the result of the separation between the seasons, and it is not normal because there are increased fluctuations in the difference between the night temperature Day and increased humidity, in addition to early rains in the fall, all of these reasons lead to an increase in unusual activity of flies.

He explained that it is common for flies to be in an abnormal movement between seasons, but what is not normal is the density in which they are present, as a result of changing the weather, indicating that flies come between seasons, and have “high sensitivities”, so summer is their preferred season and winter is not preferred. And it will appear a little in it.

He advised the need to pay attention to home cleanliness, and to use natural methods to repel flies from homes, such as using essential oils such as mint oil, cloves, tea tree, and lemon, by adding a spoonful of two types of them in a liter of water, shaking it and then spraying it to repel mosquitoes.

It is noteworthy that flies are of the genus of insects that belong to the family of flies and are considered from the division of arthropods, and there are thousands of types of flies in the whole world, and flies also spread and appear abundantly in the early summer and early autumn, and flies are characterized by their small size and multiple colors, and have some benefits and some harm In human life.

Although mosquitoes and other blood-feeding insects are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe in, we know that the insects’ sensory system also helps find exposed skin, since the skin near our faces is mostly exposed, this is one of the reasons why flies swirl. Around your face and hands

What reasons behind flies attraction around humans 

Flies are attracted to humans for a number of reasons, including:

The fly is only a few millimeters black, with big red eyes, the fly has a very soft mouth, and when it lands on a person and touches his skin, it will not bite it, but rather absorbs the secretions on the skin, the flies are interested in sweat, proteins, carbohydrates, salts, sugars and other chemicals and pieces of dead skin that continue to peel on The surface of human skin.

Humans provide food as a free meal.These flies are found inside and outside the home, flies are primarily attracted to smelly materials such as garbage, feces and dead things, in addition to obvious food sources, you are covered in dead skin cells, oil and salt that flies prefer

Flies also get their food from sitting around the eyes of livestock.It’s difficult to get anywhere else on hairy animals, which is also the reason why they land so often on human skin that is relatively less hairy.

 Flies are attracted to the carbon dioxide that humans breathe. Flies are also attracted to warm body heat, sweat and salt, and the more a person sweats, the more flies they attract.

Flies eat dead cells and open wounds. Oily hair is an important food attractant for flies.

The fly flies at us because it is constantly looking for a warm place to eat, defecate, vomit and lay eggs. Some body odors are more attractive to flies than others.

Types of flies

Regular flies are not the only type of flies that can become a nuisance and hover around you, fruit flies are another common fly that is slightly smaller than house flies, with a brown or brown body. Fruit flies are attracted to rotting fruits or vegetables in addition to wine and beer.

Butterflies, also called bottle flies, are larger than house flies and are easily recognizable by their green or blue metallic bodies. You can hear the buzzing sound they make when they fly. Butterflies love to fly around humans because they are attracted to decomposing organic matter such as rotting food, litter, or plants. Dead animals.

Hitting a fly is very difficult, their eyes allow them to see everywhere and they have a sixth sense about danger Flies have complex compound eyes that allow them to see everything around them, flies are able to fly away from danger, regardless of what they do, within 100 milliseconds of recognition On threat, flies basically have a sixth sense that allows them to fly away from danger quickly.

Why do flies attracted towards certain people and not some others

The sweet fruity scents attract flies because they love sugar, your skin and mouth are probably more moist than others, and it is also claimed that flies migrate to the tallest people in the group.

Fruit flies are a little smaller than the common house fly, they don’t care about human scent but in yeast, so they are drawn to things that ferment and can ferment, like sugar, fruits, and of course, actual yeast.

So, if you drink alcohol and hang out with people who don’t, or if you use care products with alcohol, you will attract fruit flies.

Method of controlling flies

In order to make the area in and around your home a “no-go” zone, take basic precautions. If you have a dog, make sure that its faeces are not left in the open, as dog poop acts as a buffer and egg store.

The best way to control a fly infestation is to keep things clean, never leave excess food in pet food bowls while eating, keep the sink clean of dirty dishes, take out the trash regularly, wipe trash cans inside and outside the home to keep flies away. Windows and doors are closed and flies do not find their way inside through small cracks, while it is nearly impossible to have a completely no-fly zone, maintaining hygiene keeps it away.

Do not leave food for too long, pay close attention to kitchen utensils and surfaces, empty trash cans regularly and beware of rotting organic materials, do not leave food in pet bowls after eating, wipe trash cans from the outside as well, window all windows and close doors.

What is the importance of flies?

Annoying flies seem to be attracted to any warm event in the air, and hover around the door hoping for an opportunity to sneak inside, and despite the inconvenience they cause, they serve many important purposes such as:

• Flies play a big role in recycling nutrients from organic matter, which can be absorbed by plants.
• Flies are a natural source of anti-nature, if we do not have organic matter that cannot be absorbed by plants.
• Flies are also important in pollinating native plants and crops, predator and parasitic flies also help in regulating the population of other insects. In compost (for example), flies do most of the tasks, eating the scraps and then sorting it and turning it into a substance that the plants can use when returning to the garden.
• Many flies act as pollinators for a variety of plants. Bee flies travel like hoverflies and other flies that imitate bees from one flower to another. These flies act as pollinators for different types of plants that bees may not visit. Many flowers pollinated by flies do not have nectar to attract bees. The colors of these flowers often range from dull to red to brown and purple, the flower may have complex shape and smell unpleasant, the flies do not care.
• Flies serve as important food sources for many birds, fish, mammals and other insects. Hunters study the feeding habits of hunting fish to determine which flies are appropriate for the time, place and fish they are looking for. Many fly larvae act as predators or parasites, such as friendly flies, also known as meat flies or Sometimes like a government fly.
• The flies and their larvae are part of the Nature Cleanup crew, blow flies lay their eggs in rotting carcasses, the larvae feed on decomposing flesh, which helps break down organic matter into its components, their digestive processes release nutrients back into the soil, other flies lay their eggs in manure until The larvae feed and break down the compost, these decomposers complete the food chain, releasing nutrients for plants, bacteria, and fungi to use. 

Despite the scientific progress that the world is witnessing in all fields, researchers are still unable to predict exactly where, when and how human epidemics will arise.

A new study found that bloodsucking flies can be used as a “jet drawing injection” to detect infectious diseases in animals before they spread to humans.

The researchers analyzed the blood meals of flies that absorbed the blood of animals to find out the types of animals that carry certain diseases, according to the British newspaper “Daily Mail”.

The research could help fight future disease outbreaks, such as Ebola and Zika, which are contagious diseases in animals that can be transmitted to humans.

7 new pathogens
According to the researchers, 7 new pathogens are identified around the world each year, and they are expected to reach between 15 and 20 each year by the year 2020, due to increased human contact with wildlife species that are likely to carry the disease.

“This is a huge public health issue that urgently requires new tools to actively monitor outbreaks of the diseases concerned and quickly diagnose their causes,” said the study’s lead author and evolutionary genetics scientist, Dr. Franck Brugnoll of the National Center for Scientific Research in Montpellier, France.

“We wanted to study whether insects feeding on blood could be used as a sampling tool in the wild environment, which would allow us to monitor the presence and emergence of infectious diseases,” he added.

An alternative to hunt animals
Usually, to study the pathogens that are circulating in wild habitats, researchers analyze animals that humans have hunted in order to obtain food. However, these animals typically offer little of the realities of the wildlife in the area.

Another method is to set traps for animals to study the presence of infection in their organs and tissues, but this is not easy to do, and it is also dangerous for endangered species.

Fly traps
Previous research has shown that animal DNA, and from diseases like malaria, is preserved in the blood meals of flies.

This was what inspired Dr. Brunoll and his research team the idea to see if blood meals could be used as a non-invasive way to study pathogens circulating in wildlife.

So the researchers conducted a study over a period of 16 weeks in 4 national parks in the forests of Gabon, in Central Africa. They set up traps for 3 species of flies (“tsetse”, “stomexids” and “tapanides”) and then analyzed insect blood meals to determine the source of the blood and the types of malaria parasites present.

Opportunistic tsetse
More than 4000 flies were caught, 30% of which were the tsetse flies that were saturated with blood. The tsetse fly bite transmits so-called sleeping sickness, which causes symptoms such as fever, headache, joint pain and disturbed sleep cycles.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Paul Yannick Bitum-Esono, of the National Center for Scientific Research in Montpellier, France, explains, “We thought that the tsetse fly might be a good candidate in our study, as both sexes feed on blood. It is large and easy They are also found in large numbers in central Africa, and they are opportunistic feeders, with no strong preference for specific host animals, so they may feed on a wide range of wildlife. “

18 new malaria species
The researchers used a new technique to study the DNA of a blood meal, and found the origin of the host animal for three-quarters of the samples. The results showed that the flies may have fed more than 20 different species, ranging from elephants and hippos to reptiles and birds. They found malaria parasites in about 9% of blood meals, including 18 cases of malaria that had not previously been documented. They also identified host animals for some types of malaria whose preferred host was not known before.

New diseases
“These results show that blood meals from flies saturated with blood can be used successfully to analyze the diversity of known malaria parasites,” said Dr. Brunolle, noting that the next step is to look at ways to improve the method using new techniques for DNA sequencing and disease detection methods.

He added: “This approach of” non-host monitoring “can detect pathogens before they spread to humans, as well as the emergence of new diseases in wild animals that may threaten their long-term survival.

Appeared in southern England, due to the hot weather. The sources confirmed that one bite of this fly causes a fever, and that leads to the emergence of many blisters, according to the British ” Mirror ” website .

According to the information, this type of flies is widespread in the United Kingdom and is known to be dangerous, and it is most common in the months of May and June. Most of the time, the fly bites the ankles and legs, and one bite of them may cause a person to become seriously ill.

This fly is most common in the warmer season when the high temperatures help it ripen blood. Among the most dangerous results of the sting is swelling in the groin, fever and ulceration.

What should we do when get fly bites?

Many people ask about this type of flies, and the site “Somerset Life” published a report urging that anyone exposed to a bite should clean the affected area and dry it gently. He also has to apply a cold lotion or anti-itch medicine to cool him and stay away from antihistamine creams because they may sometimes cause skin reactions, and then he must cover the pimples with a dry bandage and lie down because the swelling lasts for several days.  

If swelling or red streaks appear in the groin or armpits, or a fever, or a person feels stomach cramps and redness of the affected area, all he has to do is consult a doctor to avoid the disease getting worse. 

“We ask people to take precautions if they are near rivers and streams and it is advisable to use insect repellants or wear clothing to protect the person from being stung,” said Professor Rod Thompson, Director of Public Health in Herefordshire. Adding: “If you were bitten, you often feel uncomfortable, swelling or ulcers appear, and you feel pain in the joints, and sometimes the body temperature rises.”