Control of these filth-breeding flies is dependent on manure and moisture management. Moist poultry manure is highly attractive to adult flies and provides ideal conditions for fly development. If the manure dries rapidly, it loses its attractiveness as well as its ability to support maggot development. Adult fly numbers can be reduced by the use of toxic baits containing either a food or sex attractant. Selective treatment of adult fly resting areas with residual insecticides may also help eliminate adult flies.
Black flies are small, dark, chunky flies that look humpbacked.
Adult females are not host specific, but suck blood from a variety of hosts during the daytime. Black flies hover around ears, eyes and nostrils of animals, often landing to deliver painful bites. In addition to the pain, blood loss and possibility of anaphylactic shock due to the bites, they may also serve as vectors of some disease organisms. Females lay their eggs in flowing water and the larvae attach to submerged objects. Depending on the species and water temperature, development may take weeks or months.