| Remember seeing a big, slow moving fly in the | | | | vacuuming them up. Squashing them can leave an |
| window on a sunny winter day in January and | | | | unpleasant musty odor (that's why they call them |
| thinking, "Where the heck did that come from?" Well | | | | stink bugs) and/or leave a stain on your wall, |
| even though they look like a common house fly, | | | | window, or drapes. |
| these are indeed Cluster Flies, and they can be a real | | | | In the case of Cluster Flies, especially if the |
| nuisance to homes, hotels, and many office buildings, | | | | infestation is mainly on the top floor, incandescent |
| especially if there is a wooded area near by. | | | | light traps with glue boards placed in attics and crawl |
| Cluster Flies breed and spend most of their time in | | | | spaces can often catch them before they filter down |
| the woods, migrating to buildings in the fall, looking | | | | in to your building. Ask your pest management |
| for a warm place for the winter. You can often see | | | | professional about these. |
| them on the sunny side of a building on cool days in | | | | An even better approach is to have your pest |
| the fall. They are attracted to the siding as the sun | | | | management company treat the outside of your |
| warms it up. Then they will climb the wall looking for | | | | building in the late summer or early fall every year, |
| an entry. Most times they find them at the roof | | | | especially if your problem involves Lady Bugs or Stink |
| eaves or under windows. They then hide in attics and | | | | Bugs. This way they march through the material and |
| crawl spaces and filter down in to the building over | | | | die before they can become a problem on the inside. |
| the winter months, so the top floor is usually the | | | | If your home or business has a log construction, your |
| hardest hit. | | | | problem is complicated because, with no attic or |
| Cluster flies are usually larger than a common house | | | | crawl space, these pests come directly in to your |
| fly. They fly very slow and are so lethargic; one can | | | | living space. |
| almost touch them before they will fly slowly away. | | | | As with any pest problem, one should consult a |
| Lady Bugs and "stink bugs"(a/k/a Western Conifer | | | | professional. Home remedies can often exacerbate a |
| Seed Bugs) will all enter the same way, and you may | | | | problem by driving pests deeper in to the walls, only |
| see them wintering in your facility as well. These | | | | to have them reappear at a later date and in greater |
| pests don't pose any real health threat. They are | | | | numbers. This makes a professionals job more |
| more of a nuisance, although your hotel and | | | | difficult, and thus, more expensive for the consumer. |
| restaurant guests will complain about them, and | | | | Many over the counter pesticides can be many times |
| nobody in the hospitality industry wants to leave a | | | | more toxic than what a professional would use, |
| negative impression with their guests. | | | | making the remedy much more of a health hazard |
| In very light infestations, it's just a matter of | | | | than the original problem. |