Local fly information

Fly control in Massachusetts

Learn what to look for around your property, explore your city, and ask about an inspection or a quote.

Flies in Massachusetts: what to know

Around Massachusetts

Conditions vary across the state. Choose your city below, then describe what’s happening around your home or business.

What to note

Where you see flies, how long it has been going on, and anything you’ve already tried are the most useful details to mention.

A useful next step

Ask about an inspection, what treatment would involve, and whether follow-up visits are included. You don’t need to identify the problem yourself before getting in touch.

Local research

Flies in Massachusetts: what the public record shows

Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which flies actually live in Massachusetts, when they are busiest, and what the state figures look like. Everything below links to the agency or university page it came from.

Six: horn fly, house fly, stable fly, face fly, horse fly and black fly

Fly species UMass Extension covers for Massachusetts livestock and equine operations

Homeowners near Massachusetts barns, paddocks and small farms are dealing with this same species mix rather than a single generic "fly" problem.

UMass Extension, Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

Face flies have "high longevity, over wintering in homes and barns"

Face fly overwintering behavior noted by UMass Extension

It explains why Massachusetts homeowners find sluggish flies on sunny winter days in attics and upper rooms with no food source indoors.

UMass Extension, Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

House fly life cycle takes about two weeks; stable fly takes 3 weeks in summer and longer in cooler weather; horn fly 8 to 45 days depending on temperature and humidity

Fly generation speed in warm weather

A breeding source left in place through a warm Massachusetts summer month can turn over multiple generations before anyone notices the flies.

UMass Extension, Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

Fly species recorded in Massachusetts

House fly (Musca domestica) — Non-biting; breeds in manure, garbage, lawn clippings, decaying produce. 45 days at 60°F to 7 days at 95°F. Carries bacteria and viruses causing diarrhea, cholera, food poisonin…
Stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) — Biting fly with bayonet-like proboscis; about 12 days egg to adult; peaks early summer.

When flies are busiest in Massachusetts

UMass Extension flags spring and early summer for high black fly populations, with house fly and stable fly generations turning over in roughly two to three weeks through the warm season and face flies persisting into winter inside homes and barns.

UMass Extension states that sanitation is the most important factor in any fly control plan, and that manure and other organic fly breeding material should be regularly removed from barn and stable areas.

For context, nationally

About 45 days at 60°F; 7 days at 95°F — House fly life cycle vs temperature. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
75–150 per cluster; 350 to 900 in a lifetime — House fly eggs per female. University of New Hampshire Extension

Sources: UMass Extension, Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; University of New Hampshire Extension; Flies (Home and Landscape). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore Massachusetts cities

Boston

Humid Continental · urban setting

Fly control in Massachusetts

Flies in Massachusetts: what to know

Around Massachusetts

What to note

A useful next step

Flies in Massachusetts: what the public record shows

Fly species recorded in Massachusetts

When flies are busiest in Massachusetts

For context, nationally

Explore Massachusetts cities

Boston

Brockton

Brookline

Cambridge

Fall River

Framingham

Haverhill

Lawrence

Lowell

Lynn

Malden

New Bedford

Newton

Plymouth

Quincy

Somerville

Springfield

Taunton

Waltham

Worcester

Salem

Ask about fly control in Massachusetts