Local fly information

Fly control in New York

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

Flies in New York: what to know

Around New York

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 New York: what the public record shows

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

A grey fly 10 to 14 mm with three black thoracic stripes and a checkerboard abdomen indicates a dead animal the size of a rat or squirrel or larger

What a flesh fly indoors means in New York

Cornell IPM uses the fly species to name the source you have to find.

New York State Integrated Pest Management, Cornell University

Adults about 1 mm; larvae breed in septic waste and rich organic material, and adults can indicate breaks in a sewer pipe under a slab foundation

Phorid flies as a sewer-line signal

Persistent tiny flies in a New York slab building point at the plumbing, not the kitchen.

New York State Integrated Pest Management, Cornell University

Also called the attic fly or loft fly; overwinters in attics and lofts of homes and other buildings

Cluster fly's other name in New York

Cornell IPM groups it with the non-biting flies homeowners find indoors out of season.

New York State Integrated Pest Management, Cornell University

Fly species recorded in New York

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.
Flesh fly (Sarcophagidae) — Large gray flies with black stripes; carcasses in attics, chimneys, walls.

When flies are busiest in New York

Cluster flies overwinter in attics and lofts; black flies are primarily a spring problem; house flies and stable flies peak in the warm months.

Cornell IPM: identify the species first, because each one names a different source (clogged drain, overwatered plant, dead animal, sewer break), then remove the wet organic material rather than spraying adults.

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: New York State Integrated Pest Management, Cornell University; Indoor Flies and Their Control; University of New Hampshire Extension; Flies (Home and Landscape). Figures are quoted as the source prints them. How we check our sources

Explore New York cities

Albany

Humid Continental · urban setting

Fly control in New York

Flies in New York: what to know

Around New York

What to note

A useful next step

Flies in New York: what the public record shows

Fly species recorded in New York

When flies are busiest in New York

For context, nationally

Explore New York cities

Albany

Binghamton

Buffalo

Freeport

Hempstead

Ithaca

Long Beach

Mount Vernon

New York

Newburgh

New Rochelle

Niagara Falls

Poughkeepsie

Rochester

Rome

Saratoga Springs

Schenectady

Syracuse

Troy

Utica

Valley Stream

White Plains

Yonkers

Amsterdam

Ask about fly control in New York