How Much Does It Cost To Exterminate Flies?

Several types of flies in the U.S. invade homes and businesses. These are common house flies, fruit flies, horse flies, and of course, those annoying little gnats that attack your eyes.

So, can you hire someone to get rid of flies for you? And if so, what’s it going to cost?

The national average cost to get rid of your fly problem is between $100 and $500. But you’re still left wondering how pest control companies come up with these prices.

National Average	Average Cost Range	Minimum Cost	Maximum Cost
$300	$100–$500	$100	$1,500+

If trying to exterminate flies on your own becomes too challenging, we recommend Terminix and Orkin. These exterminators have some of the best-trained professionals that are able to use traps, baits, and other chemically treated solutions that are often more effective than standard DIY methods.

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Justifying the Cost of Fly Control

Professional exterminators compete with each other for your business, and one of the ways they do that is through competitive pricing.

So, we’ve put together this list to help you navigate the typical exterminator’s decision-making process when it comes to setting prices for their services.

Your Location

A 2,000-square-foot home in a typical suburban community will be charged a standard fee of around $300 for comprehensive fly control.

However, a house 20 miles away from town with horse stables, chickens, and several pets wandering around the yard will obviously cost much more.

Unfortunately, the price becomes arbitrary at that point, and it really depends on the best guess of the exterminator.

So, if that’s your situation, it’s preferable to obtain at least three quotes. Then, you’re not stuck with the first offer that comes along.

Size of Your Property

Here, again, it gets a bit tricky. A home that sits on less than an acre will be charged a standard rate of around $300 to $400 for outdoor fly control.

However, that same home on five acres could cost as much as $1,000 to $1,500. It also depends on the level of control you expect. The higher the expectation, the more it costs.

Find Pest Control Cost Estimates In Your State

Number of Live Animals Present

Female house flies prefer to lay their eggs on animal feces. This material provides the larval stage (maggots) with the required nutrients to develop into adults.

So, the presence of several live animals in a yard provides plenty of opportunities for fly populations to increase exponentially.

The majority of pest control operators take this into account and charge accordingly.

Sanitation Levels

When your technician arrives at your home and sees garbage cans overflowing, tall weeds growing everywhere, and pet waste in several spots on your lawn, you may have to pay extra.

Some exterminators may even refuse service due to poor sanitation levels around a home or business.

Service Frequency

Traditionally, fly control is only offered on a one-visit basis. So, the costs can rack up pretty fast if you need more than one treatment.

However, many exterminators across the country now offer contracted fly control services. You can purchase these agreements for either monthly, quarterly, or seasonal intervals.

• Monthly contracts have the technician to your home every month. You agree to the service for the entire year. In exchange, monthly payments are kept low, which generally range from $40 to $70 per visit.
• Quarterly contracts provide four visits per year to spray for flies around your home. So you can expect a moderate level of control throughout the year. It costs from $100 to $200 every three months for this service.
• Seasonal fly control contracts. Pest control providers started adding seasonal contracts for specific pests a few years ago to become more competitive. Since then, fly control has been added. The cost is generally between $300 and $800, ranging from three to six months of service.

Methods Used

The methods used by the exterminator are a driving factor for how much you’ll pay to have your fly problem eliminated. Here are some examples of the techniques and their associated costs.

Chemical Fly Control: $100-$300

Chemical control employs the use of insecticides to reduce fly populations. It may also include insect growth regulators to limit the fly’s life cycle.

Fogging is also included. However, this method becomes more outdated as new technologies emerge. Still, the latest foggers can be useful, especially in an industrial setting.

Fly Baits: $100-$200

Fly bait treatments generally use a quick knockdown insecticide as their active ingredient. They also employ a strong pheromone attractant to lure the fly.

The technician typically scatters the bait over a wide area. Or they’ll use a bait station designed specifically for these products.

Fly Traps: $150-$400

Trapping is the costliest option for eliminating flies from a home or business. However, it’s typically the most effective.

Fly traps come in several varieties. For example:

• Bag traps lure the fly into a water-filled pouch where there’s also a pheromone attractant present. The trap is designed so the fly can get in, but it has no way to exit. Eventually, it either drowns, dehydrates, or suffocates.
• Glue traps are usually in the shape of a cylinder that hangs from the ceiling. They typically come with a special attractant that lures the fly. Once on the glue portion of the trap, the fly gets stuck permanently.
• UV light traps use an ultraviolet light attractant to lure flies. It usually has a glue board at the bottom to trap them. Some models also feature a suction fan to pull them in.
• Window traps utilize a clear, double-sided sticky film to trap flies. They install directly onto the surface of any window. So, once flies land on it, they get stuck permanently.

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Signs & Causes of Fly Infestation

There are several species of flies within the U.S. Each has its own identifying characteristics. Here, we show you what those are and list the main cause of infestations.

House Flies

House flies have the widest distribution of any fly species worldwide. They are gray to black and are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in length.

They feed mostly on decaying matter, such as dead animals, rotting plant material, and animal feces.

The females lay eggs within fecal matter as well as on rotting food. The developmental stage takes only about five days, and the adult housefly lives for up to four weeks.

Although house flies are considered pests in urban settings, they help the environment by breaking down and recycling organic matter.

Fruit Flies

Fruit flies are tiny flying insects that only reach about 1/8 inch. They are a widely diverse species of fly that are found throughout most regions of the world.

Females lay up to 500 eggs in a lifetime, making fruit flies one of the fastest reproducing insects on the planet.

They eat mostly decaying fruits and vegetables, and they’re usually brought indoors by transporting these foods from outside.

Fruit flies favor warm, humid climates and often breed in trash cans, drains, wet mops, and cleaning rags.

Cluster Flies

Cluster flies are also called grass flies or attic flies. They’re about 1/4 inch long and have distinguishing stripes behind the head.

The female lays her eggs in earthworm burrows. When the eggs hatch, the parasitic larvae attach themselves to the worms and burrow inside their bodies. When they finish feeding on the worms, they emerge as adults.

In the fall, cluster flies move indoors where it’s warm. They become pests by overwintering in homes, schools, and office spaces. Then, when spring arrives, they move outdoors once again.

Blowflies

Blowflies are recognizable by homeowners due to their combination of shiny green, blue, and brown tint.

Females prefer to lay their eggs in rotting meat. That’s why this species is mostly associated with dead animals.

However, it only takes about a week before blowflies go through an entire lifecycle. For that reason, neglected trash containers often become sources of this menacing pest.

Drain Flies

Drain flies are tiny, measuring just under 1/4 inch long. They live in sludge-based habitats within sink drains, making these areas excellent breeding sites.

Drain flies are sometimes called moth flies due to their fuzzy, moth-like appearance. Although they don’t bite humans, they can become extremely annoying, especially in large numbers.

Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats are minuscule flying insects that feed off of mold and fungus from house plants. They are common during the summer months due to overwatering.

They also breed outdoors in decaying mulch and fungus-prone soil. The best way to eliminate fungus gnats indoors is by regularly changing house plant potting mixes.

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Health Risks of Flies

Flies are known vectors for transmitting harmful pathogens. For example, here are two of the most common diseases flies directly transmit to humans:

Dysentery

Dysentery is an infection that attacks the gastrointestinal tract. It’s caused by the transmission of fecal bacteria by flies. It’s then passed on to humans that eat contaminated food or water.

The symptoms of dysentery include:

• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Bloody stool
• Fever

Salmonella

Salmonella bacteria are a pathogenic species that cause the disease salmonellosis. Flies and other insects transport them to foods that humans eat. Once ingested, it can cause the disease.

These are the symptoms of salmonellosis in humans:

• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Abdominal cramps
• Vomiting
• Dehydration

In some instances, salmonellosis can cause enteritis, which is inflammation of the small intestines. In severe cases, the disease can become systemic, developing into typhoid fever.

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DIY vs. Hiring a Professional

Fly control is one of the few pest control services where there’s not a substantial difference in price between doing it yourself and hiring a professional. That’s because the cost of materials is almost equal to the labor costs.

Here is some of what you’ll need:

• Microbial drain cleaner to gently lift organic debris from your drains. This is an essential product and an important first step to eliminating drain flies and gnats.
• Probiotic foam cleaners to remove organic sludge from trash cans and dumpsters. It takes a powerful formula to get this done.
• Aerosol fumigation products to eliminate adult flies.
• Foggers for reaching a wider area and getting into cracks and crevices.
• Pyrethrin spray concentrate to use with fogging equipment.
• Bag traps for outside areas to draw flies away from your home.
• Fly baits for outside perimeter control of flies and as a means of drawing them even further away from your home.
• Residual insecticide sprays to create a perimeter barrier around your home. Don’t forget to pick up a garden sprayer to apply it.
• Insect growth regulators that disrupt the fly’s breeding cycle.
• UV light traps for inside the home. It might be a good idea to purchase some extra glue boards while you’re at it.
• Citronella candles for both indoor and outdoor areas. However, be sure the ones you use indoors are not labeled for outside use only.

Hiring a Professional

If all that sounds like too much to hassle with, you may want to hire a reputable pest control company instead.

Here are three great examples:

• Aptive Environmental utilizes a minimal, basic fly control program for its customers. However, it also offers some of the most competitive pricing options in the industry as well.
• Orkin makes use of its 100 years of commercial fly control experience by utilizing only the latest technologies. These include specialized UV light traps together with the best fogging equipment available.
• Terminix incorporates an eco-friendly approach to fly control by sourcing only the best, EPA-approved products made from organic materials.

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What is the Standard Fly Removal Process?

When determining how to get rid of flies, it’s essential to have a plan in place. Here, we present the top-secret strategies used by industry-leading fly exterminators.

Step 1. Remove the source

When eliminating house flies, the first thing to do is remove any pet waste in your yard. Flies deposit their eggs on the fecal material of most animals, including pets. So, it’s crucial to pick up after your dogs and cats.

Next, make sure all trash areas are secure. For example, close garbage can lids tightly. Also, pick up any trash in the yard that may be used as a  breeding ground for flies.

Step 2. Eliminate breeding areas

Utilize probiotic foam cleaners to remove sludge from the bottom of trash containers and dumpsters. Also, use microbial drain cleaners to lift sludge and grime from the inside of plumbing traps.

Step 3. Kill any remaining adult flies.

Contact killing with aerosol sprays is not the best solution for flies. However, it may limit their ability to breed rapidly.

Fogging outdoor spaces may be a better strategy. But you still need to read the product label carefully to ensure you’re not wasting the product by treating the wrong areas.

Step 4. Set up an outside perimeter

When declaring war on flies, you have to employ the same strategies top military commanders use. One of those is to set up a defensive perimeter around your home.

First, spray the outside with a residual insecticide spray. You want it to be repellent, so it’s best to use a wettable powder for this task.

Next, set up several bag traps starting from your porch areas and working out to the trees in your yard. The powerful attractant in these pouches will draw flies away from your home.

Last, scatter a generous amount of fly bait throughout the fenceline. This will further draw flies away from living areas and hopefully kill a few in the process.

Step 5. Set up indoor light traps

Utilize at least two to three UV light traps in your home. These devices are mostly for mosquitoes but are pretty decent for trapping flies as well.

Also, it’s best to use bug zappers outside instead of indoors. This strategy will help keep you from going crazy listening to the constant popping noises of flies and mosquitoes being slaughtered by them.

Step 6. Break out the citronella candles

As a final step, lighting citronella candles will help everything else work somewhat better. It will also create an environment that flies will be more likely to avoid.

Be sure to read the label carefully. Utilize outdoor candles only around porches and patios. Likewise, avoid using indoor candles outside.

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Final Thoughts

Hopefully, we’ve given you some idea of what to expect when hiring a pest management provider to eliminate flies around your home.

Although prices may vary widely between companies, the methods they use to calculate them are pretty standard across the country.

If you decide to tackle the problem yourself, be sure to figure in the costs of equipment and materials used in the fly control process. As you’ve already discovered, the list is quite extensive.

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