House fly (Diptera: Muscidae): biology, pest status, current management prospects, and research needs

Authors: Geden, Christopher - Chris; Nayduch, Dana; SCOTT, JEFFREY - Cornell University; BURGESS, EDWIN - Northern Illinois University; GERRY, ALEC - University Of California; KAUFMAN, PHILLIP - Texas A&M University; THOMSON, JESSICA - Kansas State University; PICKENS, VICTORIA - Kansas State University; MACHTINGER, ERIKA - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Journal of Integrated Pest Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/12/2020
Publication Date: 10/27/2021
Citation: Geden, C.J., Nayduch, D., Scott, J.G., Burgess, E.R., Gerry, A.C., Kaufman, P.E., Thomson, J., Pickens, V., Machtinger, E.T. 2021. House fly (Diptera: Muscidae): biology, pest status, current management prospects, and research needs. Journal of Integrated Pest Management. 12(1):39, 1-38. https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmaa021.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmaa021

Interpretive Summary: The house fly is a global pest of humans and animals that carries scores of disease-causing organisms and costs 500 million to 1 billion dollars per year in the Unites States alone. This article, by scientists with USDA-ARS (Gainesville, FL and Manhattan, KS) and universities in New York, Illinois, California, Texas, Kansas, and Pennsylvania is a comprehensive review on house fly recognition, distribution, biology, dispersal, and associations with microbes. House fly is notorious for developing insecticide resistance and its resistance status is summarized. Critical research needs are also identified for future work. Monitoring systems and nuisance/action thresholds need improvement. Faster-killing strains and better formulations are needed to improve biopesticides. Parasitoid releases for biological control remain an inexact science with many questions remaining about how they can be made more effective. New attractants are needed for use in traps and as part of attract-and-infect/kill strategies. Screening of new active ingredients for toxicity should continue, including a rigorous assessment of essential oils and other botanicals. Rising global temperatures may affect the balance of the fly with natural enemies and the effectiveness of insecticide applications. An understanding of the fly microbiome may reveal unknown vulnerabilities, and much remains to be learned about how flies acquire, retain, and transmit human and animal pathogens. System-specific research is also needed to tailor fly IPM programs to individual animal systems, especially in the growing market for organic and free-range animal production. This article lays the foundation for decades of future research on this important pest.

Technical Abstract: The house fly, Musca domestica L., is a global pest of humans and animals that carries scores of disease-causing organisms and costs 500 million to 1 billion dollars per year in the Unites States alone. Information is reviewed on recognition, distribution, biology, dispersal, and associations with microbes. Particular challenges of managing flies in different animal systems are discussed for swine, poultry, dairy cattle, beef feedlot, and equine operations. Effective fly management requires diligent monitoring and integration of cultural control, especially manure management, with mechanical control, traps, conservation or augmentative biological control, and judicious use of insecticides. House fly is notorious for developing insecticide resistance and its resistance status is summarized as of May 2020. Several critical research needs are identified for future work. Monitoring systems and nuisance/action thresholds need improvement. Faster-killing strains and better formulations are needed to integrate pathogens into IPM programs. The use of parasitoid releases remains an inexact science with many questions remaining about species selection and release rates. New attractants are needed for use in traps and as part of attract-and-infect/kill strategies. Screening of new active ingredients for toxicity should continue, including a rigorous assessment of essential oils and other botanicals. Rising global temperatures may affect the balance of the fly with natural enemies. An understanding of the fly microbiome may reveal unknown vulnerabilities, and much remains to be learned about how flies acquire, retain, and transmit human and animal pathogens. System-specific research is also needed to tailor fly IPM programs to individual animal systems, especially in the growing market for organic and free-range animal production.