Habitat

Widely distributed, filter flies take their name from one of their preferred habitats of sewage filter beds.

Biology

Eggs are laid in batches of around 200 on wet, decaying matter and particularly on the filters of sewage beds. Larvae are legless and slow moving, living partially submerged in the sewage sludge on which they feed. Fast breeding, as many as 8 generations are possible within one year.

Psychoda alternata

Insecta     Diptera    Various

Image Copyright - Aventis Environmental Science 1964. Reproduced with kind permission of Aventis Environmental Science.

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Pest Status

Undesirable due to their ability and habit of breeding on sewage and translocating material when flying. Filter flies may be an extreme problem to residential areas in the immediate vicinity of sewage processing facilities.

Control

Where appropriate, residual treatments of surfaces where flies may alight, fogging and hygiene management are all common practice in the control of these pests.