Once upon a time a pot of honey was left upturned on a kitchen table. It smelled so sweet and delicious that a cluster of flies buzzing about nearby began to search for a way to get into the house. What happened next is up to you.
Choose Your Own Ending
- The insects got into the house and found the honey. They ate so gluttonously that they became covered in honey and could not get free. They died a sweet death. Nothing happened to your home.
- The insects got into the house, but they got stuck between the insulation and the vapour barrier. They died a slow death with the sweet honey forever out of their reach.
- Nothing more happened.
- The cluster fly carcasses began to smell as sweet as honey to other pests such as carpet beetles. These pests made their way to the dead cluster flies and feasted. They laid eggs that matured and continued the feast of dead insects and organic materials such as cellulose insulation made from recycled paper. Your walls became infested with beetles. You needed to call a professional pest control company.
- The cluster flies buzzed and crawled around the outside of the house until they found a crevice they could fit through. They made their way into your house and loved the warmth of the attic. They clustered together and took up residence for the winter. They buzzed loudly and congregated in large numbers around windows on warm sunny days. They told their children and grandchildren about the wonderful winter resort they had found, and these progeny followed in their ancestors’ wing steps year after year until you were forced to seek out residential pest control services.
- The cluster flies tried and tried to enter your home but failed. The insects remained outdoors, and your home remained pest free.
Which Ending Will You Choose?
Aesop, the famous Greek fable writer, chose option A as the ending to his literary warning that, “Too much of a good thing can be bad,” but which option will you choose?
This blog will help you aim for option D by examining how different types of insulation and building materials can help with cluster fly prevention and keep these pests out of your home and other buildings.
Cluster Fly Prevention from the Outside In
- Siding
For effective cluster fly prevention think of your siding as an armour your home wears. It must allow for movement and breathing, but it must also protect. Therefore, the tight seal of properly installed fiber cement siding is an excellent choice of exterior siding for cluster fly prevention. Brick and stone veneers and seamless metal siding can also be effective barriers against cluster flies and other pests. - Installation
Just as a suit of armour must be worn properly to be effective, so siding must be installed correctly to prevent insects and other pests from entering your home. Proper installation includes creating tight seams and joints, using insulation board underneath siding, and paying attention to areas around windows, doors, and other openings. - Seal and Trim
High-quality caulking and sealing can seal any gaps in the areas mentioned above and where different materials meet. It is also important to caulk under eaves and around outdoor fixtures. Add trims and mouldings around doors and windows for extra pest and cluster fly prevention. Composite materials and PVC trims are particularly effective at maintaining a long-lasting, effective seal. - Roof & Eaves
A well-protected knight wears a helmet into battle, so your home should protect its roof. Your shingles need to be in good repair, and your soffit and fascia should be installed without gaps. All vents and other roof openings can be screened with fine mesh for extra cluster fly prevention. - The Foundation
Remember that knights covered their feet with armour even when it was just to joust, so your home should be equally clad from top to bottom for maximum cluster fly prevention. All cracks in your home’s foundation should be sealed with hydraulic cement or epoxy too. Vapour barrier will help reduce pest-attracting moisture, while pressure-treated wood or composite material make excellent pest-resistant skirting materials.
Cluster Fly Prevention from the Inside Out
- Spray Foam Insulation
Closed-cell spray foam creates a dense and rigid barrier against pests infestations. It creates an airtight seal that blocks even the smallest possible entry points. - Fiberglass Insulation
The traditional pink and yellow fluff known as fiberglass insulation is not extremely effective in cluster fly prevention on its own, but when it is paired with a vapour barrier that is air sealed, it can offer a great defence against pests of all kinds. - Cellulose
While cellulose insulation is often made from recycled paper products that some pests (such as the carpet beetle mentioned above in ending B ii) enjoy, it is often treated with borate, which has some pest-repellent properties. Still, this form of insulation is not as impenetrable as spray foam and can settle over time, creating new gaps and potential openings for cluster flies and their friends. - Weatherstripping and More
Weatherstripping on windows create tight seals that insects cannot pass through. Similarly door sweeps on exterior doors can prevent cluster flies from entering your home. Any gaps and cracks around openings, including outlets and switches, should be sealed with caulking. - Ventilation
Even though most of the suggestions for cluster fly prevention thus far have been about protecting and sealing your home, remember the knight’s armour mentioned above: “It must allow for movement and breathing,” and so must your home’s cladding. Adequate ventilation helps control moisture levels in attics and crawl spaces and keep these areas cool over winter. Both make these areas less favourable to insect survival.
Happily Ever After?
While choosing the right materials and installing them correctly are crucial to cluster fly prevention, regular maintenance inside and outside of your home is essential to the prevention of new entry points. Still nothing, not even keeping exposed soil with earthworms and mulch away from the foundations of your house (to reduce both pest habitats and moisture near the building), or limiting insect attractants (like spilled honey) inside your home can guarantee the happy ending proposed at the start of this blog in option D. Therefore, if you find yourself with an infestation of cluster flies or other pests, contact Poulin’s Pest Control Services. We’ve been exterminating throughout Western Canada since 1946.