FLIES, spiders and other creepy crawlies are making themselves at home in residences across Wagga.
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Despite the unseasonal drop in temperature, hoards of bugs are heading inside and one expert of all things with six or more legs says it may be down to rain, species adjusting and the circle of life.
"We have been noticing a large number of flies in the house, even with the cooler weather we're having," Entomologist at Wagga's Charles Sturt University, Paul Weston, said.
"Typically, fly numbers drop off this time of year until the spring time so I have been puzzling over their numbers myself, but what I have noticed is that most of the flies I'm seeing are small house flies."
Dr Weston said the species of fly is similar in appearance to the common house fly, only smaller, but suggested that looks can be deceiving.
"The Little House Fly is a totally different organism to the common house fly we are accustomed to," he said.
"As such, their biology might be different enough so as to be able to survive and reproduce at cooler temperatures.
"The other conditions in line with cooler temperatures could all be favourable for this type of fly and so it is breeding and persisting as winter approaches."
The rise in fly numbers was not just an issue for Wagga, according to Dr Weston, who said he'd heard reports of the same problem kilometres away from the city.
"I was contacted by a poultry farm manager a fair distance away from here who sent me these small house fly specimens which were the same as what we've been seeing in Wagga, so it just seems to be a favourable year for this particular species of fly," he said.
Recent rains have also seen mosquito numbers skyrocket.
"It is most likely due to the recent rainfalls that we are seeing more mosquitoes around, because they can lay their eggs when conditions are dry, yet they remain dormant until they are exposed to water and hatch," Dr Weston said.
"So they are all coming out a week or so after the rain."
More insects around also means the next up the food chain is close behind, according to Dr Weston.
"People may be seeing more spiders in their homes too now, and that is totally explained by the fact there's more food around for them," he said.
Kooringal Pest Control's Glenn Lawson also noted creepy crawlies on the rise, not just in homes, but commercially as well.
"We're mainly finding more cockroaches and rodents on the move now with COVID-19 restrictions because a lot of commercial premises are vacant now as businesses close, so no one is disturbing them," he said.
"But also the wet weather and warmth we had before recent weeks has seen a lot of hatching of insects and now they're hanging around homes and patios to escape the cold."
The best way to keep homes free of unwanted guests was to stay on top of pest control, according to Mr Lawson.
"With flies, it's obviously smart to keep screen doors and windows closed, but also get a general pest spray done around the outside of the home, and a chemical treatment for rodents, keeping up with baiting," he said.