Cooking a fly would kill it and break down its protein, but it's generally unsafe and unappetizing because flies carry harmful bacteria (like Salmonella, E. coli) and pathogens from feces and decaying matter, which they regurgitate onto food to liquefy it before eating, posing a risk of food poisoning, even if briefly heated. While a healthy immune system might handle one, the pathogens can cause illness, making it best to discard food touched by flies, especially if they've been present for a while or if you're immunocompromised, according to this University of Sydney article and this IFLScience article.
If the fly repeatedly walked over the surface of soft/porous food and the food will be consumed without further heat, discard it. For soups, stews, casseroles: skim out the fly if visible, then bring the entire pot to a rolling boil for several minutes to reduce microbial risk.
House flies don't bite. Unlike mosquitoes that transmit pathogens of human health importance in their saliva, house flies transmit pathogens on their feet and body. As well as leaving behind pathogen-filled footprints, the flies leave their poop on our food. They vomit too.
According to Dr. Pritt, for the most part, eating a bug isn't cause for worry. In general, your body will digest arthropods, which include arachnids like spiders, mites, and ticks, and insects such as gnats, flies, mosquitoes, fleas, and bedbugs, “just like any other food,” she says.
Researchers suspect that house flies can harbor at least 65 illnesses that infect people. Some of the most common house fly diseases transmitted in the U.S. include food poisoning, dysentery, and diarrhea. These pests may also transmit the eggs of parasitic worms, which cause their own issues.
Eating fly eggs by accident is not usually harmful, as stomach acid is strong enough to destroy them. However, the real danger comes from the bacteria and pathogens that flies carry. Flies pick up germs from decaying matter, garbage, and feces, meaning that contaminated food can lead to foodborne illnesses.
Eggs are laid on or just under the surface of moist, decaying organic matter such as fresh animal manure, decaying vegetable matter or decaying kitchen waste. It is highly unlikely, therefore, that a fly will lay eggs on fresh food in your home or a restaurant.
If possible, reheat the meal. Heating, drying and/or microwaving can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination, according to Medical News Today. However, it's best to toss out the food if you can't gauge how long flies have been hanging around on it.
Economic Importance. House flies are strongly suspected of transmitting at least 65 diseases to humans, including typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, poliomyelitis, yaws, anthrax, tularemia, leprosy, and tuberculosis.
Lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils – Not only will spraying these oils around the house create a beautiful aroma, but they will also deter those pesky flies too. Apple cider vinegar – Flies love the smell of apples and vinegar.
Ecclesiastes 10:1-3 King James Version (KJV)
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.
If you can see the appearance of waste flies in a particular place inside your home, this is an early sign that there is a waste fly breeding ground nearby. As previously described, this type of small fly always looks for moist areas to lay eggs on and food sources.
So if a lone fly landed once on your food and your house is clean, you can probably keep eating safely, says Dr. Laartz. The bigger worry would be if you're in an area buzzing with bugs, like a picnic. After all, the more flies that land on your meal, the more germs they could leave.
If you spot these eggs, it's crucial to dispose of the food immediately. Consuming such contaminated items can lead to food poisoning, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. While the FDA indicates that ingesting up to one or two pounds of flies or maggots is typically safe, it's best not to take risks with your health.
You Should Immediately Wash If a Fly Lands on You
“The biggest concern a person should have is that when a fly lands on your counter, it was probably on something decaying before,” says Olschewske. Yikes. The most concerning part about flies is not knowing where they've been, but knowing what they're attracted to.
For instance, Verstrepen said, if a fly “lands on your food while you're eating, it's not a problem because the food is warm, and [the microbes] won't have time to multiply.” But if the fly lands while the food sits in a store, and it stays there for a while, “that can be a way to get ill because you'll get more ...
Larval tolerance to heat was very similar for all species; Mediterranean fruit fly eggs appeared more tolerant to heat than those of either of the Dacus species. Eggs and larvae of all three species showed death rate curves characterized by a lag at lower temperatures followed by a more or less constant rate of death.
The most immediate solution to kill maggots in trash cans or on hard surfaces is boiling water. It scalds them instantly—no chemicals needed.
Is it safe to eat food a fly was on for an hour if you microwave it a long time? Yes. As long as you don't mind the chance that you're going to ingest a very small portion of fly vomit and poop, then there's no problem.
Many species of fly larvae that might be accidentally ingested with food cannot survive in the gastrointestinal environment.
After feeding, maggots seek a drier, protected area to pupate, developing a hard casing. Inside, they transform into adult flies over several days. Fully grown adult flies emerge and are ready to mate within hours, repeating the cycle.
Gastrointestinal Infections: House flies can transmit pathogens such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Shigella, which cause gastrointestinal infections. These bacteria can contaminate food and water sources when flies land on them, potentially leading to foodborne illnesses when consumed.
Believe it or not, insects don't technically have "blood," at least not in the red-colored, oxygen-rich way we're accustomed to. Instead, they circulate a unique fluid called hemolymph that is often clear or yellowish and doesn't contain hemoglobin and red blood cells.
While the human midbrain and the insect brain may even be evolutionarily related, an insect's inner life is obviously more basic than our own. Accordingly, bugs feel something like hunger and pain, and “perhaps very simple analogs of anger,” but no grief or jealousy. “They plan, but don't imagine,” Klein says.