House Fly vs Blowfly: How to Identify & Control Both
House fly or blowfly? How to tell them apart and the right control strategy for each in New Zealand.
Know your enemy
If you're trapping flies, it pays to know which ones. House flies and blowflies behave differently, breed in different places, and respond to different baits. Here's the NZ guide to telling them apart.
House fly (Musca domestica)
- Size: 5–8mm, grey with four dark stripes on the thorax.
- Breeds in: rotting vegetable matter, bins, compost.
- Loves: kitchens, food scraps, sugary drinks.
- Best bait: sugar water, fruit, vinegar.
Blowfly (Calliphoridae)
- Size: 8–12mm, metallic green, blue or bronze.
- Breeds in: dead animals, meat waste, pet faeces.
- Loves: meat, pet food, bins.
- Best bait: fish sauce, rotting meat.
The one trap that handles both
The GotchaPest Reusable Fly Trap catches both species — just swap the bait. Use the fish sauce recipe for blowfly-heavy areas, the fruit/sugar bait for house flies.
Control differences
- House fly: focus on kitchen hygiene and indoor traps.
- Blowfly: focus on bins, pet waste and outdoor traps 15m from the house.
Track which is active
Log catches in the GotchaPest app to see whether house fly or blowfly pressure is peaking in your region. Not sure what you've caught? Ask Buzzy 🐝.
Not sure which pest you're dealing with?
Snap a photo and — our NZ-made AI pest assistant will identify it from our verified species database and recommend the right trap. Free, honest, and grounded in real Kiwi catch data.
GotchaPest Team
NZ-made pest control, designed in Aotearoa for Kiwi conditions. Our traps are UV-tough, reusable and bee-safe — paired with the world's first AI Trap Buddy and the GotchaPest community pest tracker. Available at Mitre 10, Kings Plant Barn and right here online.
Recommended traps for this guide
NZ-made, UV-tough and built to last. Available at Mitre 10, Kings Plant Barn and right here.
Screw-On Bottle Trap — NZ-made, reusable fly control for homes, cafés, farms and food prep areas.
Trap smarter with GotchaPest
UV-tough, NZ-made traps paired with the app and Buzzy — the first ever AI Trap Buddy.