Flies can often be a nuisance, especially during the warmer summer months when they seem to be everywhere. Many people wonder if flies are more attracted to certain colors, like white, and whether that can be used as a way to trap or repel them from an area. Understanding what attracts flies can be useful in implementing strategies to keep them away from homes, food establishments, farms, and other places where their presence is undesirable.
What Attracts Flies?
Flies are attracted to certain cues in their environment that signal food, breeding sites, warmth, and other desirables. Some of the main attractants for flies include:
– Food sources like sugary substances, decaying matter, animal waste, etc. Flies need to eat to obtain nutrients and energy. They have receptors on their feet and mouthparts that help them locate and taste food sources.
– Breeding sites for egg laying. Flies seek out moist, organic material like compost, garbage, or feces to lay their eggs on so that the larvae will have abundant food when they hatch.
– Warmth. Flies are cold blooded and perform best at warmer temperatures around 70-80°F. They are drawn to warmth from the sun, decomposing materials, and animals.
– Bright, reflective surfaces. Flies have compound eyes sensitive to light and movement. Shiny or light-colored objects can mimic water sources and attract their interest.
– Certain odors and smells associated with food, decay, waste materials, etc. Flies have highly sensitive olfactory receptors that can detect scents from considerable distances.
– Carbon dioxide and other chemicalsanimals/humans exhale. These can signal a potential food or breeding site for flies.
The presence of any of these attractants in an area is likely to draw flies, as they instinctively seek out the optimal conditions and resources for their survival.
Are Flies Attracted to the Color White?
There is some evidence that flies may be more attracted to white or light colored surfaces compared to darker colors. A few reasons why white could be attractive to flies include:
– Reflectiveness – White is very reflective and glossy. The shininess may mimic water sources which attract thirsty flies.
– Brightness – White is also highly visible and contrasts strongly against most backgrounds. This can draw the flies’ attention from considerable distances.
– Warmth – Light colors absorb more solar radiation compared to dark colors. The extra warmth generated could help lure in cold flies.
– Mimicking food/breeding sites – Pale or white colored objects can mimic the appearance of decaying organic matter, garbage, or fecal matter that flies seek to feed on and lay eggs.
Some research has supported the idea that flies are more attracted to white surfaces:
– A study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology tested house flies’ responses to colored cardboard squares and found that white squares captured the most flies compared to black, yellow, blue, and green.
– Researchers from Agrilife Extension reported that their field studies showed clear plastic bags painted white on the inside captured more flies than bags of other colors.
– A study from University of Florida scientists found that fluorescent bulbs made white with ultraviolet brighteners attracted more insects than regular white bulbs.
However, other studies have shown less conclusive results:
– A publication in the Annual Review of Entomology noted that house flies were attracted equally to black, white, and colored surfaces.
– Research on pollinating syrphid flies showed no preference for landing on white flowers compared to yellow, blue, or red flowers.
So while white may attract flies in some situations, it does not seem to be a universally strong fly attractant across all fly species and settings. The attractiveness of white likely depends on many factors like the fly type, time of day, competing attractants nearby, and more.
Trapping Flies With White Surfaces
Based on the potential for white surfaces to be attractive to flies, several commercial fly traps utilize white as a way to help lure flies in:
Window Fly Traps
| – Often made of clear plastic with a white interior back panel |
| – Hangs on sunny window surfaces where the white plastic reflects light outward like a body of water |
| – Draws flies toward the window and then they get stuck on the trapping glue or pad |
Bottle-Style Traps
| – Clear plastic bottle with white funnel top portion |
| – The white funnel reflects sunlight in all directions to attract flies |
| – Flies enter through the funnel and drown or become trapped |
Bucket Traps
| – White bucket filled with water or bait solution |
| – White bucket is highly visible and acts as target for flies to land on |
| – Flies fall in and drown or cannot escape |
Strip Traps
| – Long white strip coated with sticky glue |
| – Hung in fly zones like stables, kennels, patios, etc. |
| – White strip attracts flies visually and they get stuck on the glue |
The use of white in these fly traps seems to exploit the apparent attraction some flies have to light colored and reflective surfaces. The traps take advantage of white’s ability to grab the flies’ attention and draw them in.
However, it is important to note that color is likely only one factor among many others that determine how effective a trap is. The type of bait/attractant used, placement of the trap, competition from other attractants in the vicinity, and how well the trap physically captures flies once attracted are also very important. So white by itself may not be universally reliable for trapping all fly species and populations.
Should You Wear White to Prevent Flies?
Some people believe wearing white clothing can repel flies or prevent them from landing on you. However, the evidence that white clothing deters flies is lacking:
– There are no scientific studies demonstrating flies land less often on white versus darker clothing.
– White clothing does not mask the smells, carbon dioxide, warmth, and moisture that attract hungry flies to humans.
– Light colors do not prevent flies from spotting movement and shadows which draw their interest.
– Fly landing behavior depends more on the wearer’s proximity to fly breeding grounds than on cloth color.
– White fabrics can become easily soiled with sweat, food stains, etc., which may actually attract more flies.
So wearing clean, light colored clothing is unlikely to be an effective fly repelling strategy in most cases. And darker clothing does not necessarily attract more flies or result in more bites/landings compared to white clothing.
Other approaches like using fly repellent sprays, avoiding heavily infested fly zones, eliminating breeding sites, and deploying fans or air screens would be more reliable than counting on white clothes to repel flies.
Conclusion
In summary, flies appear to exhibit some increased attraction to white and pale surfaces versus darker colors in certain situations. The reflectiveness and brightness of white may mimic light on water or moist organic matter that draws flies in, as they instinctively seek out places to feed, breed, and rest. Commercial fly traps often exploit this apparent preference by using white to help lure flies toward the trapping mechanism.
However, color is just one of many visual and chemical factors that stimulate fly attraction and feeding/breeding behaviors. So white is unlikely to be a universal fly attractant across all settings and fly species. And wearing white clothes seems to provide little protective benefit against flies in real world conditions. To most effectively repel or trap flies, using dedicated fly control measures tailored to the specific environment will likely be far more impactful than just relying on the color white. But where possible, pairing white surfaces with other fly attracting cues could potentially boost their effectiveness at luring flies in.
