Subject: Re: Cluster flies

From: [email-masked] (Sharon Labchuk)
Date: 27 Mar 1994 01:23:42 -0400

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Jim Mcnelly) writes:
>Subject: Re: Cluster flies

>But insects attacking earthworms is a new one on me.  Worms feed nearly
>everything larger than them it seems, from moles to snakes to amphibians
>to fish to birds to whatever.  They even commit suicide after heavy
>downpours and surface to feed animals, only to build their population
>back up quickly according to the available nutrients in the soil.
>
>There are no known earthworm diseases and they are remarkably immune to
>cancer.  I am sure that if there is an insect that can attack
>earthworms, it is only if the worm is stressed and dying anyway.
>
>Back to the flies.  My daughter has several salamanders in her bedroom
>who have almost escaped.  Perhaps if you put in sod and a pond in
>the middle of the living room, fill it full of amphibians, the fly
>problem would be solved.
>
>Mr Compost~~~
>
>
>Jim~ McNelly
>ReSourceNet and GardenNet 612-654-8372, 656-0678 v.32bis
>[email-masked]
>---
> * March 25th - A single fact can ruin a good argument everytime!

Actually, this is not an 'urban myth'.  In the book 'Common Sense Pest
Control' by Olkowski, Daar, Olkowski, it is stated:

"In the larval stage,cluster flies are parasitoids of earthworms. Thus, soil
containing many earthworms - for example, large lawn areas containing many
earthworms - are common sources of these flies.  After feeding within the
body of the worm for about 13 days, the flies tunnel out of the carcass and
pupate in the earth.  After emerging from the soil as adults, they seek
mates and lay their fertilized eggs in the soil where earthworm hosts are
likely to encounter them. "

 I've just spent the last 6 years in old farmhouses infested with cluster
flies.  They come indoors in the fall through cracks and stay quietly til
spring.  When it warms up, they try to get outside again to find more
earthworms so they can lay eggs.  They're more of a nuisance than anything. 
I wouldn't recommend contaminating your home with pesticides to get rid of
them - that's only a temporary measure anyway.  Better to seal up openings
into the house and vacuum them.       

      Sharon Labchuk