If a fly lands on your food, you should throw it away - here’s why
Many of us bat flies away after they land on food at a picnic – then tuck in greedily regardless of where those tiny feet have landed.
But that’s really not a good idea, according to one pest control expert.
By the time you’ve yelled ‘Shoo!’ and waved your hands at the fly, it could well have transferred germs which could cause serious illnesses including dysentery.
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Flies carry more than 200 kinds of harmful bacteria – due to their habits of landing on rotting food and faeces.
The germs also transfer very rapidly – and flies are in the habit of vomiting on your food shortly after landing.
Pest control expert Ron Harrison, an entomologist and technical services director at Orkin says, ‘They only need to touch your food for a second for their legs or the tiny hairs all over their bodies to transfer germs from all those nasty things they eat onto what you are eating.
‘And since flies can transfer serious, contagious diseases like cholera, dysentery, and typhoid, it is probably best if you avoid eating things that a fly lands on.’
