Is This the Worst Summer for Houseflies That Lubbock Has Ever Seen?

"It's a black fly / in your chardonnayyyyyyy."

Isn't it ironic? Don'cha think?

I'm not sure what's more ironic -- the fact that it seems like this summer we've had hundreds more houseflies in our abode than last year, or the fact that when I try to Google "Texas house fly," I get a thousand news stories about Democratic legislators fleeing the state.

Seriously! It's ridiculous. See what I mean?

Either way, chatting with folks in the office, we're not the only ones who've noticed what seems to be a multitude of houseflies all over the place this year. Add to that the fact that we have little incontinent dogs who seem to always have to "go out", and it means that the flies have more opportunity to take advantage of our "open door policy." This also means, that I have more of an opportunity to explore my homicidal tendencies, and become the Dexter of houseflies.

I'm prepared to fight to the death. I am the freaking Lord of the Flies.

Turns out, this is not isolated to Lubbock or my imagination. In a Q&A with Texas Monthly, the uptick in insects has not gone unnoticed statewide and may be a result of our slightly soggier springtime.

Answering a question from a reader, The Texanist explains:

But when rains are abundant, as they were across much of the state this past spring and early summer, one aftereffect can indeed be an uptick (rim shot) in the overall bugginess of our rain-moistened environs. It’s not your imagination, Ms. Garcia. The Texanist, whose humble domicile sits in Austin, has himself recently noticed around his abode thick clouds of hangry mosquitoes, as well as the ever-present house flies, which seem to have doubled or maybe even tripled their numbers this year.

So, it's not just our collective imagination. The extra rain that we've had, along with slight cooler temperatures, has resulted in a spike in Covid-19 cases house flies all over the state.

So, how do we stop the spread of houseflies in Texas? Unfortunately, since it's a real bitch to get a housefly to mask up, you just need to keep your flyswatter at the ready and take your rightful place as part of the housefly Purge. I actually like to make a game of it and keep score as to how many I can get at any one time. So far, I'm up to 17 in 1 minute. They really like my dining room window.