Most fly infestations are easy to recognize since residents generally start to notice an increase in the number of annoying flies buzzing around their home. Infestations of soldier flies, however, reveal themselves in a very different manner. The strange-looking larvae are the first things homeowners notice when it comes to soldier flies. Most homeowners do not understand exactly what it is they are seeing when the larvae begin to appear inside their house. In fact, both soldier fly larvae and adults do not look like your typical nuisance fly specimen.

Soldier fly larvae don’t look like typical light-colored, wriggling maggots. While they are similar in shape, soldier fly larvae are about an inch long, grey to dark brown in color, and flattened. Their skin also has a unique, leathery texture. People first notice the small “odd-looking” creatures as they appear seemingly out of nowhere crawling around on the floor. Only a few seem to appear together at any given time, so they do not stand out in large numbers. You will likely only notice one of two of these larvae crawling on your floor every so often over a long period of time. This is what is commonly referred to as their “wandering phase”. These are fully grown larvae that are leaving their breeding site in search of a secure, dry area where they will then pupate and develop into adult soldier flies.

Adult soldier flies also do not look like your typical fly pest. They look more like wasps than any kind of fly, black in color and roughly ¾ inch long. You may notice a few of these wasp-like adults flying around your home when there is an infestation. Since they are often mistaken for wasps, people don’t generally recognize their presence as an indicator of a soldier fly infestation. If you begin to notice strange, dark larvae crawling on your floor and what you likely think are wasps flying around your house, there’s a good chance you have an infestation of soldier flies.

Have you ever noticed dark, leathery-looking larvae crawling on your floor in the summer?