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House Flies in Alaska?

Hi! I know this might be a stupid question, but there's an argument going on about it and I'm tired of listening to it. Are there house flies in Alaska? I lived there for 2 1/2 years, but I was too young to remember if there were house flies. At first, my mother said there WERE, then she said she might be confusing house flies with the black flies and the no-see-ums, because it's been almost 30 years since we were there. I know the myth is that there aren't any but I'd like to know for a fact. If someone could please answer this question for me, even if it's to tell me that it depends on what part of Alaska you're in, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much for your time!

Angi

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Contributed by Angela on 4 December, 2010 - 3:04am

Hi, I'm from Sitka Alaska, bo

Hi, I'm from Sitka Alaska, born and raised. there are flies there but not many, I see them the more south i go but yes and no, some areas no some yes but again not many.

… Dtoyne2, 21 July, 2017 - 9:55am

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Which housefly?

First of all it would help if you define "house fly". The true one is the species Musca domestica, a non-native species, widespread wherever there are humans. Interestingly it seems to be very hard to identify by photos as you can see if you follow the above link; it is very poorly represented in Bugguide despite its abundance.
However there are many flies that look very similar and probably are called "house flies" by many people. They are all relatives of the true house fly in the family Muscidae. As you can see some of them in Bugguide were photographed in Alaska.
Now that you know the scientific name you may want to google "Musca domestica, Alaska" in addition to visiting the links I gave you and see what you can find.

… Beatriz Moisset, 5 December, 2010 - 8:09am

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Hm...

I would imagine that House Flies are present in Alaska, for the very fact that they are common in places inhabited by humans. They may not start out as a native species, but could certainly be introduced through transporting garbage or other things. I am pretty sure of this, though they may not survive winters, as long as there are human beings living in Alaska, there are probably House Flies!

… Cassie Novak, 4 December, 2010 - 6:20pm

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