As southern Australia and northern Western Australia prepare for a wave of warm weather, it's the perfect time to learn how to create a harmonious home environment while respecting the incredible insects that share our world.

Dr Bryan Lessard, an entomologist and science communicator affectionately known as "The Fly Guy," brings wonderful news about our buzzing companions: among the 30,000 different fly species, only a small handful are bothersome. The rest play crucial roles in our ecosystem as prolific pollinators, helping our gardens and native plants thrive.

Understanding our tiny neighbors makes coexisting with them much easier. Flies are cold-blooded creatures who become more energetic in warm weather, which explains their increased presence during heatwaves. Rather than appearing overnight, they've been around all along—the heat simply makes them more active and noticeable.

The good news is that maintaining a fly-friendly yet comfortable home is remarkably straightforward. James Plant, director of environmental health at the Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit, emphasizes that flies are generally more of a minor nuisance than a serious concern. With some simple adjustments, you can keep your living space fresh and inviting.

Creating a welcoming home for humans while gently discouraging fly visitors starts with basic cleanliness. Regularly removing kitchen waste before it becomes attractive to flies makes a world of difference. Keeping food covered and using fly screens wherever possible creates natural boundaries that work for everyone. These small habits not only keep your home pleasant but also prevent the rapid development of fly larvae during warm weather when their life cycle can speed up significantly.

Dr Dan Bickel from the Australian Museum offers reassuring perspective: flies come with changing air masses and can leave just as quickly as they arrive. This temporary nature of their visits makes managing them even more achievable.

For outdoor entertaining, the solutions are equally gentle and effective. Dr Lessard recommends a wonderfully simple trick for covered patios—just turn on a fan. The breeze naturally keeps flies and mosquitoes at bay without any harmful chemicals or devices. When it comes to outdoor dining, keeping food covered and waste removed creates an enjoyable environment for your gatherings.

Perhaps most exciting is Dr Lessard's suggestion to transform your garden into a natural pest management system. By planting more native flowering plants, you'll attract beneficial insects and spiders that naturally help balance fly populations. This creates a thriving, biodiverse garden ecosystem that looks beautiful and works with nature rather than against it.

Dr Lessard's philosophy is refreshingly hopeful: "We definitely want to shift our mindset from killing insects to how do we actually encourage them to survive and thrive." For the occasional indoor visitor, he suggests simply opening a door and gently shooing them outside—a kind solution that respects their important role in our world.

These warm months offer us a wonderful opportunity to practice mindful coexistence with nature while maintaining comfortable, clean homes through simple, sustainable habits.