How long can a fly survive in a refrigerator?

4.25 minutes

I’m guessing naturally. GQ

Well, it probably won’t suffocate, its teeny tiny lungs can go on that air for quite a long time.

Seriously though, I would guess a looooong time, probably just slowing down to an inert state from the temperature until you open the door again and let some warm in.

Really, though, don’t be mean, let it out!!!

This is what the oracle says…....

At 36°F (2°C), a fly’s survival time is quite limited because flies are cold-blooded insects. When exposed to such low temperatures, their metabolic rate drops significantly, and they enter a state of torpor or become immobilized. While they might not die immediately, their ability to function is severely compromised.

Adult houseflies (Musca domestica) can survive for a short period in such temperatures, typically a few hours to a day or so, depending on the specific conditions.
If kept at 36°F for extended periods without any heat source, most houseflies would die within 1–2 days.

Cold temperatures slow them down considerably, and without warmer conditions, they will eventually perish. However, certain species of flies are more cold-tolerant, such as overwintering flies, which can survive longer in cold environments if they find sheltered spots.

We had one at least survive over night. It obviously flew in the day/night before and was still somewhat alive in the morning. It LOOKED dead, but then started trying to crawl.

If they died that quickly from a short period of cold, any cold night would render flies extinct. I am sure they will be fine for some time.

I’m guessing the “oracle” mentioned above may be AI or someone misinformed.

Crawling up a small notch in reliability, a Pets.com article offers:

“Fleas and their young don’t die overnight when temperatures dip toward freezing. It can take up to 10 days of sustained 37-degrees-or-lower weather. If daytime highs exceed 37 degrees, the fleas might warm up enough to hang in there even longer. But when the weather maintains 37 degrees or colder all day and night for about 10 days, any fleas left outside and exposed will die.”

When I was in college I put a live housefly (Probably the genus Musca) in a jar and put it into a household freezer (don’t recall the temperature but it was likely well below 32*F, 0*C). The next day I took the fly out of the freezer and put it at room temperature. The fly was motionless at first but in a short period of time warmed and became active again.

@Zaku You do realize that the OP et.al. are talking about flies not fleas, right?

@smudges Er, um . . . yes . . . but I guess my eyes are getting worse, and didn’t notice that linked article was about fleas rather than flies.

It did START talking about flies, but then switched to fleas at some point. https://animals.mom.com/cold-affect-house-flies-9167.html

We could discuss how the fly could flee the fridge.

or how fleas could fly into the fridge.

When I was a teenager, I worked in the frozen food and dairy section of a grocery store.
There were always flies walking around the milk. They got drawn in by the occasional leaky jug, and then lose the ability to fly.
They would walk around for some time. It was an open air refrigerated section, I know it wasn’t 30 degrees…

Insects, don’t have lungs, by the way.
That’s what limits their size, in our current atmospheric conditions. They were MUCH bigger, when there was more oxygen in the air, many millions of years ago.

In that ancient atmosphere, humans would be able to run, and never get winded. But. The bugs, would be huge!

@MrGrimm888 It was a joke.

^I was just trying to pass on some knowledge. We aren’t born, with information.
It was nothing personal.

Without looking I think it will survive overnight assuming the fridge is about 40°. There were lots of flies at Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado two days ago and the nights are in the mid 40’s, although not as low as actual 40°s. Maybe a solo fly with nowhere to hide from that temperature won’t make it. Let us know.

Depends. If the fridge was full of my mother’s cooking, 30-seconds after the first nibble.

If it’s full of my wife’s cooking, indefinitely. It might even have its mail forwarded there.

Are there other creatures, in the refrigerator? This could drastically change things.

So, what happened?