As their microbe-associated habits suggest, sphaerocerids may carry many pathogenic microorganisms.Greenberg, B., 1971. Flies and Disease, volume I: Ecology, Classification, and Biotic Association. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Although their reclusive habits preclude a major role in disease transmission; some can present a public health hazard on occasion or act as a warning of one. For instance Leptocera caenosa and other sphaerocerids are associated with blocked sewage drains. Some species occasionally reach high population levels in food-processing plants and other buildings where they may indicate blocked drains, waste accumulation and inadequate hygiene. One species, Poecilosomella angulata, has been implicated in human intestinal myiasis They have been implicated as the major means by which nematodes are disseminated among mushroom houses. Sphaeoceridae often coexist with muscoids especially Fannia canicularis and Musca domestica in the complex manure ecosystem of poultry houses, and other confined-animal facilities. Here the sphaeocerids are prey for mites and beetles, which themselves also feed on the immatures of muscoid flies reducing the population of the more problematic muscoids.Axtell, R. C. (1985). Chapter 16: "Poultry Pests". In: Livestock Entomology (Williams et al., editors), Wiley & Sons, New York. pp. 269–293. Carrion-feeding species are useful post mortem interval indicators in forensic entomology.
