AbstractHouseflies, Musca domestica L., are a significant pest because of the numerous diseases they transmit. Control of housefly populations, particularly at animal production facilities, is frequently done using pyrethroid insecticides which kill insects by prolonging the open time of the voltage‐sensitive sodium channel (VSSC). Houseflies have evolved resistance to pyrethroids owing to mutations in Vssc and by cytochrome‐P450‐mediated detoxification. Three Vssc mutations are known: kdr (L1014F), kdr‐his (L1014H) and super‐kdr (M918T + L1014F). Generally, the levels of resistance conferred by these mutations are kdr‐his < kdr < super‐kdr, but this pattern does not hold for multihalogenated benzyl pyrethroids, for which super‐kdr confers less resistance than kdr. P450‐mediated resistance can result from overexpression of CYP6D1 or another P450 (unidentified) whose overexpression is linked to autosomes II or V. The initial use of field‐stable pyrethroids resulted in different patterns of evolution across the globe, but with time these mutations have become more widespread in their distribution. What is known about the fitness costs of the resistance alleles in the absence of insecticide is discussed, particularly with respect to the current and future utility of pyrethroid insecticides. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry