Nothing can become more annoying than a fly making its way into your house or outdoors and buzzing around constantly. Oh, wait, there is something more annoying: multiple flies! Oh my, talk about a nightmare…
Not only are flies a complete nuisance, but they are also potentially dangerous to your health and that of the ones around you, as well as animals, like horse or dogs. Various species of flies are known to carry nasty diseases triggered by bacteria, such as Salmonella enteritidis.
Flies continuously travel from feces, to decomposing food and even to animal cadavers.
This should really make you reconsider their presence in your home, so we have prepared a list of 12 awesome tips on how to get rid of flies quickly so we can make your life a whole lot easier (some of which apply to ants and gnats, as well). Check out all of the ways you can eliminate them below!
Here are our 12 tips on getting rid of flies in your house, in no particular order.
If you want to learn how to get rid of flies, you have to start from the basics. One of the main reasons why flies are getting into your house or around your yard outside is that you don’t properly dispose of your wet garbage. Think about it: a moist context such as garbage can attract flies to lay no less than 150 eggs!
This means that you have to be extra careful if you have trash cans around your house, especially in the kitchen. Make sure that they are closed at all times and take out the garbage at least once a day in order to avoid these pesky little creatures.
Why not naturally protect your home from flies and make it smell fantastic at the same time? Well, homemade lemongrass spray just might do the trick. This do-it-yourself repellent is really easy to make and will help you fight off those tiny fiends fast.
Flies have proven to detest the scent of lemongrass with just two main ingredients and a spray bottle. The ingredients you are going to need are about 12 drops of lemongrass essential oil and ¼ of a cup of hot water.
First, you put the oil in the bottle and then add the hot water, afterwards shaking well so the oil and water mix together. Spray this anywhere you find necessary or actually on the flies.
Just like lemongrass, flies really can’t stand the scent of lavender. You can take a few drops of essential lavender oil onto a cloth and rub your doorways and windows, where flies are probably coming into your house.
You should know that this particular natural home remedy needs to be reapplied frequently for best results. Likewise, make sure that the oil won’t affect the wood or area you are preparing to rub on.
Some other plants that have the power to steer flies away are basil, bay leaf, marigold, mint, rue, tansy, or wormwood.
Apple cider vinegar, we meet again! As you probably already know, apple cider vinegar (ACV) is incredible for countless home remedies. In the case of “how to get rid of flies,” ACV acts as an excellent repellent, especially for fruit flies, as they are lured by fermenting scents.
Heating up the vinegar makes this tip work even better, so you should try it out. You need about half a cup of apple cider vinegar and a glass jar with a lid. You can heat the apple cider vinegar in the microwave oven, and while it heats you can make some holes (large enough so the flies can enter) in the lid of your jar, like a drain.
If you don’t have a lid or you don’t want to puncture it, get a funnel and put the narrower side inside the jar. Afterwards, pour the heated apple cider vinegar and either put the punctured lid over or add the funnel.
Leave the jar where flies tend to roam and let it sit for one day. You will see that the flies will become trapped in the jar, as they don’t know how to get back out.
Another homemade spray you can make to get rid of flies involves cayenne pepper. Like lavender and lemongrass, cayenne pepper will annoy flies and help you eliminate them from your house.
All you need to do is get some cayenne pepper, water, and a spray bottle. Take the ingredients and mix them inside the spray bottle, shaking well. After that, spray the solution onto corners, cracks, windows, and anywhere else where the flies might enter your house.
I guarantee that the scent of cayenne pepper will help you keep them out.
While humans enjoy the scent of cloves, flies truly can’t stand it. This particular spice is fantastic for warding off flies, especially in combination with lemons.
For this tip, you are going to need two lemons and anywhere from 25 to 50 cloves. Take a knife and slice the lemons into halves, poking 6 to 12 cloves into each of your halves. Use the sharper part of the clove to poke inside the lemon half, afterwards taking the four halves of lemons and placing them on a plate.
Not only does this arrangement act as a neat decoration for meals, but it will also help you keep those irritating flies away. Alternatively, you can add some cloves to a muslin bag and hang it in regions that tend to attract flies.
It appears that flies are as fond of wining and dining as we are. Like we mentioned before, fermentation attracts flies, so wine acts as an excellent method for trapping them.
It doesn’t matter what type of wine you use, both white and red will work just fine. Fill a glass with approximately one half of a cup of wine and let it sit in the fly-infected area. If you wait for a little bit of time, you will soon see flies in the glass.
If you want to take extra precautions, add some dish wash liquid to the wine for a fool-proof fly trap. For the second way, it’s best if you pour the wine and dish wash liquid into a bowl and leave it in the area of infestation.
While it may seem like a no-brainer, one of the most efficient pieces of advice on how to get rid of flies that we can offer you is simply being careful with storing food.
All flies are attracted to food that lies around, so it’s best if you store your items in your pantry or refrigerator. Fruit seems to attract them in particular, so make sure you keep them in a cool area.
Not only will you see fewer flies in your home, but you will also be enjoying fresh fruit for a longer period of time.
Even though it sounds harmless and delicious, honey can become the worst enemy of a fly. The lovely sweet scent of honey will lure the fly, and it will get stuck once it has landed on it. If you don’t have any honey around the house, you can use any type of fruit jam for the same effect. Flies will be just as attracted and they won’t be able to get out after touching it.
To make an efficient trap, you are going to need a plastic bottle or a soda can, dish wash liquid, water, and about two teaspoons of honey. Cut either the bottle or the can in two halves, making sure you don’t injure yourself on the sharp edges. Fill half of the bottom half with water, adding a couple of drops of dish wash liquid.
Afterwards, you have to take the other half of the bottle (without the cap) or the can and place it upside down into the larger half. Spread the fruit jam or the honey around the mouth of your bottle or can that is placed upside down in the larger half. Leave the trap in the designated region and watch the flies drown in the water they had been attracted to.
Although it sounds a bit sadistic, it will surely help you get rid of them.
If you’re an avid reader of Home Remedy Shop, you already know that we absolutely love do-it-yourself projects. That is why we have decided to offer you a solution for store-bought flypaper strips, one that you can make at home.
Take ¼ cup of sugary syrup like corn or golden and mix it with ¼ cup of sugar. After that, cut out strips of either brown paper or narrow cardboard, like the one from a box of cereal. Cut a hole out of the top part and put a string trough it so you will be able to hang your strips.
Apply the sweet mixture onto the strips with the help of a paintbrush and allow all of your strips to dry.
In the end, all you have to do is hang them where you’re having difficulties with flies, watch them flying towards them and getting trapped in the substance and then throw away the strips after you are finally rid of them.
Another effective method for how to get rid of flies is camphor or citronella smoke. These are both reliable ways to repel flies.
Flies generally hate smoke already, and smoke from camphor and citronella becomes even more effective. To try this, simply light a citronella candle or a piece of camphor and spread the smoke to the fly-infested area. You’ll see the flies instantly leave.
This is an excellent trap for getting rid of fruit flies. It’s been used since the ancient times to get rid of flies. To make this, you need:
Pour all of these ingredients into a pan and heat it for 5-10 minutes on simmer. After, remove it from heat and pour it in shallow bowls. Keep them near the fly-infested area.
Fruit flies will instantly be attracted to the mixture. As soon as they land on it, they’ll suffocate and drown. It seems a bit demonic, but it’s extremely effective!
Homemade traps are one of the simplest ways to figuring out how to get rid of flies in your home. However, if the traps seem like they aren’t working and you just can’t figure out how to get rid of flies, then you may want to contact pest control.
They’ll be able to identify exactly what type of fly it is that you have an issue with, as well as their breeding sites and their areas of activity.
Do you have any tips for how to get rid of flies that we didn’t mention? Let us know what it is in the comments!
Photo credits: Suterra.com, Aspiredsteps.com.
