4 Methods to Get Rid Of Flies in the House

Reduce Fly Attractants

Many people ask, "Why are there flies in my house?" They usually don't realize that they have fly attractants in their house. Here's what you should do to avoid finding flies in the house:

• Clean your kitchen thoroughly. Cover your food and restrict access to food leftovers to avoid attracting flies in the house. Don't leave dishes dirty – wash them immediately after use. Scrape crumbs into the bin and put rotting food in a compost pile or leave it outside the house.

• Cover compost buckets. Never leave compost buckets uncovered when in the kitchen. It serves as a main attractant for flies and gives them a suitable environment to lay eggs.

• Cover pet food. You need to cover pet food when your pet is not eating it, and make sure to remove uneaten food to avoid attracting flies. You should also clean pet food dishes because food particles will provide enough food supply for flies to enter your house.

Try Fly Repellents

It is usually not enough to eliminate fly attractants to avoid having flies in the house. Your next line of defense is to use fly repellents. Here's what you can do about it:

• Try vodka bags: Flies are not a fan of Vodka – they just hate its smell. Keeping vodka bags in your kitchen or home may help repel flies. Applying some vodka on your skin will also help keep flies at bay.

• Try repellent oils: You can use natural oils, like eucalyptus oil, citronella oil, lavender oil, lemongrass oil, or pennyroyal oil to repel flies.

• Use cloves: Just like Vodka, flies hate the smell of cloves. Keep 10-15 cloves on your dining table to help repel those annoying pests. You may even use clove oil to ward off flies.

• Prepare a fly repellent lotion: Mix half cup of apple cider vinegar and half cup of hazel. Now, add 60 drops of eucalyptus oil in this solution. Shake it well. Your homemade fly repellent lotion is ready that you can apply on your skin to keep flies at bay. Don't let this lotion come into contact with your eyes though.

• Use herbs: You can use certain aromatic plants, such as basil, elder, mint, and lavender to deter flies. Grow them in your backyard or bring home some potted plants to keep flies out of your house.

Make Traps for Flies

If you still have flies in the house even after eliminating attractants and using repellants, you can do something else. Make a trap! You can make a fly trap by pouring some sugar syrup in a wide-mouthed jar and then place a cone with 1cm diameter hole at its apex inside the jar. Place it in an upside down position to ensure it doesn’t touch the liquid. Once in, the flies won't be able to get out of the jar. Here are some other ways to trap flies:

• Use fly papers: Using this is a cheap yet effective way to trap flies. They have a thin coating of a sweet fragrance that attracts flies. The paper is extremely sticky, so the flies cannot fly away once they land on the paper. Some papers also have a poisonous substance on its surface that kills flies.

• Use vacuum cleaner: It's a small yet powerful vacuum cleaner used primarily to get rid of bugs. This handheld cleaner runs of batteries, so you can take it anywhere and turn it on while pointing its nozzle towards the flies. Remember, the flies won't die while inside the vacuum, so it is important to clean it after every use.

• Try disposable fly traps: You can buy some disposable fly traps that have some fly attractants inside the bag. You have to fill these bags with water to activate the smell. The flies will enter the bag and die in the water.

Use Chemical Sprays for Flies

It sometimes becomes important to make use of chemical sprays to get rid of fly infestations. You can use chemical sprays available in the market. The problem is that most of these sprays are quite toxic and may have detrimental health effects – they are equally damaging for the environment.

This leaves you with another option – make your own homemade fly killer sprays. It's simple – you simply need to make a solution by mixing your regular dish soap in water. The soap contains borax that will kill flies.

If you choose to use chemical sprays, remember:

• It is important to read the labels if you're opting for toxic chemicals to kill flies in the house. You don't always need to use toxic chemicals to deter flies – there are many other effective ways. It is therefore important to try other options before switching to products with toxic chemicals. Simply keeping your house clean is the best way to make flies look for another house.

• Don't opt for vaporized chemical products to kill insects. You should avoid them especially in rooms where there are babies, elderly or immune-compromised people.