Flies can be easily repelled with white vinegar, so much so that even the smell of boiling vinegar can be an easy-to-make DIY fly repellent on its own. Pour some cider vinegar into a pot or jar to start making your fly repellent.
Does Vinegar, Dish Soap, Essential Oils Repel Flies? Vinegar attracts, not repels flies; however, a container with vinegar and dish soap will function as an attractant trap as the vinegar lures flies to enter the trap and the dish soap will cause the flies to sink and die.
Cinnamon – use cinnamon as an air freshner, as flies hate the smell! Lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils – Not only will spraying these oils around the house create a beautiful aroma, but they will also deter those pesky flies too.
The Saint Louis Science Center performed this fly trap experiment with two different vinegars: white and apple cider. The white vinegar is too pungent, and lacks sweetness, to attract fruit flies. However, apple cider vinegar brings in fruit flies by the dozens.
You can also take some of the white vinegar and pour it down the drains too as the white vinegar will instantly kill any fruit flies, eggs, or larvae on contact as it goes down the drain.
Cayenne pepper is an excellent natural fly repellent and also deters many other insects. Mix one cup of water and one teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a misting bottle and spray it near entryways and wherever you see flies. Other natural fly repellents include lemongrass, peppermint, eucalyptus, camphor, and cinnamon.
Vinegar (or acetic acid) is the ultimate product of the fermentation process in fruit, which is why fruit flies are attracted to vinegar odor.
Apple cider vinegar and Dawn work great for the killing part, while sugar will attract them. If you have a big house fly problem, the milk jug fly trap works well.
Choose from either chemical sprays, household cleaners, or hairspray. Chemical sprays kill flies instantly upon contact, though they contain harsh chemicals. You can also spray the flies with household cleaners, like Windex or Formula 409, or with an aerosol like hairspray. All of these sprays will help you kill a fly.
If you don't have witch hazel on hand, try using vinegar instead. This natural pest control spray will not only help keep flies away but will also leave your home smelling fresh and clean.
Acetic acid makes vinegar an excellent tool for pest control, repelling some of the most common backyard nuisances and even killing weaker insects. It's most effective against ants, spiders, and mosquitos. You can keep spiders from entering your home by spraying vinegar around your property's perimeter and entryways.
Does honey actually help you catch flies? Well, it's definitely going to help you more than vinegar generally will, at least (though apple cider vinegar can be used to attract them too). Flies may be attracted to the sweetness of honey. Of course, that sweetness can be a fly's downfall, since it's also quite sticky.
Common house flies are attracted to decaying organic filth such as feces and rotting meat, whereas fruit flies seek sugary substances and feed more commonly on overripe fruit, spilled soda, and alcohol.
A foul rotting piece of organic matter (from food, to feces, and everything in between) is probably the reason why the house flies are growing at an alarming rate in your home. It is the perfect breeding ground for houseflies and they will show up near and far to take advantage of the filth that is available to them.
YSK that spraying flies with windex will knock them out of the air rather quickly, allowing you to easily get rid of them. : r/YouShouldKnow.
Use Fly Bait or Traps
Pine oil cleaner is one of the best fly repellents for your patio. Flies hate the odor of pine, so they'll stay away if you use it to clean your patio space. If you're looking for a more permanent solution, you can use fly bait or sticky traps to lure and kill the bugs.
Flies cannot fly off at an angle and have to fly straight upwards before being able to head off in another direction. This leaves them vulnerable for the first few inches of their flight and easier to trap. Another weakness is the fly's inability to respond when confronted with two threats at the same time.
There are many types of insect repellents, and some are more effective than others. A home-made lotion of Dettol and olive oil (front left) does work, but not as well as products containing DEET (diethyl toluamide). A cream containing DEET (front right) is the most effective known repellent.
Flies are just like us – they spend the entire day buzzing around with their friends and get pretty tired at bedtime. Before sunset, a sleepy fly will try and find a safe place to rest. Some favourite places are on the undersides of leaves, twigs, and branches, or even in tall grass or under rocks.