Clean up and break the cycle Danny recommends regular cleaning of food preparation areas like kitchen countertops. Speedy removal of any pet faeces is also crucial in order to make your home less appealing to flies. It's also a good idea to use rubbish bags and cover rubbish bins to prevent population increase.
Eucalyptus oil is a good option, but you can also use lavender, citrus, pine, clove, peppermint, and thyme essential oils. Most flies hate these scents, so the oils will act as a fly repellent.
Grow plants outdoors that naturally repel flies including lavender, tansy, bay leaf, nasturtiums, basil and mint. Add eucalyptus oil to cloth strips and hang them around the windows. Place lemon halves on window sills and about 20 cloves to them. Hang a bag of water over your exterior doors.
Therefore, if you find that you suddenly have a lot of flies in your house, chances are there's decaying matter somewhere. No matter how clean you keep your house, you probably have something rotting somewhere. For example, garbage cans and garbage disposals. These spots are prime breeding sites for flies.
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.
Scents that they're particularly opposed to are the strong, pungent odors, like clove, lavender, mint, lemongrass, eucalyptus, rosemary and citronella. Apply a few drops of these oils to strips of cloth to make DIY fly paper, or spray your deck and patio to keep flies away from the periphery of your home.
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 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.
First, check your screens and windows for holes, and remind your family to close the door behind them. Then, make sure your house is clean. House flies are attracted to things that make you go "ew," like pet waste, drain gunk (especially if you have a garbage disposal), overripe produce, trash cans, and sticky spills.
Door Traffic
One of the main reasons flies are getting into your home when the windows are closed is because you may have a lot of door traffic. If you and other people consistently go in and out of a door, this is prime time for flies to enter your home.
Pour some cider vinegar into a pot or jar to start making your fly repellent. Add one drop of dishwashing liquid. Cover the pot with cling film and pierce it in several places. Leave in areas where you have seen flies.
The product you need to get rid of house flies effectively is actually apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is known for its beneficial health properties and antibacterial action, but did you know that it's irresistible to house flies? The idea is to trap them in an apple cider vinegar bath and drown them.
1. Apple cider vinegar and plastic wrap trap. For this DIY fruit fly trap, sweet apple cider vinegar (ACV) is more effective than white vinegar. They can't resist the scent of vinegar, and they won't be able to exit once they're inside!
Things Flies Hate
Basil, bay leaf, cedar, cinnamon, citrus, citronella, cloves, cucumber slices or peels, lavender, marigolds, mint, peppermint, pine, rosemary, and vanilla oils and air fresheners are a few popular choices for fly repellents.
Natural fly deterrents
Flies hate the smell of essential oils like lemon grass, peppermint, lavender and eucalyptus – put a few drops in a spray bottle and use around the house daily. They also hate the smell of camphor (a traditional moth deterrent) which you can buy online, cloves and cinnamon.
✔️Mix apple cider vinegar and dish soap.
Combine equal parts of the two in a small bowl and add a pinch of sugar to the mix. Ideally, the dish soap will have a fruity smell. “The fermented smell from the vinegar can attract flies,” Pereira says. “But the soap is really what will kill them.”
Flies usually find moisture around garbage or another source of food. Keep garbage cans sealed whenever you aren't using them. Take out all your garbage every night before bed. Rinse out and dry containers before disposing of them.
Check your kitchen, bathrooms, basement, trash cans, litter boxes, and drains for these insects. Many flies are also attracted to light, so look for them near sources of light in your home at night.
House flies typically lay eggs on animal feces and garbage. White, legless maggots (the larval stage) hatch from the eggs and grow to about ½ inch.
Flies are repelled by vinegar, and the smell of boiling vinegar can make them leave. Pour some malt vinegar in a pot or pan, let it boil, and wait for the flies to desperately try to escape.
Experts swear by apple cider vinegar traps as the best way to get rid of fruit flies. You can also use white vinegar in a pinch.
Vinegar (or acetic acid) is the ultimate product of the fermentation process in fruit, which is why fruit flies are attracted to vinegar odor. However, both low and high concentrations of vinegar odor leave flies indifferent (left).