Flies are naturally drawn to spoiled or rotting food, overripe fruits, and garbage cans filled with organic matter. These sources provide ample nourishment and breeding sites, making your home an attractive environment for them.
Pour some vinegar into a cup or bowl. Stretch plastic wrap over the top and poke some holes in it. The flies will enter, get trapped, and die. Change out the vinegar periodically.
Not only that, but adult flies lay their eggs in the matter as well – and they lay a whole lot of them. Dead animals, rotting meat, or open compost heaps can draw these pests into your home. Structural gaps, such as cracks in walls or poorly sealed windows, provide entry points for flies seeking warmth or shelter.
Flies get inside for a number of reasons, usually in pursuit of trash, rotting food, or moisture. A common house fly is attracted to decaying organic matter like feces and rotting meat. Drain flies, on the other hand, are attracted to moisture and will lay their eggs inside of drains.
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.
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.
The large, black, pesky flies that show up in bedrooms and on window sills from late fall through early spring are common household pests. These flies are known as cluster flies, a name that describes their habit of clustering in large numbers inside attics.
Leaky pipes, bowls of water for your four-legged friends, and even the drips from a faulty faucet can entice bothersome bugs — especially those who are attracted to moist, damp areas. Standing water can attract pests of all kinds, but even overly humid areas in your home can draw in unwanted intruders.
The entire life cycle of a cluster fly generally takes four to six weeks to complete. However, by invading and overwintering indoors, a cluster fly infestation can persist for several months and continue to be a nuisance until proper removal measures are implemented.
The best homemade fly trap is one that can attract both house flies and fruit flies. To lure both outdoors, mix scraps of rotting meat, like fish or chicken, with sugar or honey. When indoors, the best bait is old fruit or honey. Liquid dish soap is exactly what you need to drown the flies.
Drain flies are very small, measuring between ⅙ and ¼ of an inch long. They have small, hairy bodies that are brown-gray or black that have a fuzzy appearance. Their wings are also hairy and shaped like leaves. When a drain fly is at rest, the wings sit over the body like a roof for protection.
The quickest reasons tend to be: Flies breeding on improperly stored food or in open garbage that hasn't been taken out. Flies coming in as eggs or larvae in new houseplants and then emerging. Flies discovering open windows or doors that allow them easy access indoors.
Vanilla extract, pine, or lavender oil repels biting black flies and mosquitoes too. Herbs like anise, basil, cedarwood, coriander, lemongrass, and mint may work to repel black flies and can be planted in flower boxes or pots and around the edges of your yard. Garlic plants are also reported to have a repelling effect.
Different flies have different breeding sites, but examining your compost, garbage cans, uncovered fruit or produce, and drains for maggots is a good place to start.
In addition to making your house smell minty fresh, herbs like spearmint and peppermint can also keep flies at bay. Mint grows quickly and makes an excellent addition to your backyard garden or your windowsill. For those who lack a green thumb, spearmint or peppermint essential oils can also prevent fly infestations.
Like many fly sprays, Pine Sol contains a stinky plant pine oil – pine. Flies hate it. Don't use Pine Sol straight from the bottle, though. To make your Pine Sol fly repellant mix ⅓ water, ⅓ vinegar, and ⅓ Original Scent Pine Sol.
Afraid of shadows
Gibson and his team enclosed flies in an arena where the buzzing insects were exposed repeatedly to an overhead shadow. The flies looked startled and, if flying, increased their speed. Occasionally the flies froze in place, a defensive behaviour also observed in the fear responses of rodents.
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.