How to Get Rid of Flies Like You Have Been Doing It Since Birth

Flies are among the most annoying insects. They fly quickly and are extremely hard to catch. They also present health hazards because they often land on filth before they fly into your home and land on your food. They can infest meat with diseases like salmonella. Their habits also make them good hosts for typhoid, tuberculosis and even dysentery. The nasty creatures also carry lice from one host to another.

Of course, as annoying as flies are, the methods for getting rid of them can be even worse. Endless swatting gets tiresome and, for the most part, does not work. Parents often worry about the toxic sprays that are sold in stores. They want to know how to get rid of flies without using insect spray or sticky fly paper. Fortunately, there are several different ways to get rid of flies without making ourselves sick.

Eliminating flies from your home is done in two stages. The first is controlling them by getting rid of their breeding grounds. The second is killing the grown flies. Once you have done those things, you should continue to monitor the problem areas in and around your home to make sure that they do not come back.

Suggestion: While these methods of fly removal are non-toxic, always use caution when using them around children and pets.

How Does Natural Fly Control Work?

The first stage of getting rid of flies, control, works by interfering with their ability to breed. Common fruit flies and house flies both breed in garbage cans and anywhere there are rotting fruit and vegetables. House flies also breed in manure. Therefore, the best way to control their population is to clean up your house and yard.

Make sure that you take the trash out regularly. Keep both the indoor and outdoor trash cans clean and covered. If you have pets, clean and remove their feces quickly to prevent house flies from hanging around.

The second stage, killing them, works best when you use traps. Fly traps work by attracting flies through their sense of smell and entrapping them in a sticky or wet substance. You can make fly traps inexpensively with items that you already have at home. They usually do not involve the use of substances that are harmful to humans and can be placed relatively inconspicuously around the house.

An Old-Timey Fly Trap

Items needed:

• 2 cups of milk
• A quarter pound of raw sugar
• 2 oz. ground black pepper

For this trap, which was handed down from the Old Farmer’s Almanac in the 1850s, you need to mix all the ingredients in a pan and heat on low for about ten minutes. Pour some of it in several different shallow dishes and place them around the house. Fruit flies attracted by the smell of the black pepper and sugar will land in the mixture and drown in it. Adding a drop of dish soap will enhance the smell and attract the flies’ attention more quickly.

Sugar Water Trap

Items needed:

• Sugar
• Water
• A glass
• A paper cone

Use the sugar and water to make a thick syrup. Pour about an inch into the glass. Cut a hole about 1 centimeter around at the top of the cone, then place it into the jar upside down. Do not allow it to touch the syrup. The flies will be drawn to it and get stuck in the liquid because they can go in through the opening at the top but won’t be able to come out through the other hole.

Additional Advice For Getting Rid of Flies
In addition to keeping your home and yard clean, one more way to get rid of flies is to use repellents. There are store bought repellents that contain deet, but many are concerned about the long term effects of these repellents on children--especially babies. Like other fly control methods, repellents can be made at home out of natural, non-toxic ingredients.

Vodka is a good fly repellent base because for some reason they dislike the smell of it. One repellent mixture uses one cup of vodka, 2 teaspoons of aloe vera juice, half a teaspoon of essential oils and 1 teaspoon of lemon eucalyptus oil. You can spray this mixture on your skin as long as you are not allergic to any of the ingredients, or just spray it in the areas that you want to keep them away from.

Water and lemongrass oil is another good mixture for getting rid of flies. As an added benefit, this mixture also works well as an air freshener.

Chart Showing How To Get Rid Of Flies

Method	How To Use	Notes
Control	Clean and eliminate breeding grounds.	Fruit flies and house flies like rotting fruit and garbage. House flies also breed in manure.
Trapping	Place homemade traps around the house and outdoors.	Keep traps away from pets and children.
Repellents	Spray on yourself, around the house and outdoors	Do not use on your skin if you are allergic to any ingredients.