How to Get Rid of Flies Outside

Jin Linh
Jin Linh
Aug 23, 2017 · 3 min read

Learning how to get rid of flies is crucial to preventing their entry into your home and transmitting diseases such as dysentery, cholera and even tuberculosis. The first step in successful control of a fly problem is to inspect your property in order to determine where the flies are living and breeding. Once this is known, the below guide will give you a comprehensive coverage of the options available to eliminate flies from your home.

12 Ways to Get Rid of Flies Outside

1. Keep Your Yard Clean. Flies are attracted to strong odors. If you eliminate these sources, you will reduce the fly population outside your home. For example, picking up dog feces and keeping your garbage lids tightly closed. One option is to place the dog feces in a sealable bag before throwing it into your trash can.

2. Cut Your Lawn. Flies love tall grass so keep your lawn trimmed and don’t leave piles of cut grass or leaves in your yard.

3. Empty Out Stagnant Water. Flies are attracted to moisture and standing water so keep the water buckets, bird baths and containers empty. It is also a good idea to get rid of any other debris that could retain rain water from your backyard.

4. Make Fly Traps. Mix molasses and cornmeal to place it in a shallow dish. Put the dish away from your patio — the flies can congregate there while you enjoy your meal in peace. You can also pour ½ cup of sugar water syrup in a wide-mouthed glass jar and fit a cone on the glass jar. Flies will attract to the sweet liquid inside the trap and crawl in through the cone but they won’t be able to figure their way out once inside.

5. Place Fly Light Traps Out at Night. A fly light trap attracts flies and zaps them. Try hanging them around the backyard.

6. Hang Vodka Bags. Flies avoid the smell of vodka. Try hanging quarter gallon freezer bags of vodka around your porch with a string to a gutter.

7. Buy Carnivorous Plants. While some plants simply repel flies, others eat flies. Try placing Venus Fly Traps or Pitcher Plants outside your home. These plants trap, then digest flies and other insects when they land on them.

8. Plant Herbs. Flies avoid the scents of some plants such as: Basil, Elderberry, Lavender, Mint, and False Indigo. These plants are a great way to rid of flies outside your house and in your home.

9. Don’t Destroy Spider Webs. Spiders are a natural predator, often times feeding on flies. Some of those webs maybe be better off kept intact.

10. Set up outdoor and indoor fans. Flies avoid the breeze. Simply install or bring a portable fan in the room if you are entertaining and deter flies naturally.

11. Place Cloves in a Decorative Bowl. The smell of cloves repels flies from landing on food.

12. Avoid leaving meat out. Flies are strongly attracted to strong odors such as the smell of meat. If you are meal prepping or barbecuing, keep all meat covered tightly and keep the barbecue lid closed when cooking. It is also to ensure that any rotting meat or carcass in your area is buried properly as this will strongly attract flies.

For more information on how to get rid of flies in and around your home, refer to our Pest Control Services section. Contact us at Signature Pest Control. Our specialists service industrial, commercial, and residential properties using integrated pest management (IPM) strategies to balance effectiveness with the safety of humans, animals, and the environment. Don’t let a bedbug infestation become a costly, out of control mess.

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