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Tuesday 22 June 2021

Ways to get rid of house flies in your home

Well, you can't say there isn't variety on this blog. Whether it be articles and studies about diabetes and living the low carb lifestyle, to a wide variety of recipe suggestions, and even wildlife photography - there is variety - and they do say 'variety is the spice of life'.

But how about this one?

Are you wondering how to get rid of house flies in your home?
The common pests — with a single pair of wings and compound red eyes — are known for breeding in kitchen bins, faeces, or on piles of spoiled food. To help you prevent house flies, this article has rounded up the best advice and natural methods to try.

While house flies might be frustratingly difficult to get rid of, there are some natural ways to keep them out of your home. 

image from here

How to get rid of a house fly infestation
"Prevention is better than cure. The best way to keep flies away is to limit a fly's access to food and water – particularly in your kitchen," Natalie Bungay, Technical Officer, at the British Pest Control Association says.

House flies have a short lifespan, but they can reproduce quickly and in large numbers. If you are worried about an infestation of flies in your home, it is advised you call the professionals. Professionals will be able to safely and effectively deal with the pests, so it's always worth asking for help if you are unsure.

"The best way to deal with a fly problem is to prevent an infestation from forming in the first place. There are some easy and practical steps you can take to help deter flies from your home.

Ways to keep flies away include
Make sure all food waste is correctly disposed of in a bin with a lid.
Keep outside bins secure with sealed lids and away from windows and doors.
Clean up food and water spills as soon as they occur.
Keep your food covered to stop flies landing and subsequently feeding off your plate.
Keep windows and doors closed or install fly screens to keep out home-invaders.
Deny flies access by keeping doors closed after dark, or block out the light with curtains.
Clean up after your pets, as faeces is the perfect breeding place for flies.
Remove any dead flies, as these can be a food source for other pests such as carpet beetles.

Homemade remedies to help get rid of house flies
Homemade remedies can also be a great way to naturally keep house flies out of the home — and brilliantly, too, they are incredibly easy to make yourself.

You can try to
Put a few drops of eucalyptus oil onto a cloth and hang them near doors or windows.
Place mint on kitchen window sills — this will also keep them away.
Cut up fresh orange peel and place onto a plate.
Citronella candles can help to keep flies away, especially in the garden.

Are house flies dangerous?
"Keeping flies away from your food is vital for protecting your health. The adage 'if you followed a fly for a day, you wouldn’t eat for a week' is entirely accurate," 
"Flies feed by vomiting saliva onto your food, stamping their dirty legs up and down in the sick, and then sucking up the resulting liquid. The bacteria from its gut can transmit everything from food poisoning to cholera."

What do house flies look like?
House flies have
Six legs
A small, oval body
Antennas
They are usually grey in appearance and display four black stripes on their chest
Adult house flies are about 4 to 7.5mm long
Female house flies are usually larger than males

What do I do if I have a lot of flies in my house?
Most often, if you find you have a lot of flies in your house, they are entering through small cracks in walls or doors. House flies can often be more of a problem during the summer months, especially as the weather gets warmer. As well as this, they also breed in filth (such as bins, rotting food and dirt), so one of the ways to keep them at bay is to ensure your house is clean. Seal any bins, keep surfaces sanitised and don't leave food out on the counter.

Don't forget to
Check for any food waste which could be attracting flies
Empty your bins regularly
Clean under and around your appliances

What attracts flies in your house?
"Spotting a few flies buzzing around does not necessarily mean you have a serious fly problem, although you should probably start keeping an eye out for other tell-tale signs, such as small dark clusters of spots in light areas and the presence of maggots." Common house flies are attracted to rotten items such as faeces, pet waste and rotting meat, whereas fruit flies are more likely to seek sugary substances such as overripe fruit, spilled fizzy drinks, and alcohol.

House flies are drawn to
Dirty conditions
Spilt food
Sticky surfaces from drink spillages
Scum at the bottom of drains
Faeces and pet waste
Alcohol

Where do flies lay their eggs in a house?
House flies will commonly lay their eggs in any warm, moist material. When the weather is warm, eggs will hatch in around 12 to 24 hours.

Some places flies might lay their eggs include
Piles of rubbish and waste
Decaying material such as grass clippings
Faeces

Are houseflies harmful?
Houseflies aren't harmful, but are just a nuisance. One thing to note is that they do carry bacteria and germs, so be careful if they land on your food before eating. 

Some of the diseases they carry include
Food poisoning
Cholera
Eye infections
E. coli
Typhoid fever
Dysentery
Tuberculosis

How to keep flies away outside
It's not only in the home that the flying creatures buzz around in, they regularly fly around our garden spaces (particularly if there's food involved). If you're looking for clever ways to keep flies at bay, one of the key ways of outdoor fly prevention is knowing what they don't like.

image from here

Natural ways to keep them away outside includes
Placing whole cloves into a ripe apple or a piece of citrus and placing it onto a plate.
Growing lavender is also a natural way to keep flies away as they don't like the smell.
Place citrus fruits and skins in a muslin cloth bag outside.
Flies also don't like basil, so these are brilliant to have growing outside.
Nasturtiums planted in the garden will also keep the flies away.
Above words, and more, can be seen at article here


Did you know, that as well as having 
Nasturtiums planted in the garden to help keep the flies away, nasturtiums, also called Indian Cress, are a wonderful addition to livening up your herb garden, because this bushy plant's edible flowers and leaves are high in vitamin C and add a spicy, peppery flavour to salads and stir-fries. Pickled nasturtium seed pods even make a wonderful culinary substitute for capers. Nasturtiums are easy to grow in a wide range of soil conditions. Read more here

You will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

40 comments:

Christine said...

Thanks for the tips.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Growing lavender...I didn't know that! Our houses are pretty tight here so we rarely have a fly inside but we sure have had deer flies and horse flies on our hikes. They BITE! I hate to spray but I carry it in my backpack just in case they get after me! Well...I took this in another direction! heehee! Hugs!

J.P. Alexander said...

Gracias por los consejos las moscas siempre son una molestia. Te mando un beso

Tom said...

...they sure can be pesky!

peppylady (Dora) said...

It seem marigold and nasturtims keep way lot of unwanted things.
Coffee is on and stay safe

Elephant's Child said...

Thank you.
And you have reminded me of yet another reason I like winter.

Valerie-Jael said...

Thanks for the tips! Valerie

Margaret D said...

Thank goodness we don't get hardly any house flies inside our house. We have fly screens and doors.
Good article to read though, I enjoyed it.

aussie aNNie said...

They are pesty and dirty creatures for sure...x

Fun60 said...

Not the best article to read before breakfast!

mamasmercantile said...

They certainly can be a nuisance. An interesting post.

Jo said...

Lots of good tips. I can't stand having flies flying about the house, one of the pains of having windows open in the summer.

Sue said...

Ugh I hate flies! I would never harm a spider, but the flies get squirted! Take care and have a great week, Sue xx

eileeninmd said...

Thanks for the tips!
Take care, enjoy your day!

R's Rue said...

Thank you for the tips. I appreciate it. Have a great day.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com

Martha said...

Here in Florida it's not often we have the weather to have doors or windows open so it's rare to ever have flies in the house. Great tips Jan.

Miss Val's Creations said...

A lot of great tips for keeping the flies away! We used to have this problem until moving to a warmer climate. There must be more predators down here year round keeping the fly population under control.

My name is Erika. said...

You had me with this title as I hate it when one slips through an open door. Thanks for all the good advice. I will try the eucalyptus oil first!

Sondra said...

I don't get flies, unless I have opened the screen porch door and forgotten to close it, but somehow these tiny gnats get in and they find their way right up to my face!! ANNOYING as can be. I've never had luck growing lavender but maybe some essential oil would work. TC

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

I hate flies, Jan! I’m good about not having them in the house. However, They bother me when I’m sitting outside. Maybe I need to move my basil plant over to where I sit??

Conniecrafter said...

Flies are not to much of a problem but we seem to have gnats, and I have tried the suggestions on the internet and those little buggers just keep coming, this is the first year it hasn't been as bad, so maybe we will be done with them.

Sami said...

Great info Jan. They are a nuisance in Summer. Will have to plant nasturtiums closer to the house.

DMS said...

Well- I learned a lot about flies! Yikes- I knew some of this, but some was new for sure. Good to have advice of some good ways that might detour them at home. ~Jess

gluten Free A_Z Blog said...

This was really helpful although I usually forget to close a door and the flies come in. My bigger problem is with fruit flies.

Jenn Jilks said...

We used to have a cat who was the best at catching the odd one!
That said, it was a tick today. The flies are too bad here!

DVArtist said...

Great post. Have a nice day.

Evi Erlinda said...

Thanks for the useful tips!

happyone said...

Lots of good advice here. Flies are pretty creepy!!

Jeff said...

Thanks for the information, but that description of fly feeding brought flashbacks of every food I've eaten when flies were present! :)

https://linsartyblobs.blogspot.com said...

I don't like flies. I've seen more ants around this year.

Snowbird said...

What a useful post! I shall be using a lot more eucalyptus oil in my burners now. Goodness, flies are indeed gross, the amount of animals I've seen with fly stike, they are the only things I kill.xxx

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Good tips to reduce the chance of the little rascals entering our homes. I have lavender and basil growing in pots on our patio. Nice to learn that fly don't like them!

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Thank you for sharing this information. (Little fruit flies that are attracted to overripe bananas are also unpleasant house "guests.")

Jeanie said...

Well, this is fascinating. I don't get many flies at home except at the end of summer but there are more at the lake. I'm getting pretty good with the fly swatter despite cleaning up food, spills, etc. I like some of the ideas like the mint or orange peel. Thanks for a very interesting and useful post, Jan.

Ananka said...

Uggg I hate getting flies in the house. I try to chase them out! These wee ones sometimes appear in the kitchen right enough but only 1 or 2 every few days at this time of year.

Carla from The River said...

I enjoyed this Jan, thank you. I have Nasturtiums growing in pots on our deck. We like to enjoy tea or even have dinner outside. Flies are usually what chase us inside. I noticed this season we are not bothered by them. I think the Nasturtiums are working!

baili said...

what an excellent and informative post dear Jan !

we use spray mostly and thankfully cleanliness is no problem in our house by the grace of God!

Teresa said...

Muy interesante tu entrada. No me gustan las moscas, plantaré más capuchinas. Besos.

sandy said...

Love nasturtians. For some reason we don't get many flies up here.

Magic Love Crow said...

This is a great post, but lots of yucky stuff in it too! LOL! "Vomiting Saliva", yucky! LOL! Big Hugs!