Houseflies are the most common insects that we can find around us. Houseflies are one of the nuisance pests that buzz around our homes. Houseflies are often disease carriers too. Flies are least active during the cooler months and reach maturity towards spring.
In the summer months, you may get frustrated with swarms of flies that take over your yard, or your surroundings. They may fly on your food and cling to the sidings of your home. If you are getting stressed about how to get rid of flies outside of your house then this article is for you.
In this article, I am going to cover 4 tips that you can try to get rid of flies outside of your house and enjoy your yard without worrying about an infestation.
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How do you get outdoor flies?
You will become surprised to know that there are approximately 100,000 known species of flies around the earth. Generally, outside flies are attracted to dead animals, animal feces, or decaying organic matter.
Adult flies choose the area where they can lay eggs, such as farms, compost piles, trash bins, road kills, or other places where they find organic matter. With super speedy reproduction rates and basic survival needs, the flies’ population can blow up overnight.
A female housefly is generally capable of laying more than 500 eggs over her 20 to 25 days lifespan. These eggs are grown in a mature fly even in shorter than a week. That is why a swarm of flies can be felt like an unpredicted attack.
Flies are nothing more than annoying. Flies may cause foodborne diseases and illness if they land on the food you are eating.
What Attracts Flies?
The presence of flies makes your home feel very unpleasant. The best way to keep aside flies from your home is to eliminate the factors that attract houseflies most. Common houseflies are attracted to decaying organic filth such as rotting meats, feces, etc.
Some other factors that attract flies are:
- Garbage cans left uncovered
- Dirty or leaky drains
- Liquids: beer, wine, vinegar, cider
- Rotten potatoes, onions, or fruits
- Per faces over the yard
- Damaged food items
- Bird dropping
- Heat
- Light
- Sugar syrups
- Decaying vegetation
- Spilled animal feed
Threats that come with outdoor flies
Flies are the most common pests around the globe. They are capable of spreading a larger number of diseases including salmonella, tuberculosis, and typhoid. Some of the threats that come 3with an outdoor flight are:
- Houseflies don’t bite but they are very much capable of spreading more than 100 different pathogens like typhoid, salmonella, and tuberculosis.
- They can contaminate the surface of your food by spreading disease organisms that are picked up on the mouth and legs while feeding on trash.
- They are capable of contaminating food with harmful bacteria.
- Some of the variants of houseflies such as horse flies can have painful bites that may cause an allergic reaction.
- Some of the most common houseflies transmitted diseases are anthrax, food poisoning, diarrhea, dysentery, etc.
How Can You Prevent Flies?
Here are some effective treatment methods that you can apply to prevent flies at your home.
- Zappers: Zapper bags can kill some types of houseflies when they will be attracted to light sources. You can use a sticky surface to trap the flies when they come closer to the light or you can zap them with electricity.
- Move mulch piles away from your premises: the flies will breed in them. If you don’t have enough space then at least keep the pile away from windows and doors.
- Clean up after your pets: feces are the perfect places for breeding houseflies. They will land on it before they land on your food.
- Keep garbage cans properly covered: the scent of fermented and rotten objects attracts houseflies. That is why they land on the garbage. So, keeping your garbage cans sealed will prevent their entry towards your premises.
- More spruce up plants on your lawn: Plants like basil, lavender, and mint will help to repel flies. They don’t like the smell. So, they will not be attracted to your lawn.
How to get rid of flies outside?
Here are some of the ways that can prevent the chances of flies entering your outside premises:
- You need to treat the drains with foam cleaner spray to remove scum regularly.
- You need to close the kitchen doors while you are cooking.
- You need to repair the holes in your house from where the houseflies get entering your house.
- You need to clean and wipe your kitchen tops regularly with some disinfectants if you found they become sticky.
- You need to clean the dining table with some disinfectant.
- You have to clear any decaying fruit that falls on the ground under the tree.
- You need to remove rotten vegetables and fruits immediately.
- You need to keep the trash cans clean. Keep your garbage bags sealed. Also, you should clean your garbage can regularly.
- Let your houseplant soil to be dry out as moistening soil attracts flies more.
- If you can find any garbage in your yard you need to remove that immediately. You can spray disinfectant if there is any accidental defecation by your pet at your house.
Home remedies to get rid of outdoor flies-
Yes, it is possible. There are some home remedies that you can try at your home to get rid of outdoor flies naturally.
Herbs and flowers:
You can plant herbs and flowers in your garden, yard, and outside to keep flies away from your home. The herbs and flowers that can resist flies include:
- Lavender
- Marigold
- Basil
- Catnip
- Bay leaves
- Venus Flytrap:
Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant that eats insects. You can plant them outside of your home then they will naturally eat flies. But, you may need to feed the plant flies.
If a fly sits on the plant then it will close its lids. The digestive fluids will be secreted and the fly gets dissolved into the insect’s soft inside.
Use essential oil:
You can use certain essential oils to get rid of outside houseflies. There are some scents that they don’t like clove, lavender, mint, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemongrass, and citronella.
You need to put a few drops of these essential oils into a cloth to make a DIY fly paper. Otherwise, you can spray these oils outside your home to keep flies away from the periphery of the home.
Vinegar and dish soap:
A mixture of vinegar and dish soap may help you in trapping the outdoor flies. To make this mixture, you can take an inch of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap in a glass. Secure this glass with plastic wrap. Fix the plastic wrap with a rubber band and point a hole in the top.
Vinegar will attract flies and will fly through the holes. Then the flies will sink in the dish soap instead of landing on the vinegar.
FAQ-
Why do I have so many flies outside?
Ans: flies are mostly attracted by organic decaying matter. They will be attracted to rotten veggies or fruits, animal waste, garbage, etc. flies lay eggs on the waste products at your home. In a shorter period, they get increased by10 number. These may be the reason for your outside flies.
How do I get rid of flies outside with vinegar?
Ans: A mixture of vinegar and dish soap can help you get rid of houseflies in your home. You need to mix vinegar with a few drops of dish soap in a glass. Then cover it with plastic tightly and make a hole at the top. Vinegar will attract flies. Then they get inside the glass through the hole.
Conclusion;
Getting rid of flies means you need to clean regularly your outdoor spaces. This includes your need to clean your yard and clean up all your drink and food spills instantly. If there are pets at your home then you need to clean their waste regularly.
There are a variety of chemical products available in the market. But, here I have already mentioned some home remedies that you can try out at your home.
