What is the Attraction for Flies?

No-one likes flies, aside from maybe entomologists. To be fair, they do a lot to deserve their bad press. Aside from looking less than attractive, they can also spread disease. If you have young children or older people living in your home, they can become ill as a result of the presence of flies. These home invaders carry diseases such as E. coli, and they can also be home to a couple of hundred different types of bacteria. You can see why you do not really want flies to be hanging around your home.

This is why you need to make sure that you are not making your home more enticing than it should be. You are probably thinking that flies normally love to land on stuff such as rotting meat and animal feces and that you do not have this type of thing lying around your home, but it’s not quite as simple as that.

What could you be doing to attract flies to your home?

You may not think you are doing anything to attract flies to your home. But, have you ever done any of these things; be honest with yourself.

• Let the dog out to poop outside and not cleared it up straight away.
• Not paid attention to the fact that the raccoons have emptied the entire contents of your trash can, including leftover food.
• Left dirty dishes waiting to be washed after a particularly heavy night.
• Left food uncovered, especially meat, even for a short while.

The thing is that you do not need to be living in a filthy home to attract flies at certain times. You need to be careful, but there is always a chance that you may slip up. This is why you need to use certain methods to help deter, or get rid of, flies.

How to deter and get rid of flies

Aside from trying to make sure you do not do any of the things we have already mentioned, you should also:

• Keep doors and windows shut, or use fly screens.
• Fill in gaps and cracks where flies might gain entry.
• Plant herbs such as mint and basil around the exterior of your home, as a deterrent.

There are also certain steps you can take to help trap and kill flies that may enter your home.

• Place apple cider vinegar in a jar and then place a funnel of paper in the top. Flies are drawn in by the smell and then cannot get back out again.
• Soak pieces of ribbon in eucalyptus oil and hang them around your home, to act as fly traps.
• Use technical fly control methods such as a UV-A light.

All of these methods can help you keep control of flies in your home.

Remember that flies should not be ignored, they can spread disease if you let them. If the fly problem in your home starts to get out of hand, it’s worth calling in a pest control professional, to investigate.