Flies are one of the worst, and most stubborn, pests to get out of your home. And depending on where you live, they may be everywhere. Flies can carry disease, they bother humans and pets, and they create an unsightly environment. The presence of flies can also cause them to lay eggs which leads to maggots. And maggots can cause a lot of problems in your home, along with being unsightly and generally unsanitary.
So, how do you get rid of flies in the house? Focus first on keeping your home clean, and keeping your food covered. Make use of useful products like fly baits, light traps, fly tape, or even bug zappers. You could try using a fly spray that is specially manufactured to banish these pests. And if you want something more natural, there’s a variety of at-home remedies that both repel and kill flies inside your home.
Don’t live with flies tormenting you in your house, and don’t struggle with not being able to find a way to get rid of them. Today, I’m going to give you some solid tips on how to get flies out of your house and keep them out for good.
I’m even going to provide you with some recommendations for products you can buy to keep your home fly free.
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Getting Rid of Flies in the House
If you are reading this, the chances are that you are fed up with your fly problem. You don’t need me to tell you that flies are a nuisance, and you certainly don’t want them in your house.
Maybe you feel like getting rid of flies is too hard, or even too expensive. Maybe you just wonder what the point is of getting rid of the flies; you assume everyone has flies in their home.
No, actually, not every house has flies. Plenty of savvy homeowners have found ways to rid their house of flies. Remember, you don’t have to live with flies or other pests in your home! Any pest can be eliminated or deterred from your house using a variety of methods.
Reasons You Don’t Want Flies Indoors
A lot of people may not be sure why they don’t want flies inside. Maybe you are thinking that it is easier to just live with flies than to have to go through the hassle of trying to get rid of them.
If you aren’t naturally bothered by them, here are a few more reasons that you don’t flies in your home:
The presence of flies attracts other pests
Simply put, the presence of flies attracts other pests. Lizards and spiders eat flies as their food. And if your home is full of flies, it might end up being full of lizards, spiders, and other pests that will eat them.
Flies can carry diseases
Flies can carry diseases, which is a big reason why you don’t want them crawling all over your kitchen.
They can contaminate your food, which could cause you to get diseases such as typhoid fever, food poisoning, or even dysentery. After all, just imagine flies landing on the garbage and raw meat, then landing on your food.
Flies lay eggs that create maggots
Even if some people are not bothered by flies, they are incredibly uncomfortable with the sight of maggots.
And flies lay eggs that create maggots, which just grow up and become new flies that go on to lay more eggs.
Read more here about: “How do you get rid of maggots?”
The buzzing sound of flies could keep you up at night
This is especially true if they are buzzing and land on you when you are sleeping. When your house is full of flies buzzing around, you may feel self-conscious to have people over for visits.
Flies can lay their eggs in an open wound
If you, a member of your family, or your pets have an open wound, a fly infestation may pose some serious risk. Flies can lay their eggs in an open wound, which is incredibly dangerous.
How to get rid of flies in the house
Now, do you understand a little more about why you don’t want flies living in your house with you? As you have learned, they are more than just a simple nuisance. Let’s move on to some of the methods you can use to eliminate them.
#1 Keep Everything Clean and Food Covered!
Flies are naturally attracted to trash, crumbs, and food debris. The same goes for food that is exposed to the open air, where flies can smell it. These things naturally attract flies by the dozen. That is why the first step of fly removal you should take is tidying up your home.
Here are some tips for tidying up when you want to remove flies:
Try not to let crumbs fall on the floor, furniture, beds, or other places indoors
When you allow crumbs from food to fall all over your home, you will be much more likely to attract flies. In fact, this bad habit will draw an enormous amount of pests!
Vacuum frequently, especially areas of the home where you eat or handle food. Use plates and napkins and other mechanisms to prevent crumbs from falling or accumulating.
Keep the area around your pets’ dishes clean and tidy
If you have pets, chances are you have dishes of their food sitting in the home. Unfortunately, these dishes may be attracting flies and other pests.
Keep the area around your pets’ dishes clean and tidy. Clean up any pet food spills whenever possible. And if you can, put your pets’ food away in the fridge or a sealed container when they are not eating.
Make sure you keep all litter boxes in your home as clean as possible
Another pet-related way you may be attracting flies is with animal waste. This is especially true if you have cats, ferrets, or another animal that uses a litter box. Feces attract flies, and they may even lay eggs in these droppings. That will lead to maggots, which will only lead to more flies!
Make sure you keep all litter boxes in your home as clean as possible. If you can, try to use a scented litter that will cover up the smell of feces.
Keep food covered in a sealed bag
Keep food covered in a sealed bag, a sealed container, inside of your fridge, or inside a freezer. Open and exposed food is the perfect way to attract flies.
Throw all garbage out regularly
Garbage is another major way to attract flies to your home. This is especially true if you are throwing away food-related items. The longer food garbage is allowed to sit and rot in your home, the more you are increasing your chances of flies and maggots.
Throw all garbage out regularly. If you are throwing out scraps of food, take your trash out even more frequently. If possible, get a trash can with a lid.
Don’t let standing water sitting around
Don’t let standing water sitting around because this will look like the perfect drink to a bunch of flies.
Keep your compost heap as far away as possible
If you have a compost heap, try to keep it as far away from your home as possible. Compost will attract flies to the area of your home.
Remember, a tidy house means that you have drastically reduced your risks of attracting a variety of pests. But if tidying your home alone doesn’t repel flies away, then it’s okay to try something else to get rid of them.
#2 Use Honey as a Bait
You may not have thought about honey as bait for flies, but this one is simple to use and effective. Flies love the sweet smell and taste of honey.
This means that they will be quick to come and land on honey. However, flies don’t realize that once they land on this incredibly sticky substance, they will get stuck and not be able to fly off.
In order to use honey as an effective bait, you will want to get an empty jar without a lid and fill it with honey.
Then, sit this jar in an area where you see a lot of flies in your home. Be careful not to set it somewhere where you might knock it over. Also, keep it in an area where it is out of reach of curious dogs and cats.
#3 Light Traps
Flies can be easily attracted to light, which leads me to the topic of light traps. While these may be a little more expensive than some of the other methods I’ve recommended to you, they certainly are worth the money you pay for them.
This is also true because other flying insects besides flies will be attracted to the light trap you install.
Unlike sprays and some other pesticides, traps that use light contain no chemicals and can be used discreetly.
Flies will think the lights used in these traps are irresistible, and you will be able to catch most of the flies that are invading your home.
#4 Make Sure Windows and Doors Stay Shut (and Repair Broken Screens!)
Usually, an open window or door is like an open invitation to a fly! If you see dozens and dozens of flies in your home, check to see if you have any windows or doors open.
This also applies to holes in window and door screens. If you are relying on a screen to protect you, but that screen has a hole, you will be seeing flies inside in no time.
If you have a broken window or door that can’t be fixed immediately, you should use some outdoor pest control method and place it near the entrance point in order to deter flies from coming into your house.
You should also check your home for any cracks, gaps, or spaces that flies may crawl in through. This is especially true during warm weather when flies are more likely to come into your house.
Fix any open spaces with caulk or weather-proof duct tape.
#5 Hang a Bag of Water Outdoors
Hanging a bag of water outdoors may seem like a bizarre concept, but it actually can work wonderfully for detracting flies from your home.
Flies have different vision capabilities than human beings. And if you hang a bag of water outside in front of windows and doors, it will mess with their vision, and repel them away from entering your home.
However, you have to make the bag you fill water with is sturdy without any holes. The last thing you want is for a lot of water to leak and spill all over the place!
Use something sturdy to hold the bag up. Make sure you raise the bag of water up high enough that no one can easily walk into it, and no animals or children have access to it.
#6 Fly Tape
A fly tape is a tried and true method of gathering flies. However, there are definite pros and cons to using this sort of fly removal method.
If you’re not looking to kill the flies, you probably shouldn’t use fly tape. A fly tape will attract and trap flies, eventually killing them.
When the fly tape becomes too full of flies, you would remove it from your home and throw it away.
Here are some pros of using fly tape:
- A fly tape is generally easy to find, buy, and install. It requires no special tools or knowledge to attach to your wall.
- Compared to some other products, a fly tape is generally cheap. You definitely won’t break the bank buying this form of pest control!
- Flies will be attracted to fly tape, and it won’t take any extra effort on your part for them to get stuck to it.
- Fly tape is usually brightly colored, so it naturally attracts flies.
- If there are other flying insects in your home, they may get stuck in the same tape that flies do. This way, the fly tape you hang can be considered multi-purpose.
And likewise, here are some cons of using fly tape:
- Many people worry that fly tape is unsightly, and looks very unattractive in their homes. After all, not many people want to have a large strand of tape with dead and trapped flies hanging around in the house.
- When living flies get trapped to the tape, they may loudly buzz for a day or more before dying. This can be distracting and even disturbing to some people.
- This is not a humane way to get rid of flies from your house.
- Some people have had trouble getting stuck to the fly tape if they walk past it, especially if they are tall. After all, few things are more disgusting than having a sticky strip covered in dead flies getting stuck on your hair!
- Cats and birds may easily get trapped in fly tape. While this won’t harm them like it does flies, it can be a major inconvenience.
The decision to use fly tape or not is yours. But if you feel like you don’t want to use fly tape, there are still more methods I have to tell you about.
Recommended fly tapes
These are some effective product we can recommend.
#7 Add a Venus Fly Trap to Your Home
It’s no secret that people love plants, and people are adding plants to their house faster than ever before. If you are having a big problem with flies in the house, why not add a Venus Fly Trap to your home?
They are inexpensive, fun to watch, and they thrive on eating flies. Many stores that carry a variety of plants and trees will carry the common Venus Fly Trap.
When choosing a Venus Fly Trap, make sure you choose a healthy plant. After all, you don’t want to take your new plant home only to have it expire a short time later.
Make sure you follow all of the care instructions to take care of your new plant properly. After all, plants are living things, too, and each one needs specialized care.
Recommended Venus Fly Traps
Take a look at these good Venus Fly traps we have used:
#8 Hanging Fly Zapper
Fly zappers may not be humane, but they do have a reputation for working very well at eliminating flies. Even though you often see them outside, there are many brands that are created for indoor use.
Most indoor fly zappers are battery-powered and easy to install. But the only drawback of the bug zappers is the crackling sound made when a fly is electrocuted.
You can also use a fly zapper outside to prevent more flies from coming into your home. After all, it’s better to zap the flies outside than let them get in your house in the first place!
Outdoor fly zappers can also come in many decorative styles, and make an excellent addition to your patio.
Recommended Fly Zappers
Here are some good fly zappers we have successfully used:
- Elucto Large Electric Bug Zapper Fly Swatter
- ZAP IT! Bug Zapper Mini Twin Pack – Rechargeable Mosquito, Fly Killer, and Bug Zapper Racket
#9 Fly Spray
There are many brands of indoor pesticides that are specially made to deter flies. Some are even made to kill flies on contact.
However, research the specific chemicals in any spray before you use it. You don’t want to use something in your home that’s not meant for indoor use. Make sure to follow every direction on the spray bottle to stay safe, and make sure the product is effective.
If you choose to apply fly spray yourself, make sure you take precautions to keep it from getting in your eyes, nose, and mouth.
And if you prefer natural spray products instead of synthetic ones, remember that the word “natural” doesn’t automatically mean “safe.”
#10 Natural, At-Home Remedies
Natural pesticides are catching on in popularity. In fact, I have recently covered the topics of natural pesticides you can use inside your home and the pros and cons of both natural and synthetic pesticides. But what natural remedies work best for getting rid of flies?
Essential oils
One of the most popular natural pesticide methods is the use of essential oils. People are using essential oils for everything from aromatherapy to health ailments.
And you might be surprised to find out that the smell of certain essential oils is very offensive to flies! After all, they have very sensitive senses, including their sense of smell.
The smell of basil is incredibly offensive to flies, and you’ll be happy to discover that they do make oils with the smell of sacred basil.
Other essential oils that are good for repelling flies include lavender, citronella, mint, thyme, rosemary, and clove. These oils can either be applied to surfaces directly or more commonly, and they can be used in a diffuser.
Since citrus and cloves are both things that effectively repel flies, an old remedy for flies in the house is to stick cloves in an orange. You can do this with several oranges, and set them in places where flies are most likely to congregate in your home.
Other methods of natural fly repellent
Other methods of natural fly repellent include citrus peels, camphor, fresh basil plants, vinegar traps, wine traps, and more. You can even combine several of these methods to make your natural fly pest control more effective.
You can also get candles and incense sticks that contain essential oils that repel flies and other insects. When you use these, flies are more likely to be deterred away from your home, since they will be offended by the way it smells.
Some Fly Repellent Products to Worth Trying
Now that we’ve discussed methods to rid your home of flies, I’m going to give you some useful products that you can check out. All of these products are listed on Amazon’s website, and I am also giving you their rating status.
Electronic Insect Killer BK-15D from Flowtrown
This electronic insect killer will attract and zap flies and other insects.
This device uses a 15-watt bulb, and it requires being plugged into a nearby power source. This insect zapper covers a ½ acre span. This product is energy efficient and won’t cost you more than pennies a day to operate.
FTD2 disposable fly trap from Rescue
It comes in a 1-pack option, a 2-pack option, and an 8-pack.
This trap is very sanitary, easy to use, and it contains a powerful attractant that draws flies in. This product is advertised as being able to catch and contain up to 20,000 flies.
No-pest strip from Hot Shot
This hanging strip offers a penetrating vapor that draws pests in. It works for flies, moths, and a variety of other insects.
With controlled release technology, it releases slowly and can last for up to 4 months. This no-pest strip is mostly best for use in garages and patio rooms.
Repel’s plant-based pesticide spray
If you’re interested in a spray to repel flies, you might want to try Repel’s plant-based pesticide spray.
Some of the natural ingredients in this spray include lemon and eucalyptus, which give it a pleasing scent. This spray is not sticky or greasy, and it repels insects for several hours at a time.
UltraShield Green Fly Repellent from Absorbine
This UltraShield Green Fly Repellent from Absorbine comes in either 1-gallon or 32-ounces.
The repellent lasts for up to 8 hours at a time, and the ingredients are all natural. While this spray is mostly for use on horses, dogs, and ponies, you can also use it in a variety of places. And it is perfect for your dog if the animal is getting constantly attacked by flies.
Final thoughts: How to get rid of flies in the house?
Today, we went in-depth about different methods that you can use to get rid of flies in your house. We discussed making sure that your home is clean above all since food and crumbs can attract unlimited flies into your home.
We also discussed keeping doors and windows closed, as well as specific products you can buy to repel or kill flies indoors.
If you have any other recommended methods for getting rid of flies, please leave a comment telling me about them!
Pest Control FAQ is a one-stop resource for getting rid of pests in your home and yard. Whether you’re struggling with birds, rodents, bed bugs, or even flies, I can be of help to you. I have seen every kind of pest, and none of them get past me.
Are you stuck deciding between whether you should use natural or synthetic pesticides? Check out this article that I’ve written about the topic of what pesticides are best.
Related Questions
What kind of flies comes in the home? Depending on where you live, you might see a variety of flies within your home. Some of the most common types of flies include the Horse Fly, the Bluebottle Fly, the Cluster Fly, the Sand Fly, the Fruit Fly, the House Fly, and the Drain Fly. Different places in the world feature different fly varieties.
What are the most dangerous types of flies? The Flesh Fly is incredibly dangerous to the health of human beings. They tend to land on decaying waste and also human food products. This means they are very likely to spread diseases to you via your food. You should use whatever pest control methods available to you if you think you have Flesh Flies.
How do I keep my house pest-free? At first sight of pests, tidy up your home and get it completely clean. Use safe pesticides, whether natural or synthetic. If pesticides alone don’t work, there are other things you can buy including traps, tape, sonic devices, and other deterrents manufactured to keep unwanted pests away.
