Home |  Index |  Submit Request |  Share Photos |  Share Tips |  Active Topics |  New Feedback  |  Contact Us  |  Search
 User Login:  Username:    Password:      Forgot It?  | Join ThriftyFun!

 Popular Topics
 - Beauty
 - Budget and Finance
 - Christmas *
 - Cleaning
 - Consumer Advice
 - Craft Projects
 - Craft Tips
 - Food Tips
 - Garage Sales
 - Gardening
 - Gifts
 - Green Living
 - Home Improvement
 - Organizing
 - Parenting
 - Parties
 - Pest Control
 - Pets
 - Product Reviews
 - Recipes
 - Repair
 - Thanksgiving
 - Weddings for Less

More Topics

Google Search:

Web thriftyfun.com

About:
RSS Feed
About Us
Media
Advertising
Contact Us
Privacy Statement
Disclaimer

Home Remedies for House Flies

1x1
Date: 07/10/2008 Topics: Pest Control > Flies | Readers Request > Pests  
1x1
1x1
Post Feedback! | Email a Friend | Print | Get Responses | Bookmark | Link | Rate: Thumbs Up Thumbs Down
Does anyone know how to get rid of house flies? My house is 3 years old and every summer they are all over the windows.

Orsymco from Newport, Mich
Related Links:
Previous: Stir-Fry Chicken & Broccoli ThriftyFun Next: Nutritional Value of Baked Vegetables
1x1
 Feedback
1x1
1x1
1x1
1x1
 Sponsors
1x1
1x1

Post By Rosal. (Guest Post) (09/06/2008)
I tried the honey on a strip of sticky paper. I guess I put a little too much of it because it started dripping down, and when I bent down to wipe it, I got a drop of honey on my head. I hope I do not get flies on my head til later as I still have to do some house chores before jumping in the shower. I got four of them with a towel, since I can not find my fly swatter.

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By Robin (Guest Post) (09/03/2008)
The person who says bug spray is only a dollar, doesn't live next to a pasture. :O)

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By (Guest Post) (09/02/2008)
Help!!!!! We live near a horse barn I haven't tried any of these rememdies, but what the heck I'll try anything at this point. I've tried household sprays and of course they don't work very well. I have fly traps which are gross and fly swatters who wants to chase flies all day. So I'm gonna give the water and penny bag a try. We will see if this helps!!!!!!

By Robbin

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By smartest one (Guest Post) (08/30/2008)
This is what grocery stores do. They put fans above the door that blow downward so that flies cannot fly in due to the draft of air. Haven't you ever been to a store and got your hair messed up and wondered why air was blowing right at you when you walk in? This is why! And you wondered why there wasn't a million flies and other flying pests inside the produce section.

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By braddah utes (Guest Post) (08/06/2008)
Is there any crazy concoction you can brew up to broadcast large areas for fly control?

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By Art Weeks (Guest Post) (08/02/2008)
Believe it or not, flies hate cucumbers. I just read this on a natural remedy website. I sliced one up and stuck it near the flies in my window and they went crazy, doing anything to escape. It was very amusing. Also Basil and mint plants. They said put pots of these around your doorways. After 10 minutes, ALL my flies are gone. But I am gonna try the water bag/penny remedy, too.

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By Lynne. (Guest Post) (07/22/2008)
I think that I have found an answer. I scrubbed my windows, which were the breeding station for the flies, with vinegar & left some garlic on the window sills. So far, so good. Good luck.

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By Kristi (Guest Post) (07/14/2008)
OMG, fly spray costs like a dollar, you people are cheap, cheap, cheap! LOL, I'm just kidding. One thing that really works is a fly swatter.

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By margaret Tx (Guest Post) (07/14/2008)
I saw this on a T.V. show called how clean is your house. It's an English show and all they did was take a long strip of sticky tape fold over a little at the top tape it to the window. Then they put a dab of honey down the center and hang it to the window. They fly to the honey and get stuck on the tape. It worked fast. Try it. I don't have the problem with flies just gnats. I am going to see if that will work. It's worth a try.

Report Spam or Abuse


Post By bobdog (Guest Post) (07/10/2008)
Most of the ideas posted don't work well. Some don't work for me at all, but I will still keep trying. Stale beer seems to attract a few flies and the vinegar and sugar attracts some also.

I really like the way Swat works on my dog's ears, but she hates it and runs if she sees me coming with it. Why is it PINK? Looks bad on a man's dog, especially a big light colored dog.

Report Spam or Abuse


Post by lewis_admin (1322) | (07/10/2008)
Profile |Blog! |Contact
I would love for anyone to give me any home remedies to get rid of house flies! I live in the country, and like to leave the door open, but can't always because of all the flies! Please help!

rebelady

Answers:

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I learned from an old lady in a fruit stand how to keep flies away. She had plastic bags of water hanging all around her fruit stand. When questioned about them she replied. The sun shines on the water and reflects a "spider web" effect. The flies will not enter for fear of getting caught in the web. It works! Hang some around your door to slow the flies down, they will be afraid to enter your door. (09/26/2004)

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

Try lavender. Bunches hanging near open doors and windows, bowls of it scattered around, or oils in a burner. (09/27/2004)

By veronica

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I like the water bag idea! Meanwhile, I don't know if this works but my Grand Aunt told me hanging tomato vines will keep them at bay. I tried flypaper once and that worked. LOL (09/27/2004)

By ILuvDobes

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

Flyscreen doors allow the sunlight and breezes in but keep the flies out - they are very common on houses in Australia. (09/27/2004)

By Jo

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I, too, heard the tip for hanging clear plastic bags filled with water near your door. I thought it was a great tip, inexpensive and "non-toxic". Sadly, it did not seem to work well for me. Maybe I did something wrong, but the flies still came around. Hopefully it will work for you. (10/04/2004)

By Donna in Kansas

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

You have to put a penny in the bags of water. Only put like an inch of water in a pint bag. (10/04/2004)

By lillofromms

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

Hanging a bag of water with some foil in the inside should work too. Something about the reflection the foil gives off will keep them away. (10/16/2004)

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

We've used the water in the clear plastic bag trick (we did not use the tin foil though) and the number of flies have been reduced dramatically. Now if there was only as good as a method to keep the mosquitoes away. I have still not seen the scientific reason why it works but the empirical evidence is overwhelming. (10/17/2004)

By Stephen

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

We had clouds of flying critters, similar to fruit flies, only smaller. This remedy works very well: Take a small jar, add about an inch of water and a quarter cup of sugar. Then set a funnel on the top. The sugar water attracts all manner of flying things, and once they get into the water, they can't get back out through the funnel's opening. (10/21/2004)

By Micki

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I believe that the bags of water is a great idea, but I'm going to go right now and put the tinfoil in mine. I know that it doesn't work for me the way my door faces because the sun doesn't hit the water. It makes sense that it make a kind of spiderweb illusion that the flies are afraid to be caught in. (10/31/2004)

By HaleyM

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

The water bag works, but grow some Basil by our door, very effective. (01/12/2005)

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

We live across the street from two cow pastures. Tonight, as we let the dog in, hundreds of flies flew in. Aside from living in the dark at night, is there a method as effective as the water bags for night time control? (06/06/2005)

By sick of horse flies in Michigan

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

The "spiderweb" theory isn't quite right when it comes to explaining why bags of water deter houseflies. Hhouseflies, being highly edible and defenseless, are nervous types, and don't like to sit still when they see something moving nearby, because it could be a predator. The water bag acts like a lens in which the movements of people in the area are reflected. Even if the fly is too far from the action to see it directly, it can see a shifting of light and dark in the water bag, which it interprets as nearby movement, and it will fly away from the bag. The reason it doesn't work on any other insects is that the other insects listed don't have eyesight worth a darn. (07/26/2005)

By Fly Girl

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I've heard about the water in the bags. Many campers at my parent's campgrounds use these on their screen doors. I heard the theory was flies think it's a hornet's nest. Hornet's eat flies, so they won't come near. I've also been told to take a ziplock bag and just put a penny in it, with no water. A woman told me it works in her horse barn. I myself haven't tried it. (08/09/2005)

By Tina

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

After seeing bags of water hanging from the trees of a nearby popular restaurant (outdoor tables), I searched "penny in water bag". The reflection idea and movement makes more sense than the spider web. Pretty cool idea I must say. We were quite perplexed by those bags! Happy fly hunting. (02/17/2006)

By Len

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

A very effective fly dispensers at the doors: A clear sandwich bag filled 3/4 with water is tied at the top and hung above each side of the doorway. The flies get disoriented by the reflections, and can't fly into or near the buildings. These are also common on many porches, and mom and pop restaurants where flypaper is distasteful. This is very inexpensive and good for keeping the flies out. (06/01/2006)

By Kris

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

Here's my recipe for outside use:

The best way to keep flies out of your house is to not have anything that attracts them close to your door. I set this on a stand out in my yard and also set them around my farm buildings.

Safe Non-toxic Fly Catching Recipe

  • 6 to 8 inch casserole or dog dish
  • 1 - 2 cups milk
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 Tbls sugar
  • 1 (scant) Tbls vinegar (I use Braggs)
  • 1/4+ cup canola or corn oil
Use a heavy flat bottomed 6 to 8 inch pan or bowl that sits squarely on the ground and has straight up and down sides. I use an old crockware casserole dish. Those heavy ceramic dog dishes work well too. Fill the bottom with 2 inches of milk, add 1/4 cup water, a scant Tbls of vinegar, Tbls sugar, then 1/4+ cup of canola or corn oil. Mixture should stay liquid, not curdled to make a solid. Top should have a thin unbroken layer of oil. Set near fly problem, but far enough away that it isn't attracting them toward the same area. The sweet/sour milk smell attracts them, the top coating of slippery oil catches them.

This works till it gets rained on. I always re-do mine after it rains. (07/28/2006)

By Jill

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

Ok I too had Fruit flies indoors. I put 1/2-1 cup of Apple cider Vinigar in a custard dish along with 3-4 drops of dish saop. I put it on my countertop over night. You should have seen the dead bugs in the dish. they are attracked to the smell then they get "stuck" by the sticky soap and then drown. I did that for 2 nights, I have a fruit fly free home now. It works! (08/11/2006)

By Becky

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

We recently went on a 10 day trip and on our return the house was FILLED with flies. To get rid of them we used fly strips and they kind of worked wonders...

The majority of the flies were close to the floor, and we could not hang the strips that low (Ask our cat's tail why) and the higher ones were simply not working fast enough.

One thing that did work however, was hanging a strip above our compost bucket (unlidded for a day, we made sure there was nothing too stinky in it). Of the 6 stripps hanging with only a handfull of flies on them, the one above the bucket was covered in a matter of hours. When I walked by the bucket I'd give it a small kick, rousing the flies and often causing several to give the strip a test ;)

This should likely be done in moderation, as the contents of the bucket will not only attract the flies to the strip, but it'll also likely become quickly infested with maggots.

So while the bucket was likely a contributing factor in the fly problem we faced, I honestly feel it was also part of our solution! (08/22/2006)

By Qryztufre

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I have tried the plastic bag idea, and it was unsuccessful. I am, however, going to attempt the tin foil and see if that's a better remedy. Houseflies are a pain. I also notice that they tend to congregate in the early afternoon... I have a small studio, and seeing ten flies messing about makes the room look dirty. (04/14/2007)

By Jessica.

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

Fly spray works good too. (05/28/2007)

By GA

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

The water in a bag trick works, adding a penny in the bag acts as a bacteriacide to preserve the water longer. When Columbus came across the ocean he added a couple of silver coins to each barrel of drinking water to kill the bacteria, same principle.

When we had a major problem we hung them in the house around the kitchen to keep them away from any food sources to keep them from spawning. We also hung them on each door to keep additional ones from entering in. A few days later we were fly free. (06/28/2007)

By Steve

RE: flies on dogs ears

If you go to a horse store or feed mill you can buy a cream called SWAT. Put it on the dogs ears and no more flies. I have used it. It works great. (07/14/2007)

By Tina

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I tried the Apple Cider Vinegar trick and dish soap and it works quite well! I will have to try the water bag and the milk, sugar and oil trick. We love to sit on our deck and we live in the country and the flies are so horrible that we can't enjoy sitting outside at all. Thank you for all your advice! (08/07/2007)

By Cyndi

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I tried the water in the bag and it did reduce the number of flies around my door within minutes! (08/09/2007)

By MONICA

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

Great idea for getting rid of houseflies! Take an orange and "juice it" (just take out the middle) and fill it with salt. Place this anywhere in your home that you want to get rid of flies. They disappear! We have a room in our old farm house that we have been battling flies for years and finally have no problems. The oranges last for a couple of months, then you just get new ones. (08/20/2007)

By Diane

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

I also tried the water bag. There's a fly sitting on top of it as I am typing. Nonsense.. (10/30/2007)

By Andrew

RE: Home Remedies for House Flies

THE BEST WAY to get rid of flies is simple and fun. Open a fruity alcoholic beverage like Smirnoff or mikes hard lemonade, drink half of it, and let the other half sit outside. Flies will find it irresistible as they die by the dozen. Last summer it filled to the top with dead flies. Very gross. (04/22/2008)

By Wesley Dixon

Report Spam or Abuse


1x1

Post Feedback:
Login using the form on the top of the page to post feedback if you have registered with ThriftyFun. If you have not yet registered, click here. It's FREE!. If you are not registered you can post feedback as a guest below. Please don't use your email address for your name because spam robots can dredge it from our site. Please do not post your feedback more than ONCE. We need to approve all guest feedback and it may take from minutes to hours for that to happen.
(1x1 graphic )
Your Name

Subject

Feedback

text tool text tool text tool text tool

Image Upload: Add an image to your post! Click the "Browse" button below and select an image from your hard drive. Please only select gifs or jpegs. If you have any problems, just email the image to images@thriftyfun.com

  

If you want to post your email address for responses from readers, obscure it in some way like put spaces between the name and @ sign and service address with (remove spaces) behind it or name (at) server (dot) com . This is for your protection from those creepy Robots.

(1x1 graphic )

© 1997-2008 ThriftyFun.com - Design by Cumuli Design
Disclaimer: ThriftyFun.com cannot accept any responsibility for any injury or damage that you may cause to yourself, others, or property when following any advice given on this site. Read the full disclaimer. If you find any information on ThriftyFun.com or in our newsletters that is either erroneous and/or potentially harmful to others, please Contact Us, immediately.