10 Effective Ways on How to Get Rid of Flies in the House
Key Highlights
- Learn how to combat house flies effectively through practical and DIY solutions, like apple cider vinegar traps.
- Discover the best preventive measures, such as installing window screens and maintaining sanitation to keep flies out.
- Explore natural remedies like essential oils and fly-repelling plants to protect your home safely from infestations.
- Find out the efficiency of UV light traps and sticky fly papers for both indoor and outdoor pest control.
- Understand the importance of proper food storage and cleanliness to eliminate breeding grounds for flies.
House flies are not only annoying but they also pose a risk to your health. They can spread diseases and contaminate your home. These pesky insects get inside because they are looking for food, places to lay eggs, and spots to breed.
Good pest control starts with knowing how flies act and learning how to keep them away. You can do things like set up homemade fly traps and use other preventive measures to get rid of house flies. This guide shares the steps you need to take to stop these insects and take back your space.
10 Effective Strategies to Eliminate Flies from Your Home

If you have a fly infestation or you want to keep them out before they start, there be a few good ways to help with that. Flies do well in places with a lot of organic waste and where there is moisture, so keeping things clean is very important. Using easy home remedies and tools like UV light traps can make pest control a lot better and easier.
This article gives you 10 ways to get rid of flies. You will learn about using fly-repelling plants, sticky traps, and also how to store your food to keep flies away. Let’s take a look at how each method can help keep your home fly-free.
1. Utilize Apple Cider Vinegar and Dish Soap Traps
Apple cider vinegar traps are one of the most easy homemade fly trap ideas you can use. Flies come to the smell of vinegar, so it works well for pest control. To make this trap, fill a bowl or a throwaway container with apple cider vinegar. Add a few drops of dish soap and some water. Stir it all together. Cover the top with plastic wrap and make small holes in the wrap. Flies will go in, but they will not get out.
The dish soap is important. It helps break the water’s surface, so when flies land, they sink and drown. You should put these homemade fly traps next to areas with a lot of flies, like by garbage cans or on kitchen counters, to get the best results.
You can change or make new traps each day until your fly issues are gone. This way is simple, cheap, and works well. It is also good for both indoor and outdoor use. Now, let’s talk about another way to catch flies using new technology—UV light traps.
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2. Set Up UV Light Traps
UV light traps give a new way to deal with flies in your home. These devices use a special kind of UV light that works as an attractant and draws flies in. When flies go near the light, they get zapped or get stuck on glue boards. This helps remove them from your home and helps with pest control. Place UV traps close to entry points, like open doors or windows, so you catch more flies.
Many restaurants and commercial kitchens use these traps, but they work well in homes too. They are quiet, so you can use them inside and not get disturbed in your daily work.
The UV light traps are strong and easy to clean. They do not need a lot of work to keep them running. If you clean the device every now and then, it will keep working to stop flies from coming in. If you use these traps with other ways to keep out pests, you will have a good plan for getting rid of flies and keeping your home safer.
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3. Use Essential Oils as Natural Repellents
Essential oils can be a good and natural way to keep flies away. Oils like eucalyptus, peppermint, citronella, and lavender give off strong smells that flies do not like. Take a spray bottle and put a few drops of these oils in it. Then add water and shake it up. Now you have a friendly spray for you and the earth to use for pest control.
You can use this mix by spraying it on places where flies come, like outdoor patios, trash cans, or windowsills. If you need it inside, get some cloth strips, soak them in your oil solution, and put them in different spots to act as easy DIY repellents. This way works well with smaller fly problems.
Some oils, when put together like lemon and eucalyptus, can work even better. It’s also important to keep using your essential oils, especially when the weather is warm and flies are everywhere. Essential oils, like lavender, peppermint, citronella, and eucalyptus, are very useful. They give you a way to do pest control without any harsh chemicals found in other products.
4. Install Window and Door Screens
Adding screens to your windows and open doors is a simple and good way to keep out flies. Screens work as a barrier. They let fresh air in but stop flies from coming inside. Choose screens with small mesh holes. These help keep out even the smallest insects.
It is important to take care of these screens. Check often to make sure there are no tears or gaps. Flies can get in through small holes, so fix or change screens that are broken as soon as you can to keep your home safe.
If you have open doors, you can use air curtains. Air curtains make a wall of moving air. This helps stop flies from coming in and out of your home. When you use good screens and also keep your house clean, you can stop most fly problems. This keeps your home safe and comfortable.
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5. Regularly Dispose of Garbage and Waste
Garbage and organic waste can bring in flies, so good pest control starts with taking care of your waste. Be sure to keep your garbage cans closed tight with lids that seal well. This helps stop smells that bring flies to your home. Clean your trash cans on a regular basis using a bleach solution to kill germs and get rid of what’s left behind.
Always throw out organic waste, like old food scraps or fruit and vegetables, as soon as you can. If you use a compost bin, make sure it stays closed. Try to put the compost bin away from your house, so flies do not gather near your entryways.
Try to put all disposal spots for waste as far from your doors as possible. By managing garbage and organic waste carefully, you can make your home less inviting to flies. Pest control works best when you use many methods together to keep everything clean and safe.
6. Plant Fly-repelling Plants Around Your Home
Fly-repelling plants can help keep away pests and make your space look nice at the same time. Herbs like basil, rosemary, and lavender, give off smells that make flies stay away. Place these plants around entry points like windows or patios to help with indoor and outdoor pest control.
Lavender is well known for its nice smell, and many people love to use it at home. You can put pots of basil and mint close to trash cans to help stop flies from coming near.
To get the most out of these plants, you should keep them healthy and give them enough water. When you add these plants, you not only keep pests and flies away, but you also add a green touch to your home.
7. Employ Fly Papers or Sticky Traps
Fly papers and sticky traps are good tools to help with pest control. They are used to catch and get rid of flies. The traps have sweet or chemical attractants. These attractants pull the pests towards the sticky part, and the flies get stuck when they land on it. You should hang these traps close to areas with many flies, like in the kitchen or by garbage bins.
Sticky traps work best if the fly problem is small or medium. They are easy to use because you only need to replace them when they are full. This makes them a good choice for people who like do-it-yourself pest solutions at home.
Even though fly papers are helpful to get rid of pests, some may not like the way they look in a room. Using fly papers along with new ways to control pests can help you keep the house free from flies and not change how your home looks.
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8. Create Homemade Herbal Sprays
Homemade herbal sprays give you an easy and earth-friendly way to keep flies away. Get a spray bottle and fill it with water. Add natural oils, such as eucalyptus or peppermint. Put in a few drops of dish soap to help the mix stick to things better.
Spray this blend on doorways, countertops, or in outdoor spaces where you often see flies. The scent is strong and will make flies stay out of those spots. If you use the solution each day, it can help with small problems with flies in a natural way.
These herbal sprays don’t cost much and are safe to use, even if you have kids or pets at home. When you spray often, flies keep away and your place smells nice and fresh, too.
9. Ensure Proper Food Storage
Not storing food the right way can cause flies to come into your house. You should put fresh produce into airtight containers and put foods that spoil quickly into the fridge. Flies like to feed on rotten food and food left out in the open, so keeping food safe and covered is an important part of pest control.
Use this table to help you store your food well:
Food Type |
Storage Method |
---|---|
Fresh Produce |
Airtight Containers |
Canned Foods |
Cool, Dry Cabinet Spaces |
Meat Products |
Refrigerate Immediately |
Rotting Food Waste |
Dispose in Secure Trash Cans |
If you use these steps and work on food management every day, you will waste less food and stop flies from turning food waste and trash cans into a place to breed. That is one good way to keep your house safe from pests and stay on top of pest control.
10. Maintain Cleanliness to Prevent Breeding
Keeping things clean is the best way to stop flies. Flies look for places with organic waste and water because this is where they like to lay eggs. You should get rid of anything that could help flies breed, like dirty surfaces, standing water, and food waste that is left out.
Be sure to wipe down countertops often, clean out drains, and disinfect your bins. This helps keep flies out. Also, look after outdoor spaces by picking up animal feces and getting rid of old plant matter. Both can hide fly larvae.
When you clean and check on things often, you break the life cycle of flies. This keeps their numbers down and makes your living space more clean and safe.
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Conclusion
To sum up, getting rid of flies in your home works best when you mix different ways to stop them. Using natural repellents, like essential oils and apple cider vinegar, helps a lot. It’s also important to keep your place clean and store food the right way.
Each thing you do, even if it seems small, can help keep flies away from your home. If you use all these ten strategies and stick with them, then you will see fewer flies. This will help keep your home nice and comfortable. If you want to know more or get help with your own pest problems, you can ask for advice. You can always get personalized tips or have a chat with an expert about vinegar, apple cider vinegar, essential oils, or other repellents too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most effective natural remedies to repel flies?
Some good natural remedies use essential oils. Oils like peppermint, citronella, clove, and mint work well as repellents. They make a barrier that flies do not like. You can spray these oils or put soaked cloth strips near places with lots of flies. This can help to keep them away.
How often should I change fly traps?
Fly traps need to be changed when they get full or if they do not catch pests anymore. It’s important to check them often to make sure the baits stay good. This way, fly traps can keep getting flies and help keep your place free of pests.
Can flies become resistant to certain repellents?
Flies can get used to chemical repellents, so they may stop working as well. But natural remedies work well for a long time. Essential oils are a good choice. If you change up the repellents that you use, this can help stop flies from becoming too used to one thing. This way, your pest control stays effective.
Are electronic fly repellents safe to use around children and pets?
Yes, electronic fly repellents that you use inside the house are safe to have around kids and pets. It is good to keep these devices in a spot where children and pets can not get to them. Make sure you read and follow the instructions from the maker for the most safety.
Last update on 2025-05-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API