Flies can create many issues. They can contaminate food, spread disease, and lay eggs on many different surfaces. Getting rid of flies can be a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be if you have a couple tricks up your sleeve. Here are a few tips to reduce fly populations in your home.
Preventing Flies
Flies are attracted to food residue and grease. Keep your trash cans and bags sealed. Flies love to garbage and decaying food products. Throw out all fruits and vegetables before they go old and are inedible (for humans). If you have the room for it, keep fruits and vegetables in your refrigerator and off your countertops.
Additionally, making sure to clean countertops and stovetops, sweep floors, and wash dirty at the end of each day will surely not leave any food left over for flies to find. Flies can lay their eggs anywhere – in dirty dishes, litterboxes, trashcans, old food. This is why it is important to remove all unwanted organic matter from your living areas. Plus, your house will be spic-and-span!
Create a Water Trap
If you are trying to avoid using harmful chemicals around your home, you can always create your own traps. Creating a water trap is simple. Find an old water bottle and cut the curved top off with a knife, then throw away the cap. Fill the bottle with a solution of water and soap or detergent and then coat the cap thread with a sugary substance like jelly. Place the top part of the bottle and place the cap thread down, on top of the other part of the bottle. The jelly should be a few inches from the water/soap solution. Tape the two pieces of bottle together and hang the bottle about 4 feet off the ground. Flies will be attracted to the jelly and eventually fall into the soapy water to their demise. Try to keep traps like these about 20 feet away from living areas.
Remember, it is important to empty the bottle daily. The more flies that enter bottle may give an opportunity for flies to create chains and escape.
