Have you felt the urge to wave your hands in the air to deter the swarm of flies attacking you and your food in a yard?We are guessing you definitely have felt annoyed quite a number of times as flies are more punctual in reaching humans and food than humans are in joining an online Zoom meeting! 1 point flies, 0 point humans.Keeping these annoying creatures away could look like quite a tedious and tough task at first. However, with the right kind of repellants, proper cleanliness, and precautions, one can easily keep these pests away. It is quite essential to do everything you can to keep them away as they feed upon feces and trash and act as an intermediary in transmitting diseases. There are many repellants such as essential oils, vinegar, cloves, and herbs that can be used to deter flies. Read on to discover many ways, including homemade repellents, which you can use to get rid of flies once and for all.If you enjoy this article, why not also read about why do fireflies glow and why do flies rub their hands together here on Kidadl?What attracts flies?If you’re wondering why are there so many flies present on your patio, it is probably because you have a lot of organic matter and garbage out in the open, both of which house flies love. They are also attracted to dark areas as darkness enhances the development, hatching, and breeding of flies. If you are constantly wondering from where so many flies are landing at your place, try to find the breeding source and get rid of all things that attract flies.But what is a fly exactly? A fly is any flying insect that belongs to the order Diptera and possesses a pair of wings that it uses to fly. A mosquito is an annoying fly too that has sucked the blood of many humans (literally). But the most commonly known, most unhygienic, and the typical fly that is seen in the summer season is the ‘Musca domestic’ commonly known as the house fly. There is a wide variety of species of flies that dwell on Earth, but the Musca domestica is the most common variety that annoys humans in their own homes, outdoor as well as indoor, and can be seen on every continent except Antarctica. These flies become active during the start of spring, have their peak throughout the summer season, and remain active until autumn. They reproduce pretty fast with a single female fly laying approximately 100 eggs that spawn in eight hours into larvae, under suitable warm conditions. Eggs are laid on organism decays or somewhere near organic matter. Adult flies have a life cycle of approximately three months at maximum.What deters flies?Keeping flies away is easy if you know tips and tricks to do so. However, getting rid of flies is not sufficient. You need to permanently keep flies out and away. You can get rid of flies from your porch by cleaning your porch regularly and keeping garbage cans closed at all times. Flies are naturally attracted to garbage cans. If you are annoyed by flies on your patio, you can get rid of them by using a scatter fly bait or a spray to exterminate fly infestation on your patio. Marigolds are natural fly repelling plants and can be used to deter flies. Flies prefer to lay eggs somewhere where they feel safe and where there is a lot of moisture. Long grass is the perfect place for these insects to lay their eggs. Before you know it, the couple of flies you saw can multiply into hundreds of flies in a few days. Thus, prevent flies from laying eggs in your yard by mowing your lawn weekly.Flies don’t like the smell of many things that are typically available in a household. These homemade fly repellents can most likely solve your fly problem. Flies hate the smell of essential oils and vodka. You can mix two teaspoons of aloe vera juice, half a teaspoon of essential oil, one cup of vodka, and one teaspoon of lemon eucalyptus oil. Pour this blend into a spray bottle and spray it upon the breeding area of flies so as to repel them away. You can also use 20-25 drops of lemongrass oil mixed with half a cup of hot water. This blend is also to be poured into a spray bottle and sprayed on infested areas, windows, and doorways, especially outdoors so that it can repel flies. Another way to prevent flies is by pushing 6-12 cloves in apples or lemons and placing them outdoors. Clove oil is also effective in repelling flies. A witch hazel and vinegar concoction is another effective remedy for repelling flies. You can add 30-60 drops of eucalyptus oil in a quarter of a cup of witch hazel, along with a quarter of a cup of apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle. This remedy helps in repelling house flies but can irritate the eyes of humans. You can even boil malt vinegar, as doing so gives out a strong smell that flies hate and cannot tolerate. You can keep the pan with hot malt vinegar in fly-infested areas so that flies can not tolerate being near that area. Another effective and easy remedy is to light camphor or a citronella candle as the smoke is hated by flies. Flies also hate light. Another long-term solution to keep flies at bay would be to plant herbs near doorways that repel flies such as wormwood, mint, tansy, lavender, elder, and basil.How do you get rid of flies on the patio?To get rid of flies that keep coming back to your patio, the first step would be to clean the area well. You must wash with a borax and water solution. Clean everything on the patio including walls, the ground, and floors. Doing this will remove the trace of flies and thus, other flies won’t get attracted to the area. You must also ensure that all garbage cans are covered and the trash bag is removed and changed two times a week. There also must not be any scraps of food in the open as food attracts flies very fast. Yes, you read it right, the last slice of pizza that you have left out in the open could be an open invitation for flies.You can spray essential oils in your house to repel flies as they hate the smell of them. You can use eucalyptus, lemongrass, peppermint, and lavender as they especially hate the smell of these oils. Cinnamon’s smell also repels flies indoors as well as outdoors, You can even place vinegar fly traps in your house to trap flies. To make your own vinegar fly trap, you would need to add 1 in (2.5 cm) of water in a jar along with 1 in (2.5 cm) of fruit-scented liquid dish soap, in two to four drops of apple cider vinegar. Flies will be attracted to the aroma of apple cider vinegar but will sink in soapy water and get stuck in the jar. This solution traps flies quickly and effectively. You can also plant basil or other carnivorous plants as they are a natural fly repellent. You can plant sundew or Venus flytraps as they can help in getting rid of these pesky insects easily. Lastly, if you want to deter these pesky insects away in a satisfying, effective, and immediate way, you can swat flies with a fly swatter!How do you get rid of a cluster of flies on the patio?Getting rid of flies that are present in clusters can be an extremely annoying problem. To get rid of these flies outdoors, you must first eradicate them from their breeding area by cutting off their feeding and suitable breeding conditions. For that, you need to locate their breeding region first as this is the region from where a number of flies will be rapidly produced. You can try keeping a hot pan consisting of malt vinegar in this region as the scent will drive away flies. You can also try lighting up the area as breeding takes place under dark conditions. Another effective remedy is to mow the lawn as doing so will eradicate moisture-providing areas. Once you have eradicated the breeding area, there won’t be any swarms of flies trying to annoy you.Alternatively, you can also get rid of flies by placing an oscillating fan on your patio as the breeze will ensure that flies can’t fly to any place under the vicinity of the fan. You can create DIY fly strips on your own and not buy strips from stores. You will need essential oils such as rosemary, mint, basil, citronella, eucalyptus, lavender, clove, and lemongrass. These are oils that flies extremely hate. Cut strips of cloth that are 1 in (2.5 cm) wide and 12 in (30.4 cm) long. Add a few essential oil drops to these strips. Voila! Your very own fly strips are ready to be hung on any railing or branch around the patio and will effectively keep flies away from your patio. You can also make natural fly traps on your own by mixing a cup of water with a quarter a cup of sugar in a jug. Create a paper cone by rolling a piece of paper. This cone should be able to touch the liquid and the top of the jug. Attach this cone to the jug with tape and you’re done! This natural fly trap can effectively trap flies and funnel them inside the jug solving your fly problem. Another easier remedy to get rid of flies is to light a citronella candle as the scent of it is a natural fly repellent. Citronella is distilled from lemongrass varieties and is a highly aromatic oil that can repel flies and mosquitoes. You can light some citronella candles around the patio. Some varieties of plants can also be planted to stop flies from breeding.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how to get rid of flies on patio then why not take a look at why do flies like poop, or [Mayfly Facts]
Have you felt the urge to wave your hands in the air to deter the swarm of flies attacking you and your food in a yard?
