How To Quickly Get Rid of House Flies and Fruit Flies
Flies are one of the most common house pests in the world. From houseflies and cluster flies to fruit flies, they can invade your space quickly, especially when the weather is warm during the spring and summer. While flies don’t bite, they can transfer more than 100 different pathogens, including salmonellosis, typhoid, and tuberculosis. They can contaminate food surfaces by spreading disease picked up on their legs and mouths when feeding on trash and feces. Plus, they defecate constantly. They might not cause you direct harm, but they aren’t exactly the best house guests to have around.
Why Do I Have So Many Flies in My House
The best sign of a fruit fly infestation is the flies themselves. You might see their larva around, but really you will see the flies. House flies and fruit flies can be a real nuisance in your home and they often don’t require an exterminator.
What’s the Difference Between Cluster Flies and House Flies?
Cluster flies are slightly larger than house flies and a bit darker. House flies are typically more active, flying and buzzing all over the place, while cluster flies tend to be a bit slow. Cluster flies are primarily found outdoor and will try to find their way into your home to hibernate in the colder months. Cluster flies love to gather around windows and doors. House flies on the other hand are found inside your house, especially in and around garbage cans or unattended, discarded food such as meat, fruit or vegetables.
How Do I Get Rid of House Flies
Whether you have house flies or fruit flies, it is important to keep your house clean. Food left out on counters, open trash cans, and dog food can attract flies to your home. Flies love to lay eggs in decomposing fruits and vegetables. It’s also important to make sure the area around your house is clean. Flies also hate basil, lavender, and mint. So keep these plants around your house or your kitchen to get rid of flies naturally.
Don’t just focus inside either. Your yard can attract flies that eventually make their way into your house. Be sure to keep garbage cans and rotten fruits and vegetables covered and away from your house when they are full. Also, pick up after your pets. Even though it is out in your yard, it is bringing those pesky flies closer and closer to your home.
Plants are another great natural way to prevent fly infestations. Flies hate certain kinds of plants, so keeping those in and around your house creates a safe and natural barrier. Flies hate basil, lavender, bay laurel, tansy, rosemary, mint, pennyroyal, wormwood, citronella grass, sweet woodruff, eucalyptus, catnip, and rue. So choose a few of these to plant either in or around your home.
How Do I Get Rid of Fruit Flies
Fruit flies tend to be a more common infestation in the home. Here are a few natural DIY fruit fly traps:
- Apple Cider Vinegar Trap: Create a fruit fly trap by mixing a few drops of dish soap with a cup of apple cider vinegar and leaving it on the counter in an open container. The vinegar attracts the fruit flies to the cup and the dish soap works to trap them there.
- Paper Cone, Vinegar, and old Fruit: Pour some vinegar in the bottom of a jar and add some overly ripe fruit. Then roll up a piece of paper into a cone and place it on the top of the jar. The fruit will lure them into the jar and the cone will trap most of the flies that enter.
- Wine/Beer: Leaving out wine or beer can work similarly. They are attracted to the smells but will get trapped in the liquid. You can add some dish soap to this as well for better success.
- Fruit Fly Spray: put 2 ounces of hot water into a small spray bottle and add ten drops of lemongrass essential oil. Spray this water and lemongrass oil mixture on fruit flies as you see them. Don’t spray this mixture directly onto fruit or other food, because the essential oil may not be safe for consumption.
- Basil: Lastly, fruit flies don’t like fresh basil. So you can keep a basil plant in your kitchen or take some fresh sprigs of basal and keep them in the bottom of your fruit dish. Just be sure to regularly replace the basil as it wilts.
DIY Traps To Get Rid of Flies
There are also plenty of DIY fly traps that you can purchase and set up yourself for both flies and fruit flies. You will want to be sure that you know that it is in the traps that you purchase and you keep them away from children or pets. This is a risk with any extermination traps that you leave around your house. There are all kinds of fly traps though. From sticky paper to electric traps, you have plenty of options when it comes to getting rid of flies yourself.
If your fly problem persists, it is time to call in an expert. While flies themselves aren’t harmful, they are unsanitary, and having them flying around your house can be a risk to you and your family’s health. It also might be indicative of another problem or infestation. Blue Beetle specializes in identifying and removing infestations like this and we would be happy to help you get rid of your unwelcome guests. Whether you have exhausted all the DIY options or just don’t have time, Blue Beetle can help keep your home pest-free.
