An infestation of flies can be serious health risk, as well as an awful experience! Anyone who has found their house suddenly buzzing with flies just wants to get rid of them, pronto!
In this article, we provide numerous ways to get rid of house flies, blue bottle flies, and even fruit flies – quickly!
Removing The Attractant
The number one way to get rid of flies is to remove the thing that’s attracting them.
Removing the attractant, even after the flies have arrived, can quickly reduce the number of flies, and stop more from coming in. For detailed preventative measures, you can check out our article on How to STOP Flies Coming in the House (Even With Open Doors).
If you’re dealing with fruit flies, they will be looking for fermenting vegetation. This could be old fruit or veg located anywhere from a fruit bowl to some food stuck in plughole of the kitchen sink.
Other common flies such as bluebottles and house flies will be attracted by meat, faeces and general filth.
In all cases, flies search for places to lay eggs. The reason why they are attracted to various things is because these attractants are a food source for their offspring (maggots).
Once fly eggs are laid on the attractant, it soon becomes the source of the flies as eggs hatch into maggots and maggots evolve into flies.
Trapping Fruit Flies
Vinegar Traps
You can lure and even kill fruit flies with apple cider vinegar, which you can use to make a homemade fly trap.
Simply pour a little into a bowl and cover it in plastic wrap, secured with a rubber band. Poke some small holes into the plastic wrap for the flies to enter. Having flown in, they will be trapped inside. You can throw away the fly-saturated vinegar after about a week.
An alternative way to use vinegar as a trap is to pour some dish soap into a bowl of vinegar, with a ratio of roughly three drops of dish soap to ¼ to ½ a cup of vinegar. The flies will be attracted to the vinegar, and because dish soap reduces the surface tension, they will sink.
You can also use a paper cone as the trap. Put out a jar with a small amount of apple vinegar, then roll a sheet of paper into a cone shape, making sure there’s a 2mm gap at the point of the cone. Rest it in the jar like a funnel and tape around the edges where the paper meets the glass. The flies will enter the jar through the tiny hole, and become trapped by the cone.
Old Beer or Wine as a Trap
Some ageing beer or leftover wine makes a very effective trap!
You can either set a trap similar to the above vinegar traps – with wine or beer as the lure instead of vinegar.
Or, simply leave the wine bottle out, as the long narrow neck makes it easy for the fruit flies to enter but difficult for them to escape.
There are also commercial fly traps you can purchase at a store, which work in a similar way to homemade traps, but for fruit flies, it’s the home made traps are so effective, and cheap to make, it’s best to just make your own. Plus it gives you an excuse to enjoy a bottle of wine or a few beers.
Isopropyl Alcohol as a Bug Spray
Alcohol spray is great for killing fruit flies. It’s simple to make. use common household rubbing alcohol and place it into a spray bottle. Now you have a deadly fruit fly spray.
Use a high-percentage alcohol solution (of 70% or 91% isopropyl alcohol).
Fortunately, this alcohol also kills fruit fly eggs, maggots and larvae just as effectively!
Note that if you use the spray on any surfaces used for cooking, you should take care to prevent the alcohol from getting into food.
Blue bottles & house flies
When dealing with an infestation, there is always good old-fashioned sticky flypaper you can buy locally, designed for catching flies! If you’ve ever seen it hanging from a ceiling you’ll know just how unsightly it is, and it’s effectiveness is limited.
We don’t recommend this.
The best DIY solution for killing flies is a swatter, but it will have you running around the house swinging your arms like a kung fu master. You’ll also enjoy the added benefit of a good cardio workout.
You should use a swatter in conjunction with removing the attractant. This normally means putting the bins outside and cleaning up thoroughly. If you have pets that eat tinned foods, make sure you are not leaving the food out all day. Dispose of the leftovers after the pet has had enough to eat.
Always place meat leftovers from any food preparation or meals outside straightaway instead of placing into the kitchen bin, as otherwise these could attract more flies.
Getting rid of house flies and bluebottles
Fly spray
Fly sprays from the shop are also an okayish solution for getting rid of flies. Take careful note of whether the spray is safe to use indoors and near where food might be prepared though! And always read the safety instructions on the can.
At Merlin, we always prefer to avoid chemicals since they are normally not super safe.
Citronella
Citronella emits a powerful odour that repels flies. Citronella candles and citronella oil not only help to repel flies, but are also useful deterrent against mosquitoes, gnats, fleas, and some other insects. In addition, the scent helps mask other attractants to flies. The scent of citronella in the air and on surfaces can also linger for a while, to keep flies away for longer.
You may have heard of citronella candles, but they are designed for outdoor use. However a diffuser containing citronella can be ideal for indoors, as you do not have to worry about smut building up or the risk of fire.
You can also make your own spray from citronella by mixing a few drops of citronella oil into water. If you don’t have citronella oil, you can substitute for peppermint, basil, lavender, cinnamon, clove or eucalyptus oil instead.
Essential oil sprays are only a milt deterrent for flies.
The most effective DIY solution is to remove the attractant and use a swatter to kill the ones that have entered.
UV zappers
Normally only used in commercial setting, such as a kitchen, where food is being cooked all day, UV fly zappers are a highly effective way to keep a persistent fly problem under control. A UV zapper will attract the flies toward the UV light and then zap them with electricity once they enter the apparatus. These are a very effective way to keep flies and moths under control, especially in a commercial setting, although they can be installed in domestic settings too.
Professional Pest Control
If you are struggling with a fly infestation, often the easiest and most effective way to get rid of them is just to call in a professional.
Do you have a serious fly problem in your business? Merlin specialise in helping businesses by eliminating and preventing pests of all kinds, including flies.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help solve your pest problems.
