As summer draws nearer, fly problems can quickly become like a bad dream that simply won’t end! Sometimes in the warmer weather it’s nice to have the doors and windows to allow the fresh air to pass through your home. Summer is also a peak time for selling houses, so if your house is on show, you may need to make sure it’s fly-free before people arrive. Whatever your reason, you might be wondering if it’s possible to stop flies from coming into the house without going into complete lockdown.
Well, there’s good news and bad news.
The bad news is that there’s no 100% way to prevent flies from entering your home if the doors or windows are open. But the good news is that if you remove the things that attract flies, then the chances of them coming into your home are very slim.
In this post, you’ll learn which types of flies commonly enter your home, what attracts them there, and how you can deter flies by simply removing the things that lure them into your home.
Houseflies, blue bottle flies and fruit flies are the three most common flies that occupy people’s homes. Not attracting them into your home is actually a lot easier than you may think!
First, let’s debunk domestic fly traps.
Do Fly Traps Work?
Forget about fly traps like fly-paper if you plan to keep the windows open.
These may catch flies, but they also attract flies – many of which will end up buzzing around exactly where you don’t want them and settling on nearby surfaces! Not to mention the traps themselves are incredibly aesthetically unappealing!
It may feel cathartic to see the little buggers caught, but luring them in is actually making the problem worse!
Deterring House Flies and Blue Bottle Flies from your House
Houseflies are attracted to decaying matter such as faeces, meat and animal products.
Firstly, if you have pets, ensure that you clean up any waste left by them from the garden or litter box promptly.
Ensure that this is transferred to a sealed bag and disposed of outside of and away from the house.
The same goes for nappies, if you have a baby in the house.
Secondly, do not leave any meat, bones or similar exposed animal products like cheese out in your kitchen, dining room, living room, etc – whether cooked, uncooked, fresh, defrosting, or meal scraps!
Crucially, you also need to ensure that no surface contains any juices from meat on it after preparation – not even a drop! – as flies can detect this from a long way off!
Any meat, bones, animal products, paper towels you used for wiping up meat or animal fat, or cloths and sponges inextricably saturated with animal fat or juices, should all be disposed of in a sealed plastic bag – as rubbish bins often do not close completely!
The best yet is to take the rubbish out immediately if it contains any meat.
Even if you use paper towels for wiping up meat juices, ensure you use dish soap to clean the surface.
When defrosting meat, either defrost it inside your refrigerator (which means removing it from the freezer earlier) or ensure it is carefully wrapped in a sealed bag (not tin foil) or placed in a container with an airtight seal.
If you transfer the meat between containers in the process, this means washing your hands, rinsing and washing the outside of the bag or container holding the meat, and properly wiping down surfaces of juices.
In most households, the main fly attractant is bins.
Bins contain all manner of things, and if a bin isn’t taken outside when the weather is warm, it can really start to smell, which attracts flies. In warm weather it’s best to take your bin out at the end of each day, so it’s not left festering in your kitchen overnight.
The biggest culprit in bins for attracting flies is meat. So, to prevent flies from coming into your house, you should bag meat separately and take it outside immediately, rather than placing it in the bin until the end of the day. This will greatly help stop flies from entering your home.
How to Deter Fruit Flies from Entering Your House
The trick with fruit flies is the same principle as deterring house flies and blue bottle flies, except fruit flies are attracted to vegetation, rather than meat.
You will want to avoid leaving out anything fruity or yeasty. Yeast is produced by decomposing vegetation. It’s this that attracts fruit flies.
Fruit flies are lured by more than just fruit. Attractants include sauces, alcohol, fruit juice, fruit bowls (particularly containing overripe, bumped or bruised fruit), and rotting vegetables.
Finally, fruit flies are also attracted to bits of rotting food lodged in drains!
You can ensure your kitchen drains are clean by pouring some drain cleaner down your emptied sink’s drain. These cleaners are designed to dissolve organic matter, and will also help to prevent blockages!
To prevent fruit flies being attracted into your home, you’ll need to ensure there’s no fruit or vegetation available. Place everything into the fridge. If the fruit is old, damaged or starting to rot, throw it out, placing it into an outside bin, to avoid attracting fruit flies into your home.
If your kitchen has a bin for organic waste, ensure this bin is taken out each day, at the end of the day. Choose a bin with an airtight sealable lid to help prevent the smell of the organic matter luring fruit flies.
You’ve Got This!
Solving the problem of flies in your house really is doable with proper waste management practices!
Do you have a serious fly problem in your business? Did you know that Merlin specialise in helping businesses by eliminating pests of all kinds, including flies. Get in touch to discuss how we can help solve your pest problems.
