How to Get Rid of Flies in the House

How to get rid of  flies in the house  – use these home remedies!

House flies can be quite the pest to have around your home. Since many of us suffer from having these little creatures get indoors and fly around everywhere, I wanted to share some tips to help you get rid of house flies naturally.

I’m sure you’ve seen those sticky strips that are full of chemicals like this Permethrin, and other harsh pesticides that they say will rid your world of house flies, but I wanted to provide a few DIY natural ways to trap flies and get rid of these pests.

It’s important to use natural remedies anytime you can for pest control to avoid putting extra pollutants into your air and home.

Natural Ways to Get Rid of House Flies

Flies are one of the most pesky insects. Flies are annoying and they are dirty.

They can be a real nuisance, especially when you end up having a fly infestation in your home. Having flies everywhere in the house is disgusting but it can happen more easily than we think.

At certain times of years, there are more flies, especially in rural areas. Flies are most prevalent after winter when Spring brings warm weather.

 

Why do I have so many flies in my house?

You may be wondering why you have so many flies in your house. Many factors can be the cause of house flies getting inside. And, not only “regular” house flies, but cluster flies and mosquitos too.

Any food based trash will attract flies and other insects. Be sure to never leave kitchen trash in your inside trash cans too long without removing to outside garbage cans.

Regular cleaning of the garbage cans will help as well, as there could be food particles inside the can. Soda and other sugary foods will attract pests.

You could have some cracks or crevices in the windowsills or pet excrement outside the house. Flies also just sneak in when you open and shut the house door.

Adult flies can live (and the females will) lay batches of eggs in compost bins, if those bins contain any type of animal food. Animal carcasses (like bones from steak!) and rotting meat are perfect sources of food.

If you live close to a farm, you will have more of a problem with flies. This is because flies and other pests are attracted to the manure of cows, horses and pigs. 

 

Even though you may clean up your yard of any pet waste, flies will still come from other areas, if you have livestock near by your home.

Whatever the reasons, we’ve all fallen victim to the ever-annoying house flies. These natural ways to get rid of house flies will help you remove these flying insects from your home for good.

Tips to Kill Flies Indoors

Keep a Fly Swatter at Hand

This one is so obvious, but it bears reinforcing. There is nothing as quick as a fly swatter in the right hand! Since flies tend to hang out in the corner of a window, it makes it pretty easy to find them!

And if you have ever had a really bad fly infestation, you may already have had that satisfaction when you nail a few of these little pests with one shot. I wouldn’t say I like to kill flies, but yeah, sometimes I like to kill flies!

Note: When they’re on the window, kill a fly straight on and do NOT smear them down the window. You’re welcome. 

Use Vinegar and Dish Soap to get Rid of House Flies

Our first natural fly control method uses two kitchen ingredients. Do flies like vinegar? Yes they sure do. Using vinegar and dish soap for flies works very well.

Grab a tall glass and mix about one inch of apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap. Cover the glass with plastic wrap and secure it in place with a rubber band.

Poke a few holes in the top of the plastic cover then place the glass in an area where you want house flies to get trapped.

The apple cider vinegar will attract the house flies while the dish soap will sink the house flies in the glass of vinegar and dish soap.

 

Using Sticky Window Traps to Catch House Flies

These window sticky traps work great. They don’t use chemicals, the fly bait is all natural!

We have used them a lot and here is a picture to show how well they work.

It also shows how many flies we had in our mud room! Also, the photo is kind of disgusting. Ready?

 

I know, I did mention it was kind of gross. We had such a terrible problem with house flies here on the farm. 

Thank goodness, we now have that under control using these methods.

Hanging Fly Strips

There are these hanging fly strips as well. No doubt you’ve seen these and maybe even used them. 

I guess they have their place, we have used them on our porch. You can use a thumbtack to attach the string that’s at the top of the trap, to a ceiling.

But really, I can’t stand using these – they are ugly, super sticky and they look disgusting, even when they don’t have thousands of flies stuck to them.

I much prefer the window traps – you can hide them in the corner of the window and I just keep a decorative lantern in front of them. 

No one even knows that trap is there!

 

Getting Rid of House Flies with a Venus Flytrap Plant

It’s always nice to have plants in the house and one plant that can help get rid of house flies naturally is the Venus Flytrap.

This houseplant can be found at most garden nurseries or on Amazon for sale and is relatively inexpensive.

While you will have the plant spit out the exoskeleton of your pesky house flies, it will eat them so that you have fewer house flies to contend with around the home.

 

 

Spray for House Flies – Use Essential Oils as Fly Repellents

You can make an essential oil spray with some of the oils that flies naturally hate.

Some oil options for fly repellents include lavender, clove, mint, lemongrass, basil and eucalyptus oil.

Create a mixture of essential oils and water in a spray bottle. You will find this spray for house flies works really well as a repellant.

Spray the essential oil blends around entryways, the kitchen, and any other area that seems to be attracting house flies.

 

Use Herbs to Keep Flies Away

Herbs can be used as an easy, low cost way to help keep flying insects out of the house, especially if you grow your own herbs. Bay leaves are disliked by flies, so even if you set some fresh leaves in a bowl on a counter, it will help.

Cloves sprinkled into a shallow bowl and left out will help as well.

 

Weatherstrip Doors and Windows

You might be surprised that flies can get in through cracks around your doors and windows, but they can.

And here’s another surprise – make sure you have baseboards!

 

 

Flies can hide in the gaps between walls and floors – ask me how I know.

Sealing our home tighter and making sure each room has baseboards has helped a lot with the number of flies that can get in.

And of course, sealing your doors and windows with caulking and weather stripping will also help cut electric bills too – so seal those gaps! 

Read more about sealing out drafts here.

Questions about Killing Flies

Do dead flies attract more flies?

Yes dead flies attract more flies because pheromones are released whenever a fly is killed. And since flies like this, they come in search of the source!

How often should I clean up dead flies?

Clean up any dead flies in your home on a regular basis; sometimes that may mean daily. In a really bad infestation here, I was cleaning up after them every couple of hours. 

The cleaner you can keep your home, the better of course. That includes getting rid of as any dead flies in the house as often as you need to.

 

Get rid of houseflies using these tips!

So, use household items like vinegar and dish soap to trap house flies or purchase a Venus flytrap or make an essential oil blend to get rid of house flies naturally.

I’m confident these tips will help you rid your house of these winged insects in no time so that you can sit back and relax without the sound of buzzing around your head.

 

More to read!

Want an all natural weed killer recipe that even works on thistle and poison ivy? 

Want chickens for eggs or meat? Here’s what you should know about chickens before getting them!

 

Want to find out which are The 5 Easiest Vegetables to Grow?

Available only to subscribers; join our Newsletter!

 

 

 

latest update July, 2023