To get rid of flies in and around your home, you can set up traps using household items or store-bought traps. If you’re not having luck, you can call in pest control professionals. They’ll assess the issue and use methods such as sanitation, traps and insecticides to eliminate flies.
Flies are not just nuisances; they can also carry harmful pathogens. Flies are attracted to organic material, especially if it is decaying, such as food, grass clippings or animal feces.
The first step in getting rid of flies is learning about your elimination and prevention options. This article will answer common questions to help stop the incessant buzzing — and keep your home and family safe from flies.
How do you eliminate flies?
You can start eliminating flies immediately with do-it-yourself (DIY) methods that use household items — you can also supplement this approach by purchasing traps and insecticides.
Set up traps
Many good fly traps are available inexpensively. You can also try DIY traps. One method is to use a jar with a small amount of apple cider vinegar and an equal amount of dish soap. Punch holes in the lid, or use plastic wrap with small holes instead. The vinegar attracts the flies, and the soap kills them.
For another home remedy, roll stiff paper into a cone so the tip has an opening of about 1/8 inch. Place it into a jar with a mixture of vinegar and dish soap so the tip of the cone is just above the liquid. Once flies enter the trap, even if they do not immediately die from the soap, they find it impossible to leave.
Sticky traps and sticky fly paper can be very effective for small infestations. This type of trap is also useful for determining infestation size because you have a clear view of the number caught, and it is and is easy to dispose of. Simple commercial fly traps range in price from around $4 to $24 at ACE Hardware.
Fly zappers are light traps that attract flies with UV light and kill them with an electrified grid. When they are well designed, the dead flies fall into a removable tray at the base of the zapper. This type of trap ranges from around $25 to $60 at ACE Hardware, but some high-end, commercial-grade models cost a few hundred dollars.
Tip
The downside of traps is that they generally only kill adult flies, not larvae.
Use insecticides
Homeowners can buy many of the same chemicals professionals use; however, we urge caution if you decide to take this approach. Using pesticides safely and correctly is important to protect the user, nearby people and the environment.
Permethrin is a common insecticide used for fly control. As with all pesticides sold in the US, it is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, so you can read its fact sheet for information about its use and hazards. Permethrin is “likely to be carcinogenic” when orally ingested. Use a full-face respirator when applying this chemical.
We recommend leaving the use of such chemicals to professionals. Permethrin is highly toxic to aquatic life and cats. If you decide to use an insecticide, read and follow all the precautions on the label.
Call in professionals
When you contact a professional, a technician will come to your house to assess your situation.
The professionals we spoke with agreed that flies are difficult to control. Clark Pest Control and Terminix Pest Control do not treat homes for flies. Customer Service Representatives at both companies told us that fly infestations typically indicate another issue, such as a dead rodent or neighbors not cleaning up pet feces as often as they should.
If you suspect that your fly problem is caused by the presence of other pests, such as mice in the walls, a professional will have solid strategies to help you.
A technician would first properly identify what type of flies should be targeted in the yard or home, said Roberto Hernandez, owner of Cardiff Pest Control in Santa Cruz, California. He suggested picking up animal waste immediately, removing stagnant water and garbage and turning or covering mulch to reduce the attractiveness of rotting material.
If removing the source is ineffective, the technician will reevaluate the situation and provide an integrated pest management solution to eliminate the source of the infestation.
Insecticides are often used only as a last resort to eradicate the problem, as they’re quite potent — application usually lasts for several months. The company may recommend recurring treatments to address the problem completely.
How do you prevent flies?
To prevent flies, exclude them from your home and sanitize areas and items that typically draw them. You can also use essential oils and plants to deter them.
Secure any openings
Here are some tips to ensure your home’s entry points are secure:
- Ensure that window screens are in place and intact
- Caulk your windows if there are leaks
- Repair any openings to the outside, no matter how small
- Keep exterior doors and windows closed when not in use
Keep your space clean
Sanitation requires frequent and thorough cleanup of food preparation and waste areas, including drains and other organic materials such as grass clippings and leaves.
Keeping drains and garbage disposals sanitized is often as simple as pouring two to four cups of boiling water in them monthly to get rid of drain flies.
Stubborn drains and disposals will benefit from a vinegar and baking soda treatment after the boiling water. Pour one cup of vinegar and one cup of baking soda into the drain. Leave the mixture overnight; if this isn’t practical, leave it for at least one hour. Rinse the drain with another application of boiling water.
Fly prevention cleaning checklist
- Avoid leaving dishes in the sink and food residue in the sink drains or garbage disposal
- Clear pet feces daily
- Dispose of indoor and outdoor trash frequently
- Dispose of overripe fruits and vegetables to help get rid of fruit flies
- Keep food in sealed containers, preferably in the refrigerator or cabinets
- Move garbage cans as far away from the home as possible and keep them covered
- Place uncomposted food waste well inside the compost pile
- Rake grass clippings
- Sweep kitchens of any food debris
- Turn compost regularly
- Wipe counters and dining tables after use
Buy plants
Many outdoor plants and houseplants act as fly repellents. Herb plants are especially good at this, and many herbs typically grown outside will also grow well near a sunny window.
Here are some plants that can help repel flies:
- Basil
- Carnivorous plants
- Lavender
- Lemongrass
- Marigold
- Mint (especially peppermint)
- Rosemary
- Sage
Use essential oils
You can choose from many essential oils that repel flies, including neem, citronella and eucalyptus.
Studies show that neem and vanillin repel adult flies, but oils of vetiver (a grass), cinnamon and lavender better repel fly larvae. Essential oil blends have not been shown to be any more effective in fly management than individual oils.
What causes a fly infestation?
Like most pests, flies are attracted to food sources and conditions that allow them to reproduce. House flies are drawn to rotting food and animal feces.
Fruit flies are drawn to rotting produce and fermenting liquids such as beer and wine. Drain flies are attracted by shallow, dirty water, such as that found in drains and trash cans.
What are the types of flies?
There are thousands of types of flies found on every continent. The most common flies we encounter are house flies, fruit flies and drain flies.
House flies
House flies are the ones we see most often. They may seem only a nuisance, but their preference to feed on animal waste and rotting food makes them carriers of harmful pathogens. One fly can carry multiple pathogens after it has visited a variety of rotting organic matter.
House flies live only one to two months, but the female can lay hundreds of eggs, ensuring that the next generation will carry on — perhaps even stronger in number. Fly eggs are tiny, making them difficult to see and kill. When they grow into maggots, you can see them and kill them with boiling water.
House flies might enter your home through a leaky window, an open door or window, or a hole in a window screen.
Fruit flies
Fruit flies are small — usually about 1/8 inch. While they are attracted to fruit, they like other produce and fermented liquids such as beer, wine and vinegar. All of these substances produce CO2, a fruit fly attractant.
Like house flies, fruit flies can spread pathogens as they travel from rotting foods to those that are still edible.
Fruit flies can enter your home on produce or through any opening to the outside.
Drain flies
Drain flies are about the same size as fruit flies but have a moth-like appearance. They like to hang out in still water with decaying organic matter in it.
Drain flies live for around two weeks. Just as the eggs complete their larval cycle and emerge as adults, the previous generation dies, creating an almost unending infestation.
In addition to entering your home through openings to the outside, some species are small enough to enter through intact window screens.
What’s next?
If you have ongoing issues with flies, evaluate your home and yard. Look for areas that regularly have some sort of decaying organic material. If you use mulch to deter weeds, it could attract flies as it rots. Examine secluded areas of your yard to see if they’re serving as a final resting place for other pests. Or, maybe it’s time to pressure wash the garbage cans.
As part of your evaluation, check the house for potential entry points for flies, and repair any you find. Set traps as needed, and plant some lovely herbs while you’re at it.
If you continue to have issues after taking action on the items you have uncovered in your evaluation, consider calling a professional in for their evaluation.
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