Are you struggling with flies? Want to know how to keep flies away from your outdoor parties? Trust me, I know how annoying flies can be.
The good news is, no matter how infested your home or surrounding is with these pesky little bugs, I will share some tips and recipes that will help you get rid of flies for good.
I have always hated flies but not as much as my husband, the sight of a single fly is more than enough to make him completely uncomfortable.
I remember once when my youngest child asked me “ Mom, why are flies in our house?” If you have ever wondered the same, here’s a quick answer. Flies are living organisms that must eat to survive, they are mostly attracted to dirty environments, and leftover food.
If you always have dirty dishes in your kitchen, you might want to wash everything, and yes, even the one you wanted to save for later. When there’s nothing to feed off in your home, the flies will surely have to leave.
It is easier to keep flies away indoors than outdoors. It is literally frustrating to deal with flies outside your home, but not to worry, these natural fly repellent tips and recipes are going to work like magic.
Table of Contents
Keeping Flies Away - 17 DIY Recipes And Tips
Here is a compilation of recipes and tips that will help keep flies away from your surroundings for good. Whether you want to trap, kill them or send them packing for good, these should help do the task.
1. Essential Oil Fly Spray
I would recommend this essential oil fly spray for people who are allergic to some common oils used like; Eucalyptus, lavender, and pine. This spray emits a sweet-smelling savor for humans but repels flies as though it were magic.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon of dish soap.
- 15 drops of basil oil.
- 15 drops of rosemary oil.
- 15 drops of peppermint oil.
- 2 cups of apple cider vinegar.
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Instructions
In a spray bottle, mix all the ingredients listed above and that’s it. Give the bottle a good shake and then spray the mixture in the areas where you do not want flies, it should work like a charm.
2. Anti Flies Repellent Sound
This is more of a tip than a recipe. It can be used indoors and outdoors. All you would have to do is play this sound through a speaker that’ll make it loud enough. Exposing the flies to this Ultrasonic(50-60)Hz will definitely keep them away for sure.
Yes! I first doubted if it was going to work, but to my greatest surprise, the flies were gone. The sound emits a high-frequency wave that affects and disturbs the nervous system of flies. The wave isn’t harmful to humans in any way.
3. DIY Fly Spray
If you have a serious house fly problem, here’s an easy DIY fly spray recipe to make. It can even be used on your skin. The ingredients should not react with your skin.
Ingredients
- 55 drops of eucalyptus oil.
- ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar.
- ¼ cup of witch hazel.
Instructions
First mix the witch hazel and apple cider vinegar inside a spray bottle of your choice. Afterward, add the specified drops of eucalyptus oil and shake. It will most definitely keep the flies away from your home. If the scent is unbearable, feel free to add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil, it should make it a bit better.
4. Simple Homemade Fly Trap DIY
This homemade fly trap can be made from home without having to purchase anything. All you would need are 3 major supplies. You will need some honey, water, and a mason jar. Firstly, “based on the flies around your home” get your preferred size of the mason jar, poke some holes that will be big enough for the flies to fit in, then add water and a little bit of honey to the mason jar.
You can make as many of these as possible. Be sure to keep the mason jar around where the flies are troubling you.
5. Vinegar Fly Trap
Fruit flies can’t resist the temptation of this vinegar fly trap. Just like the previous trap, this one is easy to set up but uses different ingredients.
Ingredients
- Cider vinegar.
- Liquid Dish soap.
- Mason jar.
Instructions
Into a mason jar, pour a good amount of cider vinegar, make sure the bottom of the mason jar is completely covered. Add a drop of the liquid dish soap and cover the jar. Be sure to poke a few holes at the top of the jar, holes wide enough for the flies to fit in. Now wait and watch the magic happen.
6. Hair Spray
Most people do not know about this, it is one of the easiest ways to get rid of flies. Simple go to your drawer or wherever your hair spray is, take it out and disperse it around your house, doing this will significantly reduce the flies capability to fly, thus making it easier for you to embrace your destiny as “the last fly exterminator”
7. Sugar Water Fly Trap
The sugar water flytrap has been used by many to reduce the lifespan of flies around the world, you should consider using this method too. The best part about this is you do not need to purchase anything, 90% of homes have all the materials used for this flytrap.
Simply dissolve sugar in water, be sure to use enough sugar but not too much. Pour the sugar-water solution into a mason jar, use plastic wrap to cover the top of the mason jar, and poke some holes for the flies to dive in easily.
8. Apple Cider Vinegar Spray
Here’s a fly repellent that makes use of things you most likely have laying around in your kitchen cabinet. The scent of this spray is quite strong and might be displeasing but it works like magic. Here’s what you’ll need;
Ingredients
- Water
- Vinegar
- Apple cider vinegar
- 10 drops of tree oil
- 20 drops of vegetable glycerin
- 15 drops of lavender essential oil.
Instructions
- Fill the spray bottle with ⅔ rd of apple cider vinegar.
- Add water to the spray bottle.
- Add the essential oils.
- Give a little shake and spray where you don’t want flies.
9. Olive Oil And Soap Spray
This is another natural fly repellent that you can make from home. The two major ingredients are olive oil and soap. It won’t hurt to use some of your cooking olive oil at home. Here’s all you need to know about this special recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 15 drops of eucalyptus.
- A splodge of dish soap.
- 15 drops of peppermint.
- 15 drops of lavender.
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients one after the other in a spray bottle.
- Shake and allow to sit for about 2-3 minutes.
- Spritz the mixture to drive away flies.
10. Homemade Fly Repellent For Animals
If you have farm animals, here’s a repellent that you make for them. Just spray it around your dog, cat, or any other animal and watch the flies run for their dear lives.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of water
- 2 ml glycerin.
- 6 ml citronella oil
- 1 ml vitamin E oil
- 20 ml geranium oil
- 6 ml of citronella oil
- 5 ml of rosemary oil
- 1 ml thyme oil
- 5 ml lemongrass oil
- 8 ml clove oil
- 5ml cedar oil
Simply mix all the ingredients in a large enough spray bottle and shake well, allowing it to sit for 2-3 minutes before use.
11. Homemade Fly Spray With Vinegar, Soap & Essential oils
If you are looking for a simple recipe, one whose ingredients are easy to come by, then check out this homemade fly spray recipe. The major ingredients needed are soap, vinegar and a few essential oils.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dish soap
- 30 drops of eucalyptus oil
- Water
Instructions
- Add a little amount of water to a spray bottle.
- Add the dish soap and vinegar to the spray bottle.
- Mix the solution well and use it.
12. Homemade Fly Recipe For Horse
A horse becomes flies's favorite friend due to many reasons. Unfortunately, the horse doesn’t like the friendship with flies and sadly there’s not much he or she can do about it. But you can help with this homemade fly recipe for horses.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white vinegar
- ½ cup spray-on sunscreen
- 50 drops citronella oil
- 25 drops of lemongrass essential oil.
- 25 drops of peppermint essential oil.
- 20 drops of lavender essential oil.
- 2 cups of water.
- 2 tablespoons of liquid soap.
All you would have to do is add all these ingredients into a 32 oz spray bottle and give it a proper shake. Spritz the solution on your horse and it should end the non-mutual friendship.
13. Citronella Smoke
You can repel not just flies but other insects as well by using citronella candles in your space. Purchase a couple of candles and light them up. The smoke from these candles will have the dreaded citronella effect on bugs and flies.
14. Water-Filled Plastic Bag
This is another method many people do not know about, however, this method will only work in the daytime when there’s enough light. Flies are known to have 3000 lenses per eye, and filling up a transparent plastic bag with water and hanging it around your patio, door or window will confuse flies completely.
Entomologists have even recommended this method.
15. How To Grow A Venus Fly Trap
Carnivorous plants can also help you deal with your fly issue. You can learn how to grow a venus fly trap plant and use it to your advantage. With this method, you can trap and kill flies without having to use any spray.
16. Citrus Fruit Peels
Think again before you throw away citrus fruit peels, they have proven to be quite useful in the eradication of houseflies. For this to work, you will need to place freshly peeled lemon, grape, or orange peels near areas where you do not want flies.
17. Soap And Water Trap Method
For this method, you will need just two ingredients. The first is a fruit-scented dish soap that will attract the flies and then a bowl or bucket of water. You can add a little detergent into the water, just use your hand or a tool to mix the water and then allow it to sit, the flies will surely dive in and get trapped.
What smell do flies hate the most?
Now, this is a good question to ask! Research proves that flies have a very powerful sense of smell, hence their attraction to food in or around your home. You can use their smelling sense against them by simply sprinkling or spraying scents that they do not like;
Some of the things you can use are;
- Bay leaves.
- Rosemary.
- Eucalyptus.
- Peppermint.
- Basil.
- Lavender.
- Pine.
What helps keep flies away outside?
Are you planning a party outdoors and wondering how to keep flies away from food at an outdoor party? Here are some tips that might help.
● Use Electric Fans
Flies won’t be able to fly so well with wind, I know you are having an outdoor party, but you might want to consider using an electric fan. Some people use contemporary fans, however, I would suggest using the Treva FD15001 Bug Repellent Fan. All you have to do is place it on the table where your food is and allow the fan to do the rest of the work.
● Wear Bug Repellents
The use of bug repellents on your skin is another cool method of driving flies away from outdoor picnics. If you are having 10 people over, you could ask a few of them to wear the repellent. Most repellents do not have bad scents.
● Cover Food
Not everyone fancies the idea of wearing bug repellents, if you have some friends that just won’t wear any, you can simply cover your food outdoors, this would make it quite frustrating for the flies. Although it might not drive them away.
● Clean The Surrounding
This should be one of the first things you should do if you want to keep flies away from your outdoor food party, make sure you clean the surrounding thoroughly, there should be no animal droppings around, nor should there be leftover food from days back. If there’s a trash can around, empty it or keep it completely sealed. A better move would be to take it far away from where you would be having the outdoor food party.
● Remove Standing Water
Stagnant water could be a breeding place for not just flies but other bugs that would disturb your outdoor food party with friends or family. If it is impossible to remove standing water from your surroundings, you should opt for some DIY recipes and tips that will help keep flies and other insects away for good.
Final Words
Tackling flies can be easy and can also be tough. The first thing you should do before using any of the recipes and tips listed in this article is to ask yourself “why are there flies in my home?” It could be due to dirty linen, leftover food, and many other factors. After tackling the source, you should then go ahead to try out the recipes and tips that will drive them away for good.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope this article has been helpful to you, feel free to ask questions or give contributions using the comment section below. Have fun chasing those Keeping Flies Away for good!
Ask Me Anything