Houseflies getting too comfortable in your home?
Here’s how to prevent and get rid of them, fast!
Houseflies arecommon household peststhat can be a nuisance.
Credit:Getty Images / Jenny Dettrick
While they don’t bite, they can transmit diseases.
They carry harmful pathogens on their feet from their dirty feeding and breeding grounds.
Those pathogens can cause food poisoning, cholera, E. coli, typhoid fever, dysentery, and tuberculosis.
Here’s how to do it effectively.
They are primarily attracted to decaying organic matter, namely rotting food.
An infestation can be challenging to get rid of.
Prevention Tactics
Prevention is better than a cure.
To avoid houseflies in your home, control their access.
Keep all the windows and doors closed or install screens.
The best way to prevent flies from making your home theirs is to eliminate their feeding and breeding grounds.
Flies are attracted to rotting fruits, food, uncovered drinks, feces, andgarbage cans.
So, the first step to eliminating flies is tomaintain general cleanliness.
Don’t forget to clean up after your pets.
Don’t leave their half-empty food bowls uncovered.
Keep the cat litter box, hamster cages, and other pet dwellings clean.
Lavender, basil, lemongrass, peppermint, and eucalyptus are excellent fly repellants.
you’re free to use them to make a spray.
Fill a spray bottle with water and add just enough essential oil to smell the scent in the air.
Then, spray it generously around kitchen doorways and windowsills.
Flowers and herbs:Plants likemint,lavender,lemongrass, andbasilare natural fly repellants.
Place them in a jar or plant them in an outside garden.
Cayenne pepper, lemons, and cloves can also repel flies.
True plant lovers can alsoplant a Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant that feeds on flies and insects.
This funnel will lure flies in and trap them there.
The sugar will attract the flies into the container, and the paper cone will prevent them from escaping.
Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and poke small, fly-sized holes at the top.
The vinegar attracts the pesky flies, while the soap affects the vinegar’s surface tension.
When flies land in the bowl, they are stuck and drown.
If you are already dealing with an infestation, you might need to resort to store-bought insecticides or repellants.
These work against all bugs but are especially effective for flies.
Diatomaceous earth:This non-toxic insecticide dust kills flies on contact by damaging their exoskeletons.
Use a pesticide duster to puff the dust onto surfaces commonly frequented by houseflies.
Doing this every one to two weeks should get rid of any infestation.
Insecticides and repellants:Products containing pyrethrin are some of the most effective for fly control.
For indoor use, shop around for safe, non-toxic varieties.
Treat the doorways and windows with residual pyrethroid spray.
Sticky traps:Store-bought flypaper is also an excellent way to trap houseflies.
Pest control professionals have the knowledge and capacity to deal safely and effectively with any bug or pest infestation.
Most follow the ERDM approach: exclusion, restriction, destruction, and monitoring.
