Simply Home Remedies

Dealing with the Plague of Flies

by Marye Audet on July 1st, 2008

If you are feeling oddly like a certain Egyptian Pharaoh this summer and cursed with a plague of flies…there are things that you can do. Kadi at Guerilla Parenting was asking about the scourge of the constantly open screen door the other day. You know what I mean, kids that open the door lean in and holler

“MOOOOOOOM!”

“Shut the door.”

“I am going right back out”

“Shut the door!”

“But will you hand me a drink?”

“Come in and SHUT THE DOOR”

“I am going right back out!”

By this time every fly in the neighborhood has decided that the delectable smells from your kitchen are the best. They are hovering in a black cloud above the cake you are trying to mix up and…

well you know.

We live on two acres and just behind our house are a chicken coop and goat barn. These types of places are basically adult type clubs for flies. Red light district. Fly porn. So how do I keep my kitchen free of the nasty creatures?

Basil planted near doorways gives a sweet scent when the door is opened and best of all, flies hate it with a purple passion. Added benefit:You can pick fresh basil for cooking anytime you want.

You can hand the kids fly swatters and pay them a kill fee of a penny a fly. This one is good because it keeps them occupied, too.

An old southern tradition that works is to hang a baggie of water from the porch ceiling; several if you have a big porch. The reflections from the water disoriented the flies and they…uh…fly away.

You can buy the fly sticky tape stuff for about 60 cents at almost any feed store. These are, admittedly gross. BUT they work. I keep them in the barns.

Borax in the bottom of your garbage pail will keep them from ..uh…breeding and hatching there. And don’t leave wet dishcloths around the sink, if you know what I mean.

Some people say that a little dish soap and water poured into a spray bottle will kill them when you spray them. I have not tried this.

Common sense things like keeping the trash taken out, taking care of food promptly, and keeping the compost container covered will help too.

One of the best ways, and I have used this with great results is to get a fly predator. It is a type of wasp that is harmless to humans that feeds on house fly larvae. I did this a few years ago and I know it has made a huge difference. You just sprinkle the wasp eggs around areas like your compost pile, manure piles and other places that flies breed. Pretty soon no more flies…and I have never seen the wasps.

If none of that works…try ducks. They are amazingly good at catching and eating flies. :)

Image:Morguefile

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POSTED IN: Pests