How to Get Rid of Flies in the House: Tips, Information
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Aside from flies being an annoyance, these illnesses are why you should get rid of houseflies as soon as you spot them. By keeping your house clean — especially free from food waste — you can help prevent a housefly infestation. The best way to deal with a housefly infestation is to prevent it in the first place.
What causes fruit fly infestations indoors?
Fly larvae are commonly referred to as maggots… the small whitish wormlike organism you have probably seen on the garbage when you forgot to take it out. The female fly lays her eggs in garbage or other organic matter so that her larvae, the maggots, will have immediate food upon their emergence. Each fly described below has unique characteristics, biology, food preferences, and control methods. Therefore, proper identification is crucial in understanding how to best control your fly problem. While the presence of one type of fly may indicate a garbage dweller, another type of fly may indicate the presence of a dead animal in your attic or wall void.
Old wine or beer trap
Running water down the drain does not adequately remove the grime in which the flies are breeding. Scrub the sides of the drain as thoroughly and deeply as you are able. Because most of the drain is inaccessible, it may be necessary to use a drain cleaning product.
Houseflies and bluebottles
Although they do not bite, house flies carry millions of microorganisms on their feet that can spread pathogens and food-borne illnesses. Luckily, there are safe and natural ways to prevent and eliminate house flies in your home. Many natural and other fly repellents can be used outside to keep flies away from your house. You can try planting herbs and flowers such as basil or marigolds around the house, or even plant a few Venus flytraps. Sticky traps are strips of sticky paper that can be hung or laid down throughout your house. They’re not as effective as other traps, but can be added to help remove infestations.
How to get rid of flies in the house using homemade traps and more
When the flies are down, use your trusty flyswatter to kill them off and get them out of your home. When you finish eating an orange or a grapefruit, don’t toss the peel. When finished, put in a bowl where the flies can find it. If you worry about the flies escaping, you can add plastic wrap over the bowl and poke holes in the top with a fork. Spray doorways and windows in your home with this concoction to keep flies away. You can also spray troubled outdoor areas with this as well.
For commercial uses, these enzyme drain cleaners are available in liquid formulation that can be mixed with a foaming concentrate. With specialized equipment, your Pest Management Professional can regularly and thoroughly coat the drains to remove the slime. The rapid life cycle of many flies contributes to the difficulty of fly control in many situations. House flies for example, can have a lifecycle of only 6 to 10 days and each female can lay up to 900 eggs in her lifetime. The fruit fly life cycle takes approximately 1 week, and each female fruit fly can lay 500 eggs in her lifetime.
How to Get Rid of Drain Flies
After you get rid of the flies, prevent re-infestation with these measures. Keeping the indoor temperature cool can ward them off or delay larvae hatching. Secure loose trash bin covers with bungee cords (it will also help to keep rodents away, too). If your trash bin covers are cracked, chipped, or otherwise too far gone, it will be more effective to buy new covers or new bins.
Are houseflies harmful?
If you have gaps in your windows or doors, these are great ways for flies to enter. The next time you finish off the milk, don’t toss the jug. You can choose to dangle the jug in the air or place it on a table where you know flies will find it. Apparently, flies don’t like vodka but if you don’t have any vodka, you can still use the spray without it. From there, turn the top part of the bottle upside down to make a funnel. The flies will draw to the vinegar and go into the funnel.
A mixture of vinegar and dish soap can help you trap flies. To use this method, mix about an inch of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap in a tall glass. Secure the plastic wrap with a rubber band and poke small holes in the top. Storing fruits and vegetables in the fridge instead of on the counter will also make it harder for the fruit flies to find them.
Here’s how to get rid of fruit flies if they infest your Kansas kitchen this summer - Wichita Eagle
Here’s how to get rid of fruit flies if they infest your Kansas kitchen this summer.
Posted: Tue, 08 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Darkness also enhances the breeding, hatching, and development of larvae into more flies. As summer approaches and we open up our windows and doors to let the fresh air in, flies are likely to become more of an unwelcome presence in our homes. Flies are attracted to food sources, especially things like meat so lingering pet food and bins can be number one perpetrators when it comes to attracting flies into the home.
To prevent fruit flies from taking over your kitchen, it all comes down to cleaning. Keeping your place as dry and free of food as possible prevents pests from continuing their life cycle. Try leaving out an open bottle with a little leftover liquid — the skinny neck will keep the flies trapped. The Old Farmer's Almanac also recommends using stale beer to attract fruit flies to a DIY trap.
If those methods don’t work, it may be time to call in the professionals. Since fruit flies and house flies are both attracted to the sugar in produce, it’s easy enough to make your own fly traps out of common household materials. According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, house flies are attracted to short wavelength light (like ultra-violet light). If you do opt for an indoor light trap, make sure you can position it at the height flies like to hang out in (4 to 6 feet off the floor). Place it away from windows if you can, unless you want the new problem of flies buzzing just outside.
Inside, make sure you stay on top of cat litter patrol because lingering odors will also attract house flies. Use pine oil (original Pine-Sol is one brand) to clean surfaces in your kitchen and bathroom to repel flies. Try making a pine oil spray for outdoor use to repel flies, as well.
The quickest way to kill maggots is to boil water, add vinegar to the water, and pour the mixture over the larva. The water kills them and the vinegar will help to eliminate any odors that attract flies to lay their eggs there, according to Terro, makers of pesticides. If you prefer to be precise, try three parts boiling water to one part vinegar. This method is helpful when you find them in your garbage bin or another container. With any pest, sometimes you get in over your head and need to call in the professionals.
But if you feel like you are constantly seeing flies, they’re extremely bothersome, and home remedies aren’t working, it may be time to call in a professional exterminator. “Not only are feces a perfect breeding places for flies, they may land there before landing on your food,” Troyano says. Flies are attracted to the scent of fermented and rotted goods, which is why they’re especially into garbage. Keeping your cans sealed and away from points of entry should help, Rollins says.
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