It seems to happen overnight. You walk outside to bask in the morning sun and discover a swarm of large black flies buzzing around the yard, making it impossible for you to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee. Why do you have a fly infestation, and where did all those flies come from? Learn about the different varieties of flies and how to eliminate a fly problem around your home.
While a fly swatter is a good form of fly control if you have one or two flies, it’s not as helpful if you have an infestation. However, it’s unnecessary to call pest control services if you get rid of the cause of the pest infestation and use simple solutions to kill adult flies.
Organic matter, garbage, and other fly breeding sites increase the fly population, leading to infestations. An adult fly lays their eggs in these desirable locations, and it’s not long before the larvae turn into more flies.
Controlling and Preventing Fly Infestations
Flies are a nuisance, from cluster flies and house flies to fruit flies and drain flies, and all of them become a problem if left unchecked. Discover the cause of a fly infestation, how to get rid of a fruit fly infestation, and tips for eliminating different types of flies around the home.
Common Flies that Infest Homes and Yards
There are over 120,000 fly species around the world, and some of them are more common than others. Explore the types of flies you find most often infesting the areas around your home to better understand ways to handle them.
While there are many flies, the main types to be concerned with are filth flies since these types spread germs, transmit diseases, and contaminate surfaces. House flies, blow flies, fruit flies, flesh flies, drain flies, phorid flies, and fungus gnats are all filth flies, and they are common around the home.
The house fly has stripes behind its head, the flesh fly is slightly larger than a house fly, and the blow fly has a shiny, metallic abdomen. The drain fly, phorid fly, fruit fly, and fungus gnat are small flies.
What Causes an Infestation of Fruit Flies?
Fruit flies are tiny flies that seem to come out of nowhere. Learn about the life cycle and habits of a fruit fly, what causes an infestation of fruit flies inside your home, and how to eliminate them effectively.
Fruit flies, or vinegar flies, love ripening or rotting fruit and sweet and fermented liquids, and they lay eggs around these materials to ensure their larvae have something to consume. The adults are the size of a gnat, and they have red eyes and tan bodies.
To kill fruit flies, fill a bowl with apple cider vinegar and add a few drops of liquid dish soap. Set the bowl in an area where you notice fruit fly activity to lure the bugs. The flies land in the soapy water to eat and end up drowning.
House Fly Control Tips
The house fly is a well-known pest, and their presence is annoying and nasty since they spread germs on food and other surfaces. Follow these fly control tips to help you keep the fly problem out of your home and ways to kill them to prevent a house fly infestation.
The first step in controlling flies is to keep a tidy home to ensure these pests do not have a food source. Wash dishes as you dirty them, keep a lid on the kitchen trashcan, and wipe down counters and tables to remove food residue.
To kill house flies, consider hanging sticky fly traps in areas where the flies congregate. In addition, keep fly swatters throughout your home and use them as needed to eliminate a fly quickly.
Getting Rid of Flies in the Drain
The drain fly is another problem in the home, and you usually don’t know that you have an infestation until you begin to see them flying out of the bathroom or kitchen drain. Get rid of these pests in a few easy steps.
Pour a cup of vinegar down the affected drain and add a half cup of baking soda and salt. Let it rest overnight, and then pour boiling water into the drain. This method kills the drain flies and eggs and unclogs your drain as a bonus.
It’s important to note that bleach will kill drain flies, too, but is more caustic than this recipe.
Trapping Flies to Get Rid of an Infestation
A fly trap is an excellent tool for removing all fly varieties without much effort since all you have to do is set it up and let it do its thing. Here is how to trap flies inside and around the house to prevent an infestation.
The first trap is a bottle trap, and all you need is a plastic soda bottle and some fruit. Cut the top section off the bottle, place fruit in the bottom, and insert the bottle top into the bottom to create a funnel.
Another DIY house fly trap to make at home is the plastic bag trap. Pour a little honey into a glass and slip a plastic sandwich bag over the top. Secure it with a rubber band and make holes in the plastic. This trap will eliminate an infestation of fruit flies, house flies, and other troublesome pests.
Controlling the Fly Population with Bug Spray
Bug sprays are one of the more popular ways to kill insects, including flies, bed bugs, mosquitoes, or another type of pest, and they are also effective for cockroach control. Make a homemade fly spray to kill the bugs on contact.
Pour equal amounts of alcohol and water into a spray bottle and add a few squirts of soap. Shake the container of this simple homemade fly spray and spritz the liquid directly onto flies as you see them to kill them. Label the bottle and store it for regular use.
Preventing a Fly Infestation in the Yard
One of the best ways to stop flies from getting out of hand is to prevent them in the first place. While it is nearly impossible to get rid of flies completely, even when you implement fly control with neem oil, there are steps you can take to keep them in check. Follow fly control tips to keep these pests from infesting the yard.
Yard Flies
The most crucial step to fly prevention is sanitation since filth flies lay their eggs in organic material. Always keep the lids on your outside garbage cans, clean up after your pets, and remove decaying material from the yard.
In addition, consider planting fly-repellent plants, such as basil, lavender, citronella, and marigolds. These plants deter flies from the area while adding appeal to your yard.
Flies are annoying with their insistent buzzing, and an infestation of these pests is cause for concern since they spread germs wherever they land. Fortunately, there are simple ways to get rid of flies, whether they are a housefly, cluster fly, fruit fly, or phorid fly.
Now that you know ways to control and prevent a fly infestation and keep your home free of filth flies, why not share our fly infestation elimination guide with your family and friends on Pinterest and Facebook?