When flies create a nuisance around your house and yard, explore how to use diatomaceous earth for flies to resolve your pest situation safely. Use diatomaceous earth to kill flies whenever they touch it. Diatomaceous earth or DE is an off-white colored powder made up of tiny silica diatoms from fossilized marine planktons. These microscopic atoms have sharp edges and create lacerations on the flies’ exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate rapidly.
DE powder is effective against a wide range of insects and works to control all species of flies while being safe for beneficial insects, people, and pets. It’s essential to wear a dust mask when using diatomaceous earth for fly control to avoid breathing in any of the sharp particles.
Diatomaceous earth is versatile with many uses in cleaning, gardening, and fly prevention. This valuable tool is readily available at most gardening and hardware stores and provides a budget-friendly and chemical-free alternative to conventional chemical pest control.
Using Diatomaceous Earth for Fly Control in Your Home and Yard
Learning how to use diatomaceous earth for flies gives homeowners natural options for dealing with a fly problem. Diatomaceous earth kills flies without posing a risk to children or pets who may accidentally interact with it.
Whether you’re having issues on your patio, in your chicken coop, or around your sink, diatomaceous earth is chemical-free and works quickly to remove the insects.
Using diatomaceous earth for fly control doesn’t kill pollinators like bees or other beneficial insects like ladybugs. If flies invade your home or garden, consider diatomaceous earth for cheap and easy-to-use pest control.
Does Diatomaceous Earth Kill Flies?
Diatomaceous earth is a potent treatment for more than just the fly population. The sharp edges of diatomaceous earth or DE molecules lacerate the bodies of flies, causing dehydration and death. Flies only need to come into contact with DE powder to be destroyed.
Whether you have an ongoing bed bug infestation or another bug, note that it kills fungus gnats and a variety of pests. Use DE to remove insect pests without hurting beneficial insects.
How to Use Diatomaceous Earth for Flies – Grades
Diatomaceous earth is a diatom of silica from tiny marine phytoplankton’s fossilized remains. Though it has many applications in cleaning, DE is equally viable as a pest control measure and in swimming pool maintenance.
Food grade DE is a high-quality non-toxic powder with superior safety ratings and is perfect for fly control and for ticks in your yard. Pool grade DE is of lower quality and is less refined. This product is acceptable for pool care but unsuitable for pest control.
Homemade Diatomaceous Earth Fly Trap
If house flies plague your home or fruit flies are making your patio space miserable, try a simple bottle fly trap with diatomaceous earth to quickly destroy the insect pests.
Cut the plastic bottle in half and sprinkle a fine layer of DE powder on the bottom to build an effective fly trap for inside or out. Fill the bottle cap with fruit or jelly and place it on the diatomaceous earth layer as bait.
Insert the top half of the plastic bottle upside down into the bottom and seal with tape. Flies rush through the bottleneck funnel to get to the bait and cannot fly out. They contact the diatomaceous earth and perish.
DE Powder for Flies on the Compost Pile
The food scraps on your compost pile and the decomposition process often attract flies. A warm, moist compost pile with lots of decaying matter provides an ideal place for flies and larvae to feed. You’re in luck because DE also works for maggots or fly larvae.
Whether you notice flies buzzing around or have seen maggots in your compost, diatomaceous earth offers a straightforward solution to achieve fly control without upsetting the balance of your compost system.
Wearing a mask to avoid inhalation, use a sprinkler or an old sock to dust DE powder over the entire top layer of brown matter on your compost pile. The diatomaceous earth covering acts as a barrier to prevent flies from passing through and destroys them on contact.
Diatomaceous Earth to Kill Flies in the Chicken Coop
Flies love to cause problems in the coop or around the manure pile in yards where chickens are kept. Fortunately, diatomaceous earth is an ideal way to get rid of a fly issue without harming your birds. DE has the bonus of preventing internal parasites and working on external parasite populations such as mites.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth powder around your coop to keep insects to a minimum. Use the powder inside nest boxes to keep bedding dry and destroy fly larvae.
DE for Flies – House Fly Control
Diatomaceous earth is a brilliant way to eliminate house flies as it not only acts as fly control, it reduces odors, and is safe and non-toxic. If house flies are a problem in the kitchen or a particular room, DE powder provides a cost-efficient means to address them without putting children and pets at risk.
Apply a dusting of DE powder to counters, windowsills, or table tops in areas where house flies are bothersome. When flies land on the dust, the diatomaceous earth will work quickly to destroy them. Easily sweep up dead flies for disposal and make gnats leave you alone while you’re indoors.
Diatomaceous Earth Garden Fly Spray
Flies are an annoyance in the house, coop, and around the compost pile, yet that isn’t where the problem ends. Flies pose a real problem in the garden, and pests like whiteflies and sawflies are devastating to garden plants if given a chance to invade. Make a diatomaceous earth fly spray treatment if you notice flies around plants or maggots in the soil.
Combine in a sprayer or spray bottle and apply liberally to the leaves of affected plants and over any affected soil. Spray for flies early morning or late evening to avoid foliage being wet in direct sunlight, which may cause burning.
Test spray on a small area before applying it to the entire plant to kill flies. If you don’t have time or supplies to make a spray, DE powder is safe to sprinkle directly onto your plant and surrounding soil.
Don’t let flies take over your home and yard this fly season. Start pest control early with diatomaceous earth powder, and don’t worry about accidentally harming your family or pets with toxic chemicals.
Diatomaceous earth is ideal when combined with other natural pest control measures like fly predators and destroys flies before they produce more maggots and larvae to take over your space. Some flies bite; others are inconvenient and unpleasant. Diatomaceous earth is broad-spectrum fly control to treat flies fast.
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