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Did you know that there are no less than 1.2 million species of flies?

No wonder they come to disturb us whenever the weather is nice!

In addition, with all the bacteria they carry on their bodies, flies can present a real danger.

Fortunately, there are natural solutions to removing flies from your home - effective, chemical-free solutions.

Here are our 13 natural tips to permanently ward off flies from your home:

Flies: a real danger

Did you know that flies carry millions of bacteria on their hairy little bodies?

This is because they are attracted to places where bacteria thrive: feces, trash cans, rotten food, etc.

But they don't need to bite you to pass these bacteria on to you (flies don't bite).

They will simply land on the food (the food on your countertop, on the dining room table, etc.).

There you go: the bacteria are on your food, ready to eat!

By consuming food contaminated by flies, you expose yourself to serious illnesses: dysentery, typhoid, diarrhea and even cholera.

Basic tips

The best way to protect yourself and your family from these diseases is to have a clean home and not to put your food at risk.

House flies are attracted to decaying organic material (rotting food, meat, faeces, etc.).

Drosophila (the small fruit flies) are just as dangerous. They are drawn to anything that contains sugar: ripe fruit, soda, alcohol, etc.

Flies lay their eggs in damp places - in homes they are particularly attracted to drains from sinks and wash basins.

Therefore, the basic actions to drive away flies are:

- have a clean house

- a sink that is as clean and dry as possible

- and protect your food from flies.

Beyond these basic measures, there are several effective and natural tips to ward off flies.

1. Use homemade fly paper

You probably know fly paper. This is a method that has been used for a long time.

It is made of sticky paper soaked in a toxic substance to kill flies and other insects.

The problem is that the toxic substances used by manufacturers are often as toxic to humans as they are to pets.

Why not use your own fly paper?

It’s as effective as those found on the market - plus it’s extremely easy and much more economical.

Ingredients

- 120 ml of corn syrup

- 50 g of sugar

- paper (kraft paper, card stock)

- scissors

- string

How to do

1. Cut several strips of paper 5 cm wide.

2. Punch 1 hole on one end of each strip (this is to thread the string and hang the fly paper in the places where flies congregate).

3. In a bowl, combine the corn syrup and sugar.

4. Apply this mixture to each side of the paper strips.

5. Hang your fly paper in areas of your home where flies congregate.

6. If the paper drips a bit, place a small container just below.

Flies are attracted to this fly paper.

They land on the tapes, but they can no longer come off.

2. Use plastic bags filled with water

Here is an original and highly effective method to get rid of flies.

It involves filling a transparent plastic bag with water.

When you hang the bag full of water at the entrance to your house, flies will no longer enter.

It's unusual, but it really works. There are 2 reasons for this phenomenon:

1. The first is that flies do not perceive the plastic bag as a plastic bag.

Because of the structure of their eyes, the plastic bag filled with water looks more like a spider's web - which they carefully avoid.

2. The other explanation is that the reflections of light on the plastic bag create an optical illusion for the flies.

As a result, they are totally disoriented and avoid your front door.

By the way, if you take a good look in the markets, many vendors use this method to keep flies away from their stalls.

Ingredients

- 1 transparent plastic bag.

Freezer bags are best suited because they are stronger.

How to do

1. Fill the plastic bag with water (halfway).

2. Tie a knot in the opening of the plastic bag.

You can also use string or a large rubber band.

3. Hang a plastic bag from all entrances to your home (front door, garage door, etc.).

3. Use apple cider vinegar

This grandmother's remedy is particularly effective against fruit flies (Drosophila).

That's because this variety of little flies is attracted to anything that ferments.

And, since vinegar is made by fermenting apples, fruit flies find it very difficult to resist it.

It works even better if you warm the vinegar a bit, as it diffuses its scent even more.

Ingredients

- 100 ml of cider vinegar

- 1 jar

- 1 funnel (or a sheet of paper rolled into a funnel)

How to do

1. Heat the apple cider vinegar, either in a saucepan or in the microwave.

2. If your jar has a metal lid, drill several holes in the lid.

The holes should be large enough to allow fruit flies to pass through.

3. If you don't want to sacrifice your lid, use a funnel.

If you don't have a funnel, roll a sheet of paper into a conical pyramid shape. Use staples or tape to keep it in shape.

4. Fill the jar with the hot vinegar and close the lid.

5. If you are using the funnel, place it in the opening of the jar.

The narrow part of the funnel should be inside the jar.

6. Place the jar in areas of your home where fruit flies congregate.

Wait a day. Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of vinegar.

They will enter the trap (either through the holes in the lid or through the hole in the funnel).

Once inside, they are trapped! Why ? Because fruit flies cannot get out of the hole through which they entered the jar.

4. Use a homemade repellent made from lavender essential oil

Lavender essential oil is renowned for its pleasant scent and calming effects.

But few people know that it can also be used to ward off insects.

Indeed, our ancestors used lavender to protect their clothes from moths.

In addition, lavender essential oil can also protect you from mosquito bites and many other insects.

In fact, it is the ultimate essential oil for repelling fleas, house flies, beetles and aphids.

Ingredients

- 100 to 200 ml of lavender essential oil

- 1 tin box with lid

- 1 cloth or 1 sponge

How to do

1. Dip the cloth or sponge in the lavender essential oil.

2. Place the cloth in the iron box. Close the box and wait 24 hours.

3. After 24 hours, remove the cover and place the box in areas of your home where flies congregate.

4. Occasionally add a little essential oil to the cloth (this is because the air weakens the concentration of the oil).

5. Remember to close the lid of the tin when not in use.

6. Warning: be careful not to touch the essential oil. In undiluted form, it can irritate the skin!

To keep flies away, you can replace lavender essential oil with other essential oils: lemongrass, eucalyptus, pennyroyal, or peppermint.

On the other hand, you will have to dilute these essential oils (1 part of essential oil for 3 parts of water or alcohol).

The downside is that the oil and water don't mix well - that's why it's best to use alcohol.

By far the best choice for keeping flies away is lavender essential oil because of its effectiveness.

5. Use cloves

Cloves have a pleasant scent for humans - but not for flies.

They can't stand the smell of this spice. Therefore, cloves are a great way to keep flies away from your home.

This remedy also uses lemon - another food whose scent is unbearable for flies.

Ingredients

- 2 lemons

- 25 to 50 cloves

How to do

1. Cut the lemons in half.

2. Stick 6 to 12 cloves in each lemon half (pulp side and not peel side).

Push in the pointed end of the cloves - so that the buttons are facing out.

3. Arrange the lemon halves on a plate.

4. Place the plate in areas of your house where flies congregate.

The advantage of this tip is that it also makes a nice table decoration - aromatic too!

It is an ideal repellant for picnics or when you eat in the garden with your friends.

Instead of using a plate, you can also wrap the lemon halves in cheesecloth bags.

Then place these bags in the areas you want to protect.

6. Use a homemade lemongrass spray

This remedy has 2 advantages.

On the one hand, it will allow you to keep flies away from your house.

And on the other hand, it is also an excellent room fragrance, with refreshing and revitalizing effects.

Like lavender, flies dislike the scent of citronella and carefully avoid it.

That's why you can use it as a repellent AND deodorant spray.

Ingredients

- 10 to 12 drops of lemongrass essential oil

- 4 tablespoons of hot water

- 1 sprayer

How to do

1. Pour the lemongrass essential oil into the sprayer.

2. Add the hot water to the essential oil.

3. Close the sprayer. Shake vigorously to combine the ingredients.

4. Spray this mixture near any entrances that flies are likely to enter (windows, front doors, garage, etc.).

5. You can also spray this mixture directly on the flies (just have the sprayer handy).

7. Use a bottle of wine as a fly trap

If you have a bottom of a bottle of wine that you are not going to drink, you can use it to get rid of flies.

Since flies are attracted to fermented products, wine is an ideal bait.

They are not fussy about the variety of wine: red, white, rosé, whatever - it will attract them.

Ingredients

- 1 bottom of a bottle of wine (about 1/2 glass)

- 1 glass (or other container)

- 3 to 5 drops of dishwashing liquid

How to do

1. Place 1 glass in an area of ​​your house where flies congregate.

2. After a little while, the flies are attracted to the wine and will drown in it.

3. You can also put the wine in a bowl and add a few drops of dish soap.

The dish soap will change the structure of the liquid and prevent the flies from taking off.

4. You can also leave the wine in the bottle. Place it in a place in your house where flies congregate.

If the flies come out, place stretch wrap over the neck.

Then, drill a hole through which they can enter (flies will not be able to come out).

8. Use basil

Basil is one of the most popular aromatic herbs.

But did you know that flies can't stand its characteristic scent?

How to do

1. Plant basil in several pots.

2. Place these pots next to the entrances to your house.

3. If you can't plant basil in your house, use dried basil leaves.

4. Place the basil leaves in cheesecloth bags.

5. Hang sachets of dried basil leaves near areas where flies are likely to enter your home (front door, garage, windows, etc.).

This simple gesture allows you to benefit from the repellent properties of basil.

As an added bonus, basil will clean the air in your home - because it's also a powerful antiviral and antibacterial herb.

But it's not just basil that keeps flies away. Other varieties are just as effective at warding off flies.

Here are a few that you can put in pots in your home or around your patio to get rid of flies:

- lavender

- Laurel

- tansy

- Mint

- the foul street

- mugwort

- concern

9. Make a body oil with clove oil

How to scare away flies? With cloves!

Cloves are an effective fly repellent (see tip 5).

You can also use clove essential oil, so you won't be bothered by flies, while you wait for our remedies to work.

However, undiluted essential oil can irritate the skin and create a burning sensation.

Here is our recipe for diluting essential oil and using it as body oil.

Ingredients

- 1 teaspoon of clove essential oil

- 10 teaspoons of diluting agent (olive oil or witch hazel oil)

- 1 small bottle (to store body oil)

How to do

1. Pour the clove essential oil and your choice of diluting agent into the bottle.

2. Warning: always use 10 parts diluting agent to 1 part essential oil.

3. Shake the bottle vigorously before each use.

4. Use this body oil when you need to keep flies away.

10. Use a milk, sugar and pepper trap.

If you have a small fruit fly infestation (Drosophila), try this old-world granny remedy.

Since sweet mixes are known to attract fruit flies, this milk-based trap is all the more effective.

Ingredients

- 50 cl of milk

- 50 g of powdered sugar

- 4 teaspoons of ground black pepper

How to do

1. Pour the milk into a saucepan.

2. Add the sugar and pepper.

3. Cook everything over low heat for 10 - 15 minutes.

4. With this mixture, fill a few soup plates.

5. Divide soup plates in areas of your house where flies congregate.

Flies are attracted to this mixture.

When they land on them, they can no longer take off and drown.

11. Use honey as a fly trap

Here is a trick that is literally a fly trap.

The sweet scent of honey will immediately attract flies, and the sticky texture of this food will prevent them from taking off.

Ingredients

- 1 empty soda can (or 1 plastic bottle)

- 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey

- some water

- dishwashing liquid

How to do

1. Cut the can (or bottle) in 2.

Warning: for this to work, the lower half of the bobbin must be higher (larger) than the upper half.

2. Fill the lower part of the can with water (halfway).

3. Add a few drops of dish soap to the water (this prevents the flies from taking off).

4. Invert the upper part of the can (or the bottle - without the cap) and place it in the lower part.

The neck should be inside the bottom of the can (but not under water).

5. Spread the honey around the neck of the can, which is now on the inside of the bottom.

6. Place the trap in an area of ​​your house where flies congregate.

Attracted by the honey, the flies come to rest on the honey.

They enter through the neck of the can and drown in water mixed with washing up liquid.

You can also substitute fruit jam for honey - they also attract flies.

12. Use camphor

In its pure state, camphor is a white, dry, waxy substance. It is derived from the wood of camphor tree (a variety of bay leaf).

Camphor has a powerful scent that repels flies.

In fact, it has also been used in India for centuries to purify the air.

Camphor has antibacterial, antiviral and insect repellent properties.

It is sold commercially, in the form of tablets.

Ingredients

- 2 tablets of camphor

How to do

1. Place the camphor tablets on a hot surface (heat diffuser, hot baking sheet, etc.)

The odor released by the tablets naturally repels flies.

2. If you don't like the smell of camphor, you can place the camphor tablets in a bowl of hot water.

3. Place the bowls in areas of your house where flies congregate.

4. Warning: pregnant women should avoid the use of camphor.

13. Use eucalyptus essential oil

Eucalyptus is also a recognized repellent against flies - they can't stand the smell.

Another advantage is that eucalyptus poses no risk to humans.

According to experts, lemon eucalyptus is one of the most effective methods of keeping flies away.

It is believed that this plant acts on flies by confusing them.

This is because eucalyptus masks carbon dioxide and lactic acid naturally emitted by humans.

Warning: since it is an essential oil, you must dilute the eucalyptus (with water or grape seed oil). Otherwise, it can irritate your skin.

You can also use eucalyptus essential oil in homemade fly paper (similar to tip # 1).

Ingredients

- eucalyptus essential oil

- cotton ribbons (you can cut strips from fabric that you no longer use)

How to do

1. Pour several drops of the essential oil on the ribbons (or strips of fabric).

2. Hang these ribbons or bands next to the places where flies are likely to enter your home (front door, garage, windows, etc.)

3. Warning: Avoid using eucalyptus if you are pregnant or have epilepsy or high blood pressure.

Where to find the products of our tips?

Most of the fly control products in our tips are commercially available.

To buy it now, we recommend the following products:

- corn syrup

- Kraft paper

- cardstock

- freezer bags

- organic cider vinegar

- funnel

- organic lavender essential oil

- organic cloves

- cheesecloth

- clove essential oil

- organic witch hazel oil

- camphor tablets

Your turn...

And you ? Do you know any other ingenious tips to drive away flies for good? Share them with us in the comments. We can't wait to hear from you!

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Also to discover:

4 Homemade Traps To Get Rid of Flies.

5 Tips for Ending Flies.