As you’re placing the finishing touches on your homemade treats for a backyard barbeque, the last thing you want is a swarm of flies landing on your freshly cooked hamburgers and hotdogs!
It seems that every outdoor picnic isn’t complete without having to swat at pesky flies every few seconds. However, that doesn’t have to be the case!
Instead of sharing your food with flies, you can take action to get rid of these pests. Here are some tips on how to keep flies away for good!
Cluster flies typically head indoors before winter and hibernate until warmer weather. You’ll see these pests hover around doors and windows, looking for an opening to return outside in the summer. You may find fruit flies in your home if you have old fruit around or have food stuck in your sink drains.
House flies are the most common ones you’ll see indoors. Gathered around trash cans, spoiling food, and leftovers, these pests will try to feast on anything you have uncovered.
While flies are usually attracted to different foods, most enter your home for shelter and nourishment. If you have open crevices outside your home, torn insect screens, or gaps in doors and windows, flies will use these opened areas to crawl in.
Because many of these pests swarm around unsanitary items like pet waste, decaying matter, and trash, flies are associated with the spread of disease.
House flies and fruit flies transmit diseases like E. coli and salmonella, which could make you seriously sick. As they travel from area to area, they can distribute these diseases around your home and even onto food you eat.
Blowflies can similarly spread illnesses, but you’re unlikely to find them indoors unless something is decaying nearby. If you have blowflies inside, you could have a dead animal like a mouse in your home.
On the other hand, cluster flies rarely transmit diseases to humans. While troublesome, these pests are harmless and primarily hibernate in unseen areas until spring. You will only see cluster flies gather around windows and doors when they sense the temperature rising.
Preventing pests from coming inside is much easier than getting rid of them. If you’re interested in how to keep flies away from your home, check out these tips to ward off bugs.
Do you see a few flies swarming around after leaving the trash inside a day too long? These pests savor your discarded leftovers and will invade your home in search of a bite.
Flies can enter through minuscule cracks and will follow sources of food. Take your trash out often to discourage pests from making their way indoors.
If you have swarms of flies lingering around your outside trash can, consider purchasing a lidded can or using scented trash bags to discourage the pests from sticking around.
Keeping your home sanitary is how to keep flies away for good. Most insect species head indoors for food, and you can eliminate their food source by cleaning up around your house.
Toss out old fruits and vegetables that you have sitting out. While it’s easy to forget a bunch of bananas on your counter, avoid letting produce go to waste. Not only will it begin to smell, but flies will enjoy snacking on the decomposing fruits and vegetables.
Sweep up crumbs on your floors and wipe down your counters after preparing food. Even the smallest morsel could be a meal for these pests.
While you often use your sink to keep dishes and utensils clean, fruit flies may flock here for the food. Keep your sink drains tidy by removing any stuck food and clearing out clogs.
Check out this tutorial to clean out your sink drain and avoid using harsh chemicals. Apply a sink drain stopper to your kitchen sink to prevent large leftovers from flowing down the drain as you rinse off your dishes.
Even if you keep your windows and doors firmly shut, these pesky insects always find their way inside! Flies can travel in through tiny gaps that you may not even notice. They can also travel through pipes, vents, or an air conditioner.
If you spot any damage, quickly repair it to prevent insects from coming indoors in the future. You can easily remedy some cracks with caulk or plaster, but consult with a professional if you have home damage outside the boundaries of DIY work.
Check out this video for repairing cracks in stucco.
Bug screens can help keep pests out, especially if your doors and windows have gaps when closed. However, ensure these screens are free of tears, or you may find some unwanted guests sneaking inside!
An easy way to eliminate flies is by using traps to quell their populations. If you have an indoor infestation, hang sticky traps from your ceiling or doorways. These traps can securely keep flies in place through a glue-like substance. As the traps fill up, throw them and the flies away!
Some traps have a bait that is activated by water. Try placing these in your yard to combat flies that idle around trash cans and outdoor hangouts. When the flies crawl into the trap for food, they will fall and drown in the water.
Electric traps can also take care of wasps— just don’t touch them yourself! These traps work best outdoors on porches, but you can find some models that work inside. Keep these devices out of reach from your children and pets because they can deliver quite a shock.
Dealing with flies is no easy task. These pesky bugs can climb indoors no matter how tightly you shut your windows. Sometimes, keeping your kitchen clean isn’t enough to truly dispel a tough fly infestation if the flies have laid eggs in your home.
Zunex knows flies are an inconvenience, and we’re here to help. If you want to know how to keep flies away, contact us for a free quote! Using our environmentally friendly products, we will remove the flies from your home while keeping you and your family safe.
By Allison Clayton
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