This dish soap solution is a pretty common one that works for most flies. Add about one inch of liquid dish soap to a jar and one inch of water. If you can, use fruit flavored dish soap, as that is more effective. The flies will be attracted to the soap and get caught in the water.
Apple cider vinegar also works well as a fly trap. Place the vinegar in a jar and then place a paper funnel over the top of the jar. The scent attracts flies who go down the funnel but can’t get back out. They’ll eventually get tired and drown in the cider.
Cayenne pepper can also deter flies. Mix a bit with some water in a spray bottle. Spray areas around your house like windows, doors, and other entryways. The strong smell from the cayenne pepper helps prevent flies from entering your home.
Make a type of fly-repellent potpourri that can be placed indoors or outdoors. Combine eucalyptus, bay leaves, cloves and clover blossoms. Place the contents in a bag and hang it up wherever flies tend to congregate. The smell will get rid of them pretty quickly.
If you want to take a fun and kind of extreme approach, plant some carnivorous plants around your yard! Plants like the Venus flytrap or sundew are actually really pretty while also killing and eating flies that may be around your home. You can also get potted ones for the inside of your home.
If you want to repel but not kill flies, here’s an idea. Cover strips of ribbon or cloth in several drops of eucalyptus oil. Flies don’t like the smell of this oil. Hang up the strips near doors or windows, and flies won’t go near there.
I just recently heard of this idea, and I think it’s worth try. Especially since it doesn’t take much work or material. Hang a plastic bag half-filled with water or some old CDs and DVDs up around your home and yard. The light reflects off of them and makes flies think they’re spider webs. This causes them to avoid those areas because they don’t want to get eaten!
There are a lot of plants you can keep around your home in order to repel flies. For example, grow some lavender, mint, or basil on your patio. Flies don’t like these herbs, so they’ll stay away. Keep them on the windowsill, for example, to deter flies.
To repel flies in outside areas, burn citronella candles. This has a two-fold effect. Flies hate smoke, so candles and torches are great for that. They also don’t like citronella, so the smell and the smoke from your citronella candles will deter flies and other pests.
Someone once told me that flies are really attracted to wine. Who knew? But if you place bowls of wine around the yard, flies will come to them and eventually drown. Just make sure your guests don’t go drinking that wine!
