Flies on your patio are a nuisance to deal with and getting rid of them is the number one priority of homeowners when it comes to enjoying your patio space.
There’s nothing worse than being harassed by flies when you’re trying to enjoy the peace and quiet of the afternoon. But how do you get rid of flies on your patio?
- Get a fan
- Create a flytrap
- Use a fly repellent
- Tidy up your trash
- Get an ultrasonic repellant
Each of these methods can be pretty involved, but it’s worth it if you want to get rid of flies on your patio for good. The rest of this article will walk you through each of these methods to determine which one is best for you.
Get a Fan
Sometimes, when it comes to flytraps and other repellant methods, they can leave the unpleasant sight of dead flies or a lingering odor around your patio.
If you’re more bothered about the flies being on you rather than them simply being around your patio, then a fan might be the simplest solution for you.
Flies are quite small and can’t handle strong breezes, so a fan will discourage them from hanging around in a windy environment.
This solution works well for keeping flies (and mosquitos, for that matter) off your person while you’re trying to enjoy your evening, but it doesn’t kill them or discourage the flies from hanging around if there’s something attracting them.
A fan also serves the double purpose of keeping you cool during the warm summer months.
Create a Flytrap
If your intention is to get rid of the flies for good and you don’t mind seeing the off-putting sight of dead flies on your patio for a while, then a flytrap might be the solution for you.
You can buy adhesive strips, set up a bug zapper, or even mix up your own trap to ensnare and kill flies. To do this, you can repurpose an empty a soda bottle, then add sugar, vinegar, and apple chunks.
Place the bottle in a sunny spot so that the fruit will rot and breathe into it to attract flies to the heat and carbon dioxide from your breath.
The effectiveness of homemade traps can vary depending on how many of them you make and what you use in the trap, but at worst, it means that you’re having to deal with fewer flies around your home.
Use a Fly Repellant
Fly repellants are a mixed bag of things that work and don’t work. The truth is that if you have something that the flies are really interested in, like rotting food or garbage, then repelling them with a distasteful odor can be ineffective.
With that being said, the following substances are said to repel flies and, to a lesser extent, mosquitos.
- Scented candles
- Essential oils
- Orange peel
- Soap and honey
- Camphor wax
- Chili powder
- Vodka
- Vinegar
- Black pepper
- Lemon
- Bananas
In most cases, you can whip up these substances into a watery mix and spray it on areas where the flies like to land.
Keep in mind that some of these options are also hazardous to pets, so if you have a dog or cat, some scents (like chili pepper) can cause irritability or allergic reactions.
The scents themselves can also be pretty strong, so if you don’t really want your patio to smell like a fruity cocktail, then this option might not be for you.
It’s up to you whether you believe fly problem is significant enough for you to want your patio smelling funny for a while.
Tidy Up Your Trash
One good way to at least reduce the amount of flies buzzing around your patio and pestering you when you’re trying to relax is to tidy up any exposed garbage or rotting material around your patio.
Don’t leave food unattended outside and make sure your trash can has the lid closed.
Female flies are attracted to rotting foods that are putrid to us because the moist surface is a great place to lay their larvae, so the more you can make your home seem like an uninteresting place for the flies to eat and lay, the less you’ll have to deal with their persistent buzzing around you.
Get an Ultrasonic Repellant
An ultrasonic repellant is another option to ward off flies around your home. It works, at least according to the manufacturers, by emitting high-frequency sounds that are impossible for flies and other common home pests to endure.
Don’t worry, though. You can’t hear these sounds, and they aren’t harmful to your ears.
These pulses of sound are meant to make the environment around your patio unpleasant for flies in a way that doesn’t involve piling fly corpses on an adhesive strip.
The effectiveness of ultrasonic pest repellants is still in question, and, as with other repellant methods, if the flies are attracted to visible rotting food around your patio, then the sound may not be enough to drive them away entirely.
If all else fails, or your fly problem continues to worsen, it may be worth considering ditching the DIY route and contacting the professionals for help.
Pest control companies come outfitted with resources not available to the average person and can help you sort out your fly problem for good.
Conclusion
Flies are a nuisance around the patio, especially since they are attracted to the salt and sweat on your skin, making their frequent buzzing around you a pestilence no homeowner wants to put up with.
Thankfully, there are some easy, cheap, and effective DIY methods you can use to get rid of them, ranging from the tried-and-true bug traps to spraying your patio down with something malodorous to the flies.
Tidying up or throwing out anything that the flies are flocking to can also help reduce the amount of flies around your home. When push comes to shove, calling a pest control company can help you clear up the issue permanently.