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You are here: Home / Garden / Pest Control / How To Get Rid Of Flies | 13 Natural And Homemade Fly Repellents

How To Get Rid Of Flies | 13 Natural And Homemade Fly Repellents

Reading Time: 4 minutes
How To Get Rid Of Flies | Natural And Homemade Fly Repellents

September 27, 2020 By Riley E. Carlson 5 Comments

Find out how to get rid of flies naturally and effectively. If those pesky insects are ruining your time outdoors, use these tips and tricks to get rid of them naturally. It’s time to learn how to keep those flies at bay!

How To Get Rid of Flies | Tried and Tested Tricks

Homemade Fly Traps

1. DIY Mango Wine Bottle Fly Trap

many-dead-flies-trapped-bottle-sticky

Amazingly, even flies cannot resist the intoxicating power of wine—they’ll be drawn to the aroma of the fruit inside the bottle. The idea is to trap the fly inside the bottle and send them to their doom by adding a few strips of mango or other fruits as fly bait.

2. Compost Bowl Fly Trap

used-teabags-bowl-on-draining-board

Gnats, fruit flies, and house flies are easily attracted to rotten things and making a DIY trap with compost as fly bait will be very effective. You can even use this method for your large scale compost which I am pretty sure is also a concern in your homestead.

3. Easy Homemade Fruit Fly Trap

how-catch-fruit-flies

You’ll be amazed at this quick and easy method to get rid of gnats and fruit flies. It’s super simple, you may even wonder why you haven’t thought of this before. You only need a jar, fruit slices, and a piece of paper. Get rid of fruit flies with this easy homemade fly trap!

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4. Homemade Fly Paper

used-teabags-bowl-on-draining-board

Flypaper is convenient but as a true blue homesteader, I opt to make my own, naturally and chemical-free. Best of all, is I get to use homegrown honey instead of the icky stuff in the commercial flypapers that sometimes sticks to my hands.

Remember y’all, you can catch more house flies with honey than with cider vinegar.

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(I may not have come up with this saying first, but I sure do say it a lot!)

5. Tried And True Fly Trap Recipe

getting-rid-gnats-your-house-get

For some reason, gnats and fruit flies are attracted to this mixture. See how you can make it here and get rid of gnats and flies.

6. DIY Organic Fly Trap

fruit-small-flies-trap-made-out

Want a little upcycling project to keep the flies away? Here’s something you can make with a two-liter soda bottle. You can also get the instructions and full details for a DIY fly trap here.

7. The King Of DIY Fly Traps

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Have you ever had a day where house flies seem to be in full-scale invasion mode? You will need this heavy-duty fly catch which you can build on your own. I’m sure you’ll cringe over the hundreds of flies you’ll catch, but it’s so satisfying!

Homemade Fly Repellent Recipes

8. Homemade Fly Spray Recipe

close-mans-legs-being-sprayed-insect

This is why we always keep a herb garden in our homestead. It’s a good thing that the herbs we love so much are hated by the very critters we also hate! You can make use of an old spray bottle and at the same time, rid of house flies.

9. Dish Soap, Vinegar, And Water Fly Spray

ecogreen-cleaning-supplies-green-leaf-around

Who knew a mix of dish soap, vinegar, and water could keep the flies at bay? Use a spray bottle to sprinkle it all over repel flies. You can also make your own homemade vinegar from this guide here.

10. DIY Insect Repeller Using Essential Oils

essential-oil-falling-glass-dropper

Ditch your fly swatter and get rid of pesky flying insects with this DIY repeller using essential oils! This one is unique as it uses 5 kinds of essential oils including peppermint, lavender, citronella, lemongrass, and rosemary. You can opt to buy or but as a true homesteader, perhaps making your own essential oil is the answer.

Grow A Fly Repellent Garden 

11. Plant Fly-Repellent Herbs

common-yarrow-achillea-millefolium-white-flowers

Grow a garden and yard that spells, ‘Flies are not welcome here!’ Besides keeping your garden clean, this will also help you get rid of flies naturally.

It’s no secret that herbs are like the wonder plants in your garden. Other than working magic in your dishes, they also act as your garden’s best friend by being such useful companion plants to your vegetables. More than their health-boosting properties, they’ve got pest-repelling benefits too. Mask the foul odor from your farm animals by spreading dried herbs over barns or chicken coop.

12. Clove Fly Repellent

lemon-limes-cloves-natural-insect-repellent

Having a picnic outdoors but got yourself some uninvited guests? If you have clove in your pantry then you have the perfect solution. Stick them all over your fruits and you will notice that flies won’t come to your table.

13. Care For Fly-Trapping Plants

macro-photo-fly-which-has-been

Have you ever heard about these plants that are the stuff of sci-fi and horror movies? Don’t worry about these plants, like the Venus flytrap, attacking you. They won’t grow to be that big, but they can and they will devour flies and insects unlucky enough to venture near it. They might not get rid of all the flies in your yard, but they are an interesting and useful plant to have in your collection.

How To Get Rid Of Flies | Natural And Homemade Fly Repellents

If you know of the unhealthy and even dangerous long-term effects of chemical pest repellent, you won’t think of using them again. While there’s no one ultimate solution to getting rid of flies, you can use these methods as multiple strategies to combat these pests. Most importantly, you now know how to get rid of flies naturally and safely!
I’m sure you’ve all had that experience where there’s an annoying fly that just keeps on coming back, and it gets in the way of you finishing your tasks. With that said, I never let those cringy critters get the better of me, and you shouldn’t either.

Do these tips and tricks give you an idea of how to get rid of flies? Let me know which method you plan to try and how it went in the comments below.

Pestered by mosquitoes as well? Check out these natural mosquito repellent plants you must plant in your garden.

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2017 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

Filed Under: Pest Control, Homesteading News

Comments

  1. CharD says

    May 5, 2017 at 6:07 AM

    I have found this amazing flies killer method. More info at: http://bit.do/BestDeals

    Reply
  2. Bob says

    August 1, 2017 at 7:58 AM

    Prevention should be the first step before you cause drawing no-see-ums, bees, flies, etc. to share you and your drinks.

    Sure sprays and stuff work some what, however most bugs are attracted to open drink containers then to your body.

    Odor and smells seems to be the attraction for bothersome bugs, so by having any drink container completely covered helps by not advertising it. Ever run from a Bee or Wasp?

    A solid lid is a great way to reduce attracting things, no straws, no sippy lids. One that I found is made in the USA at Pittsburgh Pa works great, just Google drink container protector and you’ll find a bunch.

    I even use one at work to keep other peoples germs from my coffee mug.

    Reply
  3. Karen Martin says

    September 15, 2017 at 11:26 PM

    These are great steps to try. I have been trying a remedy that I found here too: http://www.reformationacres.com/2015/06/the-best-homemade-fly-spray.html. I agree that Bob is probably right with prevention being the most helpful, but it’s just not always possible!

    Reply
  4. Catherine Mannix says

    July 20, 2019 at 2:21 PM

    I like how you called this article fly deterrants when they’re all traps. “Here is your deterrant guillotine, madame.”

    Reply
  5. Arlo says

    October 18, 2022 at 7:23 PM

    Flyswatter and coordination…

    Reply

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