Although it’s possible, flies can be difficult to trap and kill. Many flytraps require the fly to be lured to the trap, and sometimes attracting a fly can be challenging. The best way to protect your house from flies is to prevent them from entering in the first place. Learn what you need to know.
- Trash Control Prevents Flies
Flies like different foods at different stages of development. In the larval stage, flies like rotting meat and feces. Diapers, dog poop, and meat leftovers are all attractive to young flies. Adult flies like sweet things like juice, soda, and honey.
Often, flies access these foods through trash bins. Adult flies may sneak into the trash bin when it is open, while larval flies may live in the trash bin until they are able to fly away.
Making food sources inaccessible can keep flies out of the house. Keep your trash in a well-sealed, self-closing trash container to block odors while garbage is in your home. Quality trash bags that are unlikely to tear can help keep the trash can clean and fly-free. If the bag does break and spill food or liquid, clean the mess up as soon as possible to prevent the garbage from becoming a home for flies.
Inspect your trash cans regularly for pieces of spilled food or meat so that you can identify problems before flies enter the home. To control food waste, make a household rule that food trash can only go in the kitchen trash bin. Take out your trash every night. Store outdoor trash set away from the entrances of your home and in sealed containers that are not easily accessed by animals or insects.
Empty trash bins in the bathroom on a regular basis as well. Bathroom trash bins may have sanitary pads and tissues that also attract flies.
- Good Cleaning Habits Keep Adult Flies Away
Adult flies tend to spend time in places where they can find their preferred food: sweet liquid. Flies may walk on counters, tables, and dirty dishes in search of food. If a fly can’t find liquid food, it will instead turn to solids. Often, flies find food in sticky, dirty spots that were missed during house cleaning. Wipe down counters with a clean, damp rag after meals, or clean counters with multipurpose cleaner.
Garbage can lids tend to be an attractive spot for flies as well. Cleaning off dried food splatters on the garbage can, wall, and floor around the trash bin can prevent flies from finding the food they want.
When spills occur — especially if the spill is a sweet juice — use floor cleaner to wipe down the floor. Mopping the floor in the kitchen and dining room on a regular basis helps prevent flies from finding the food they want in your home.
- Keeping Flies Out of the Yard Helps Too
Often, flies find their way into the house via the yard. Dog feces left in the grass can attract flies to the property, as can pet foods and human foods consumed on the patio. You can prevent flies from being attracted to your yard by cleaning up meals eaten on the patio as soon as they’re finished and poop-scooping in your yard as often as you can.
Train your dog to poop in spaces set back from the entrances to your home. If your pet lives and eats outside, only feed your pet as much as will be consumed in one sitting. If food is left over after your pet eats a meal, clean it up as soon as your pet is done. If you notice flies in or around your pet’s outdoor shelter, this could mean that your pet’s bedding needs to be cleaned out.
- Sealing the House Prevents Flies From Entering
Flies enter through doors and windows. Keep the screens on your windows shut to prevent flies from entering, especially in parts of the house like the kitchen and bathroom. If your home has no screen door, install one on both entrances to prevent flies from entering your house during the summer.
Check your window screens on a regular basis, and make repairs as needed. Weather stripping helps prevent flies from finding cracks and crevices where they can enter your house. Check your house for drafts, and make repairs as needed.
- A Pest Control Company Can Help
The best way to protect your home from flies is to work with a pest control company. Your pest control company can set traps and identify hot spots in your house that may be attracting flies to your property.
For more information about how you can protect yourself from flies, contact A-Alert Exterminating Service. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and talk to you about fly prevention.