Well, the subject pretty much says it all. I've got too many flies in my kitchen.
What is your BEST way of getting rid of them? My fly swatter is a great idea, but it's never there when I need it.
What are some ways to rid my kitchen of these annoying little things.
Thanks,
E.
Sugar water in a cup on the counter with saran wrap over it ... poke a hole large enough for the fly to get in, but difficult to get out.
If its fruit flies, a little cup with apple cider vinagar and a couple of drops of dish soap in it. Put it on the counter, the smell attracts fruit flies but the soap in it breaks the surface so they fall in and drown. Works like a charm. You will see dramatic results within a couple of days.
If its regular flies, fill a ziplock halfway with water and hang/attach/whatever to the wall or by the door they keep flying in. Flies think this is a wasp nest and will stay away. You might have noticed on some restraunt patios how the have bags of water on the wall, this is why.
Good luck!
The cider vinegar with saran wrap over it trick really works! At least with fruit flies, I poked tiny holes in the saran wrap. Never thought of trying it for large house flies but I bet it works!
Knock on wood, we haven't had that problem this year. But this is the first year in almost 8 years that we haven't been invaded by the flies. They are gross, but the sticky fly traps work. Save the box. I always put it away when we had company or we were about to eat. And when they are full, it's easier to toss if you keep the box. This is the one we used http://www.amazon.com/JT-Eaton-444-Stick-Trap/dp/B000T7J9...
We tried some baits outside of our door, thinking we could get them before they came inside. That was a disaster...the bait was really stinky. To the point we didn't want to be near it. AND I think it actually attracted more flies. Some people swear by hanging bags of water around the area you don't want flies (supposedly it messes with their vision and they stay away??), but we had ZERO luck with that trick.
Because we have had a guinea pig for five years, we get a fly problem every single summer (although, sadly, our sweet piggy died a few days ago), so I have dealt with this lots!
I think the MOST effective way to get rid of them is to take a big bowl, fill with warm water, and dump a few tablespoons of honey into it. Swish it around to dissolve the honey. Then, add a little bit of dish soap, and swish around to make bubbles. The flies will be attracted to the sweet-smelling honey, but will get stuck in the bubbles. It works great! In addition to that, we hang fly paper in the summer. It's gross, but we catch lots of flies on there.
I had fruit flies. I put a slice of watermelon on a paper plate on the counter. I waited for them to all swarm it, then I sprayed them with flying insect spray. No more fruit flies.
I hung strips of plain flypaper and then went looking for what was attracting them.
An old wives tail...... Put a baggie of water in every doorway, window that leads to outside. Hang it in the middle of door ways and depending on how big the windows are use 3 or 4 pin it to the very top of the door way or the window seal fly's will not fly under water.....
Wine.
We tried the honey or vinegar thing last summer.... But half a cup of wine left out on night 2 got the rest, while the others only got one or two. From then on? I just leave half a cup of wine out an am fly free in 2-3 nights.
After you do your regular mopping on the floor, add some lemon-grass oil to warm water, and mop on floor, to leave a thin layer.
Take care to wipe down your counters clean after any spillage. Sticky sweet stuff attracts flies like crazy. Use the lemon-grass-oil-water mix to rub on counter surfaces too.
Lemon-grass smell keeps away flies for a long time. And it is also a pleasant enough smell for a kitchen!
Hope it helps!
