The flies around here are driving me crazy... with my husband's bday party approaching I am already dreading all of the flies that are going to come in my house with people going in and out and the flies will get on the food etc. We already have those disgusting horrible smelling fly traps on far ends of our yard because I can't stand to have them anywhere near where I can smell them. But since they are so far from the house they don't do much for the flies that are near our patio door and get in. Does anyone else have a good recommendation? I am so tired of chasing flies around with the fly swatter that I could scream. We don't have animals but everyone around us has outdoor cats and dogs, so maybe that is why there are so many around (?). Help!
Fill ziplock bags with water, double bag the filled bags for more robustness and then staple those around. They deter the flies. If you want a "classier" look, you can fill Mason jars, place wire around the screwed on lid then hang those with the wire and screws.
What about a bug zapper?
you can get them at walmart.
A fan blowing out the door to the outside is a good deterrent.
The fan is a great deterant as well as the food covers. I got some at Target in the $1 bins.
we've used bug zappers before - they work great
Have not tried this (yet) but I have heard that ziplock bags with some water & pennies keeps them away--just hang around your patio area. Cheap to try--hope it works! (They're driving me nuts this year too!)
Robyn,
I know this won't help get rid of most of your flies but my Florida friend said she won't go out side without her hand held bug zapper. It's actually quite comical trying to get them.
Here's the link:
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_...
Good luck.
~K.
You might look online - there used to be screened covers to order that you could put over plates and platters of food to keep flies off. They might be worth your while. Flies are going to come in and out of your house if the door is left open, and there isn't much you can do about that except to keep the door closed. Your main concern, though, is to keep them out of your food, because they certainly do it no good. I don't think dogs and cats have anything much to do with houseflies. Flies are only interested in feeding themselves. That's why they hang (well, fly) around picnic tables and garbage cans. (Make sure your garbage cans aren't too near your picnic or patio table, by the way.)
I don't really have a solution, but I'm from Australia, and trust me, you don't know what flies are like until you have ever spent a summer there. This is nothing! Get some fly spray and spray the outside of the house, especially your patio door. It works well on the fly screens. Spray before the guests arrive. Get the net things to cover your food. Apart from that you just have to put up with them. Sorry. I know they're awful buggers!
I feel you, we have this problem in the spring (some neighbors have a drainage issue and it attracts flies and mosquitoes). We tried the bags of water and that didn't work for us (but I know people who swear by them). And the bags are too stinky for inside. The only thing we have found is the sticky traps like this one. http://www.amazon.com/Victor-M500-Poison-Free-Indoor-Trap... Of course it is rather disgusting having a tower of dead flies. We keep the box and put it in there when we are either hiding it or when it's time to throw it away. It's the only thing that seems to keep it under control at our house.
We had a bad mosquito problem and found some stuff you attach to your hose and spray on your yard for flying and crawling bug problems. Don't know if it covers flies but the product was called something like Backyard Bug Free (by Cutter?) and it worked great. This is not an endorsement but it worked for us.
