How to Kill Flies

So you have some flies to kill but you don't want to make a mess on your walls and windows using a fly swatter? No problem. Just fill a spray bottle with warm water and a few drops of dish soap. Shake well before spraying it on the flies. This is technically referred to as an insecticidal soap used more often in gardening. Basically the soap finds its way into the fly and dissolves--ahem, I mean cleans--all of its critical organs. This is a great way to kill flies without the mess associated with killing flies.

What about Deer Flies and Horse Flies?

Guess what: you’re screwed. After all of the research I’ve done about how to get rid of flies, I couldn’t find a single measure you could take short of draining a swamp or the lake you live next to. Luckily for you the average length of the peak seasons for both horse flies and deer flies are low (usually 4-6 weeks). Wear a hat when you mow the lawn. That’s what I do.

Natural & Biological Fly Control

Bacillus thuringiensis, or B.t.i.s, are starting to see quite a bit of use in the fight to control black flies and gnats, biologically. B.t.i.s are a bacteria distributed in the form of cakes for consumer use. A lot of times they will be labeled as Mosquito Dunks, but they will treat standing water sources like swamps, ponds, and lakes equally well for mosquitoes and flies. Use of B.t.i.s on a massive scale by a local government (dusted over and entire community by air) is probably the most effective way to use B.t.i.s as a biological fly control agent.

Yard maintenance is perhaps one of the most effective natural fly control methods I can think of. Most flies, any kind of flies (biters or scavengers) do not like wind or areas with air flow. Keeping your hedges trimmed, your grass short, brush and low-lying vegetation cleared: these are all things you can do to get rid of flies or at least make your property less inviting to them. Emptying standing water sources that aren’t protected by local statutes (most marshes are protected by law) can do a great deal to stem the populations of biting flies, while keeping your garbage cans as far from your house as possible should help keep house flies and fruit flies from migrating indoors.

Calico Cloth bags are a very cool way to keep fruit flies from infesting your home. The fabric used to make calico cloth is loose enough to allow fruits and vegetables that shouldn’t be refrigerated to breathe, but fine enough to keep fruit flies out of your fruit basket.

Fine mesh screen hats are the perfect way to keep gnats and smaller biting flies out of your face if you absolutely must be outdoors during peak months. Since my father lives next to a lake, a river, and a very large swamp, I can attest to the effectiveness of a well made bug net hat.

There are several species of what we might call flies, a category of insect that seems to be distinguished from other insects by it’s big round wings and the degree to which it can annoy a person or persons. Perhaps of all flies the most annoying are the house fly, the fruit fly, the black fly, the dog or stable fly, and anything one might call a “gnat.” I’ve seen swarms of biting flies cause all sorts of strange behavior in people, and who can blame them when they’re literally choking on flies. That’s right, some species of black flies can be so aggressive that a person will accidentally inhale the flies while they’re trying to swat them away, choking on the flies and sometimes (very rarely) dying from an allergic reaction to both the fly bites and the inhalation of the flies. I can’t think of a better reason to lose your wits. Don’t even get me started on the kind of madness a single house fly can cause a person. That constant banging on the windows has almost put me in the mental hospital on a number of occasions. But enough of the horror stories, you’ve got a fly problem and you came here to learn how to get rid of flies. Well, what I’ve got here is a broad overview on the topic of getting rid of flies. As you read on you will see links to articles that may address more specifically the kind of flies you are trying to get rid of.

Controlling Flies

Fly traps and fly strips are of course the first and most effective line of defense against flies, particularly indoors. Fly strips, however, are most effective when used to get rid of house flies and get rid of fruit flies. Fly straps and sticky strips are absolutely ineffective when used to control flies like the black fly, the dog fly, and most gnats; these particular species of fly require a blood meal, which would require a sticky trap made by hanging the least valuable member of your family from the rafters and covering them with glue.