Jonathan Hatch

Fly Control Note:

If you have house flies in your home, it's more than likely that they have found their way indoors by simply following you through the door. Keeping that in mind, do not assume that poor housekeeping is the cause of your house fly problem--unless you note the presence of several flies; then, it might be wise to do a thorough search for the source of your house flies.

How to Get Rid of House Fly

Despite being an annoyance, the common house fly (Musca domestica Linnaeus) will spread bacteria and disease, lay eggs in your produce, land on your face at night and keep you awake till the wee hours of the morning trying to escape from a window, but never learning that glass windows can't be flown through. In other words, flies are one of the most horrific of God's creatures, and if there was ever a time to suggest that our God might not be a good God, this is it. Below is some advice about how to get rid of the common house fly.

Natural & Organic House Fly Control:

Basil Plants are a delicious way to keep flies away from your home. Not only do they keep flies out of the vicinity, but they can be used in many foods. There's nothing better than fresh pesto with a chicken dinner.

Ziplock Bags filled with water is an old trick. No one is sure just why it works, but speculation alleges that the refracted light disorients the house fly, dissuading them from coming indoors. Use this technique near entrances and porches.

Preemptive Fly Control

Cleanliness and trash removal are probably the two best forms of fly control. It's important to understand these things:

House fly control begins with your trash. Make sure you keep dumpsters and other outside trash receptacles as far away from your house as possible and try to keep their lids shut as tightly as possible. Dust dumpsters with borax occasionally to keep flies from breeding in them.

Compost heaps can be used as a form of fly contol. If you want flies to stay away from your home, keep a compost heap several yards away from your house. Flies are an integral part of the decomposition process. You will kill two birds with one stone.

Properly seated window screens is another fly control strategy. Go around your house and check your windows to ensure that there are no tears in your screens and that the screen frames sit flush with their fittings. Encourage kids not to keep doors and windows open too long.

Fly control is impossible with a dirty kitchen. Flies are attracted to sugars and sweet foods. Make sure any messes from meals cooked in the kitchen are cleaned quickly. Use a water + bleach solution to wipe down counters and mop floors.

Keeping your drains clean is an effective form of fly control. Make sure you keep those places where food and water are bound to mix as clean as possible. Flush bleach down drains and sinks regularly to make sure flies don't find a meal in them.

Fly Traps and Fly Killer

If preemptive fly control fails, and none of the natural and organic fly control strategies produce results, it might be time to invest in some fly traps, sticky strips, and other fly killers. Some are toxin free; that is, they don't have dangerous poisons that flies could spread if they happen to live long enough to migrate from one place to the next. Part of the reason people want to get rid of the house fly is because the house fly is a potential contributor to cross contamination of food. So, be sure to do your research before putting any fly killer out around the house.

Once you've completed these steps, your fly problem should be gone, and you may be able to read a book without the distracting clammor of a house fly slamming against your windows.