Flies can be a nusiance in your home (stock photo) (Image: Getty)
Dealing with flies in your home can sometimes feel like an uphill battle.
This time of year can be horrible for as they begin to look for food inside your home instead of outside. The good news is it will almost be time for them to go away completely during the winter months – but that doesn’t make them any less annoying now.
Flies love decomposing , so they’re usually found buzzing around your bins, especially if you’ve chucked away part of your dinner that you haven’t eaten.
Trying to get rid of flies can leave you feeling stressed. But one enthusiast has a way you can tackle the problem without tearing your hair out.
All you need is one item you probably already have in your kitchen cupboards and some water, which you can make into a spray that keeps flies away for good.
Flies Flies everywhere!? Mid-August is the height of fly season (which begins in May) – are you feeling it? Don’t let those little rascals flying around your house get you down – do this instead to take care of each little bugger that is making its home in your home. ??????House Flies – they are coming inside to escape the heat. Just take a few drops of dish soap, add it to a spray bottle full of water. And with a quick spray you can rid yourself of flies buzzing around your house. ??????Filth Flies – these are the flies that feed off of decaying organic matter in places like your trash can. Problem is, they lay their eggs in the decaying matter and then you have a real fly problem on your hands. Key to keeping these flies away is to make sure you take out your trash BEFORE it smells (and when you take it out, tie it very tightly so flies don’t get into the bag outside either) AND wipe down the inside of the trash can with vinegar once a week. ??????Drain Flies – drain flies, same as filth flies, feed off of decaying organic matter in your drain. Solution..pour ½ cup of salt and a ½ cup of baking soda into the drain. Followed by 1 cup of vinegar. Block the drain overnight. In the morning, follow with boiling hot water. This will rid you of those drain flies. ??????Bonus tip – if you want more of an ongoing solution, check out a UV light fly trap. It traps flies, fruit flies, moths, gnats and more.
Babs, who regularly posts cleaning content on TikTok, said that the number one thing you can do to get rid of flies around your bin is to make sure you take your rubbish out “before it starts smelling”.
And to keep them away, Babs recommended: “The key is, once a week, use equal parts of white vinegar and water and spray away. Let it sit for about 20 minutes and wipe down.” In her video, Babs showed herself using a spray bottle filled with vinegar and water down the lid of her kitchen bin. You can also use the spray inside the bin itself for added protection.
And Babs also has advice for people dealing with “drain flies”, which are tiny flies similar to fruit flies that lay eggs in your drains. To tackle them, the cleaning guru recommends killing them at the source.
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She said: “Use half a cup of salt, half a cup of baking soda, and one cup of white vinegar. Plug that drain and let it sit overnight. The next morning, pour boiling water right down the drain, and that’s going to take care of those drain flies.”
If your pipes are made of plastic, it’s advised you use hot water but not boiling, as too much heat could warp your pipes.
Commenters on the post were thrilled with Babs’ advice, as many of them said they’ve been having more issues with flies this year than they normally do. One person said: “Good tip, especially at this time of year!”
Another added: “For some reason flies are so bad this year! I’ve never had an issue and it makes me feel so dirty.”