Nothing is worse than strolling out to your backyard and being attacked by a swarm of flies. How do they get there? Why do I have flies in my yard? This article will discuss how houseflies, blowflies, and other types of flies can invade your outdoor space and provide you with some natural ways to keep bugs away from the backyard and safe for pets like your dog!
Why are there flies in my backyard?
The first step to learning how to get rid of flies in your backyard is understanding why you have a fly problem.
Houseflies, blowflies, and other common nuisance pests are usually found around homes because people don’t take the time to properly dispose of food waste or pet droppings. These foods attract bugs that will lay eggs nearby, so their larvae have fresh access to food once it hatches!
Take out the trash
Flies love open garbage cans and uncovered compost piles, where they breed quickly under warm conditions. The heat from these locations provides an ideal environment for maggot development which means more adult houseflies outside feasting on all sorts of smelly things we’d rather they didn’t eat. How do they get there?
If you’ve often pondered why certain folks appear to attract more insects than others, it’s because their skin has a greater concentration of chemicals that bugs find alluring!
What makes us attractive or unattractive to them is still not fully understood, but certain compounds in human sweat have been identified as possible factors.
We perspire also seems to be an essential factor in attracting pests like houseflies since our bodily fluids are rich with amino acids, which help larvae snowball into adulthood.
5 Reasons Flies Have Joined You for a Barbecue in Your Backyard
- Houseflies are attracted to the smell of meat. If you are often pestered by houseflies while enjoying a barbeque, it might be time to switch to tongs instead of hands when handling grill food!
- If you’ve already identified that flies are seriously bugging you while at home, it’s time to put the garbage can under wraps. How? By tightly sealing your waste bin with a well-fitted lid.
- If flies aren’t landing on food but instead seem interested in areas where wastewater flows, like drains or sewers, there might be another reason for their presence in your backyard.
- Houseflies and blowflies are attracted to the smell of urine, so if you have pets, you must always clean up their messes immediately!
- Fly is the preferred pest for several reasons. They swarm about you, nibbling at your skin particles and salts, attracting houseflies.
- That fly keeps coming back, feeding on the carcasses of more giant animals like cows or birds that die in nearby fields. (It doesn’t matter if there is death on the show since these buzzing bugs consume rotting biosolids, so people don’t have to!)
What to Do to Get Rid of Flies in My Backyard
There are many ways to get rid of flies in your backyard that you can use right away. How do I know what fly control method is best for my yard? Read through the following sections and decide which option will be most effective for your specific fly problem!
Chemical Methods
If you’re looking for a single quick fix, chemical methods will kill the flies right away. How do I apply chemicals? Many over-the-counter solutions can be sprayed directly onto your plants, surfaces, and animals using a spray bottle or ready-to-use aerosol container.
Over time, these chemical sprays will break down in sunlight and rain, so it’s important not to rely on them alone!
Natural Methods of Fly Control for Backyards
If you’re looking for more sustainable ways of getting rid of houseflies and blowflies naturally, there are several options available:
- Organic Gardening – This solution works best for those with access to compost piles or other organic wastes that houseflies like.
How does this help me dispose of my food scraps without attracting more flies?
Instead, ensure all these leftovers are buried under layers of carbon-rich materials such as leaves or wood chips, where they’ll decompose slowly but entirely away from sight (and smell!).
How do worms prevent blowflies from laying eggs near them?
Why not have a worm farm because they can break down even tougher foods into smaller particles which will be less appealing to blowflies?
- Bio-Control – This method uses natural predators to control the fly population by infecting their larvae, so they die before adulthood!
Parasitic wasps kill the flies off, nematodes or fungi that will be introduced into your yard over time, where they’ll keep eating away at the blowfly larvae until there’s nothing left but mushy goo (eww!)
How do cheesecloth bags prevent pests such as horse flies from entering my home?
Cheesecloth is an excellent insect barrier because it keeps out even tiny insects since its weave is very fine. Just monitor how often you need to replace these sachets since they’ll eventually break down from exposure to the elements.
How do I make a flycatcher?
This is one of those cool things you can build with stuff around your house! All you require is an emptied plastic bottle, some string, and tape, and this trap will be good as new even after hundreds or thousands of flies have been caught inside (don’t forget to give them water)!
Practical Methods for Fly Control in Backyards
These techniques take longer than chemical sprays but are much more sustainable, so they won’t harm the environment as much.
How does physical housefly control work? This method relies on technology that traps the flies using sticky boards like flypaper (yuck!).
How long do flypapers last, though? These devices will need to be replaced every so often, depending on how many flies they manage to catch, but it’s much better than having them flying all over your home!
How does ultrasonic pest control repel insects from my backyard? Ultrasound waves don’t affect humans, but these high-frequency sounds are enough to convince most pests that this area isn’t safe to
Houseflies, Blowflies, and Flies in the Yard
The housefly is a common name for many species of fly belonging to the biological family Muscidae. The term housefly tends to be applied more specifically to those that occur as pests around humans or animals indoors (e.g. the common housefly, Musca domestic natural) or outdoors in habitats (e.g., the bluebottle fly).
The life cycle of a typical fly includes four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Many flies have extremely short lives as adults due to being prone to desiccation. This article focuses on that particular species that prefers living around humans.
- Houseflies are generally dark, with four dark bands across the wings; their colors vary from grey-black to blackish green. Housefly
- Blowflies tend towards shiny metallic colors, while other types look more like houseflies but are slightly larger. Blowfly
Flies belong to Order Diptera.
Two wings only membrane between wings, tiny to absent mouthparts. A fly’s compound eyes are large, occupying most of the head.
- The life expectancy for a housefly is about one month in summer or two months in winter.
- They live up to ten days as adults, while blowflies can live between 20-30 days, depending on environmental conditions and species type.
How do flies breed?
Houseflies have four stages of development: egg, larva (maggot), pupa, and adult.
- First stage – eggs laid by the female into fresh decaying matter such as food waste begin hatching within 24 hours incubation period lasts only six hours.
- Second stage – larvae emerge, which are also knowns as maggots. How long do maggots last? The larvae stage lasts three to fourteen days, depending on the environment.
- In the third stage – pupae emerge from the larva sheath. They are entirely developed but remain dormant for ten days.
What types of flies should you be concerned with, and what dangers exist?
Houseflies carry over 100 pathogens, including typhoid fever and dysentery (caused by bacteria such as Salmonella or Shigella), cholera (Vibrio comma), anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), tuberculosis (Mycobacterium Bovis), streptococci pneumonia fly).
What are the alerting signs of a fly infestation?
You may be just wondering if it is just a one visit or if it means that an infestation is happening. How do you tell? Here are some symptoms and indications of a fly infestation:
- Seeing them around the house, especially in considerable numbers;
- Hearing buzzing sounds throughout your home;
- Walking into what seems like every room only to find flies there as well; or
- Smelling a foul odor.
- You may find them swarming around garbage, food, and animal droppings.
If you see flies in your home more than once, then it’s time to take action and get rid of the pesky little creatures!
Keeping flies at bay with effective natural remedies
One effective method for repelling flies is by using natural remedies without the use of pesticides. Here are some ideas for backyard bug control safe for pets and humans. Some standard methods include: traps, soaps, oils
- ShooAway Repels Flies: This widget doesn’t use pesticides. It’s long-lasting, cheap for its quality, and durable enough to last through all of your family’s fledging adventures!
- The Neem Oil: After insects encounter neem, it also hinders the bug from continuing its life cycle by disrupting those powerful pheromones.
- SprayMake a vinegar trap with dish soap! This is extremely easy to make; mix one part vinegar with two parts water in an empty spray bottle, then add two drops of liquid soap (such as Dawn).
- The Electric Fly Traps, like; The Pestrol Dominator is a flycatcher that uses UV rays to attract nearby flies and then sucks up all those pesky bugs with its turbine! It potentially spans up to 2 acres, depending on the terrain’s architecture.
- Pyrethrin-based insecticide: Pyrethrins are a natural insecticide found in chrysanthemum blooms that have been used to control pests for over fifty years. Although these chemicals can be harmless, it is essential to exercise caution when handling or using them because they may still cause damage and could even affect people with sensitive skin types!
Flytraps, hacks, and other anti-fly techniques
Various techniques are available for manufacturing your own fly trap, such as using a plastic bottle and the tab from the lid, a ziplock bag, and a piece of raw meat or fish. You may also attempt to construct a trap out of netting and wire. Here’s a great video showing how simple it is.
Several other clever approaches to getting rid of flies are mentioned below.
- Solar Buzz Kill and Flybuster are just two of the numerous innovative, creative fly-control solutions.
- Give an electric fly swatter to a bored kid and have them kill as many as they can.
- Use a lemon-scented spray to clean up before the barbeque.
Effective & Safe Fly Repellents
To eliminate flies around your food and skin effectively, you must find the best fly repellent for outdoor areas. Let’s have a glimpse at some valuable alternatives.
Outbreak Defender is a substance that eliminates fruit flies in the breeze! It’s an all-natural, Organic solution manufactured from food ingredients.
Unfortunately, considering chemical compounds migrate in the air and any kind of mist isn’t ideal, but the best practice for repellents around the BBQ table and Pyrethrin dispenser positioned far above or a pre-spray before the gathering will make it less likely to get bitten or annoyed by those pesky bugs 🙂
Essential Oils: applied on your skin or inside a burner before and during the BBQ may be a powerful repellent against mosquitoes but might help with flies. Cinnamon and Thyme are two possibilities.
How can I keep flies off my deck/patio and other areas?
Fly control products are available for outdoor use on the deck.
Fly strips
These disposable adhesive tapes capture flies as they contact the glue surface. How do you think this works? The fly comes into close range of the strip. It is drawn to it due to its scent and coloration. The insects then get stuck.
Make your organic bug spray!
Mix one tablespoon each of dried peppermint leaves, dried thyme leaves, and fresh lemon juice. Add two teaspoons of witch hazel to the mixture, then pour in one cup of distilled water; shake well before use!
Here’s an easy trick that you can do on the deck.
Fill tiny bags partly with vodka, then tighten it until there’s barely any open space! You’ll want these around your deck because flies are bothersome. But I promise this will keep them away entirely without ANY other effort from yourself whatsoever (I shouldn’t have said “effort”). It might seem absurd to think about how many bottles of booze need opening before they’re ready.
Keeping the flies at bay as we eat and grill
Combining the above methods and eliminating odors that attract flies in the first instance will be the ultimate method for fly control. They are generally more of a bother than they ought to be, but there’s help available for you!
You can do many things to get rid of flies in your yard! For starters, leave a few hungry spiders alone. Keep an eye out for rainwater, and don’t allow stagnant water reservoirs such as pet bowls or fruit bird feeders to accumulate- this will only attract more bugs instead of stopping them from coming altogether.
Additionally, maintain these structures by regularly cleaning up spilled food (you know how the pesky fly loves a good meal). And last but not least important is mowing often; tall grasses make perfect breeding grounds for fly larvae that flourish when left unchecked.
Flies will come back if the source is not taken away or eliminated, so removing any food smells and keeping garbage bins closed at all times is critical.
Final Thoughts
Remember that you don’t need to use all the above methods for fly control. Several will suffice, and working on just one or two suggestions at a time is more than enough!
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