Darn pesky flys. How do you deal with?

An addendum to my recent post - 

Hmmmm I am back to liking the shotgun idea

Here are a few recommendations I found on line.

Stage 2: Fly Eradication Techniques:
In stage 2 of the process, we are going to have a look at some methods to kill or repel the adult flies in the infested areas. In this section, we are going to see some quick fire ways to eradicate flies.
When you talk about fly eradication methods, there are hundreds of them but in this article we will only see the best ones.
Also, for the sake of simplicity we will classify these methods into 7 major categories. You can pick any method from any category to see if it works in your case or not. These categories are as follows:

Category 1: Fly Repellents:
1. Using Vodka Based Fly Repellents:
For some reason flies hate Vodka. They just cannot bear its smell and hence some people use vodka based repellents to ward off flies.
To make such vodka based fly repellents you will have to mix following ingredients:
     1 cup vodka
     2 tsp aloe vera juice
     1 tsp lemon eucalyptus oil
     1/2 tsp. essential oil blend
After mixing the ingredients, pour them in a spray bottle. Apply it over your skin or spray it near the infested area to repel flies.
Note: Only apply this repellent on your skin if you are comfortable with it. If you have any kind of allergies with any of the above ingredients then it’s better to avoid this method.

2. Using Lemongrass Oil as a Natural Fly Repellent:
Lemongrass oil has strong insect repellent properties and in addition to this it can also keep your home refreshingly aromatic. So, you can use the lemongrass oil to make a fly repelling spray that also works as a room freshener.
To make this spray you will have to mix following ingredients:
     Lemongrass essential oil- 20-25 drops
     Hot water about 1/2 cup
Keep the solution in a spray bottle and spray it along your doorways and windows or any other fly infested area.
Note: In absence of Lemongrass oil you could also use other natural oils like Lavender oil, Citronella oil, Eucalyptus oil, Pennyroyal oil, or Peppermint oil. But with them you won’t achieve the results that you would get with Lemongrass oil.
Read this: Using natural oils to repel flies

3. Using Clove based Deterrent:
Cloves are pleasurably aromatic for humans but flies (particularly house flies) cannot stand the scent of cloves. In this remedy, you would have to use cloves along with lemons to deter flies.
To make this deterrent, take a lemon and cut it into two halves. After this, poke 6-12 cloves into each half of the lemon.
And then, you can keep few such clove poked lemons in a plate as a beautiful centerpiece for your table, especially for the times when you have meals with friends outdoor like in a barbeque party.
Alternatively, you could also use clove oil as it works better than solid cloves.

4. Creating Apple Cider Vinegar and Witch Hazel fly Repellent:
This is a natural fly repellent that works mostly against house flies. To make this repellent, you would need following ingredients:
     1/4 cup witch hazel
     1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
     30 – 60 drops of eucalyptus oil
To make this repellent mix 1/4 cup witch hazel and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. After this, add 30 – 60 drops of eucalyptus oil in the solution and shake the mixture well.
Now, you can apply this repellent on the uncovered areas of your body. Please note that do not let this solution to enter your eyes or mouth.
5. Using herbs like Basil, Lavender, and Mint to deter flies:
Flies do not like the fragrance of certain aromatic herbs, such as Elder, Basil, Lavender, Tansy, Wormwood, Rue, and Mint.
You could plant these herbs in a pot near your doorways to keep flies away. This will not only prevent flies from entering your house but will also make the surrounding environment healthy.
If for some reason you cannot plant these herbs then, get some dried basil and mint leaves. Tie them up in a cheesecloth or a muslin bag and hang them in the infested area.

6. Using Camphor or Citronella smoke:
Citronella and Camphor both are very good at repelling flies. In general flies hate smoke, but when the smoke is from a citronella candle or a piece of camphor then it becomes doubly effective against them.
To try this method, light a citronella candle or a piece of camphor and spread the smoke in the fly infested area and you could see them leaving the place instantly.
Compare the efficiency of ‘Citronella Candles’ with other Fly Eradication Techniques

Category 2: Fly Traps:
7. Using Sugar-Water fly trap:
To make your Sugar-Water fly trap, all you need is a wide-mouthed jar, some sugar water, and a paper cone.
First of all pour the sugar syrup in the jar and then cut a 1 cm diameter hole at the apex of the cone. Now, place the cone in the jar upside down, so that it should not touch the liquid.
Now, as the jar contains sweet liquid so flies will be attracted to it and will go down through the cone into the jar. Once inside, they won’t be able to fly up through the hole to come out again.
Read this:
8. Using Milk Sugar Pepper Trap:
This trap works wonderfully for fruit flies. It has been used in many parts of the world since ancient period to trap fruit flies. To make this trap you would need:
     Milk- 1/4 litre
     Sugar- 3 tsp
     Ground black pepper- 1 tbsp
Pour all the ingredients in a pan. Heat them for 5 – 10 minutes on simmer. After this remove the mixture from heat and pour it in shallow bowls and keep these bowls near the fly infested area.
Fruit flies will get attracted to this and as soon as they land on the solution they will suffocate and get drowned.
9. Disposable Fly Traps:
Disposable fly traps are one of the best fly catchers. They provide a simple, no-mess way to keep flies away from your patio and garden.
A disposable fly trap consists of a specially formulated bait or attractant which is water soluble. The attractant is kept inside a pouch and only gets activated when you add water to it.
After adding water to it, the attractant dissolves in the water producing a sweet smell which flies love. Flies can get inside the bag, but due to its construction they are not able to move out and eventually are drowned in the water inside.
These kinds of traps have been proved to work against multiple types of flies like: House flies, blow flies, carrion flies, cluster flies, flesh flies, stable flies etc.
Read this:
Compare the efficiency of ‘Disposable Fly Traps’ with other Fly Eradication Techniques

10. Using Pheromone Traps:
Pheromone Traps are most effective traps against multiple species of flies. These traps work like any other normal trap but instead of a normal food or odour bait they have pheromones.
Pheromones are powerful sexual attractants which are quite effective in luring multiple species of flies. As soon as the insect gets inside the trap it is unable to escape.
Pheromone traps are very sensitive, which means they can attract insects present at very low densities. They can be used both for an indoor or an outdoor infestation. The biggest drawback of such traps is that – they are generally limited to one gender.
11. Using Fly Paper to Kill Flies:

Fly papers or fly ribbons are the cheap and best things to trap flies. A fly paper is coated with a sweet fragrant to which flies get attracted.
The paper is extremely sticky and sometimes also has a layer of poisonous substance above it. And hence a fly paper initially attracts the flies and then traps them when they land upon it.
You can also make a fly paper at home, for this you would need following items:
     Sheets of brown paper or thin cards
     Scissors
     Heating Pan
     A large sized spoon for stirring
     Corn Syrup
     Water
     Thread
To make the fly paper, cut the brown paper sheets into 2 inch wide strips. After this take equal parts of corn syrup and water into a pan and heat the mixture till it starts boiling. Keep stirring the mixture with the spoon while heating.
After this, remove the pan from heat and soak the strips into the mixture for at least 4 – 5 hours. Next, take out the strips and allow them to dry for 2-3 hours. When the strips get dry, hang them in the fly infested area and your homemade fly paper is ready to catch flies.

27. Using Clear Plastic Bags Filled with Water:
Some people have reported to deter flies by using a transparent plastic bag half filled with water. Scientists also support this method for repelling flies. They say that flies have compound eyes, which means that they have around 8000 lenses in each eye.

This gives them a great ability to detect movement and changing light patterns. A bag of water reflects light in all directions and flies do not like to be near such a thing.
But the drawback with this method is that it could only be used during the day time. However, you can use an artificial light source during night time but then it doesn’t works that well.

Burning Sterno is reputed to repel flies

Love the fire shooter thingy!! Fwunder!