Get rid of flies outside patio areas with some of our amazing tips and learn how to get rid of flies outside patio spaces successfully. Summer outings are so much more fun when we learn how to keep flies off patio areas especially when they hover above our food.
Those flies swarming on porch spaces can really bring down our moods, buzzing incessantly and constantly landing on dishes and desserts. Here are some easy ways to repel flies from patio areas.
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How To Get Rid of Flies Outdoors
There are actually so many ways in keeping flies away from patio areas and other outdoor spaces. Using one can be effective for some, although we would suggest using as many as you can to keep them away for the whole summer. Here are some easy ways to repel those flies from your outdoor spaces:
– Swat Flies Away
Swatting flies away is the initial instinctual behavior we tend to display when we see those pesky little bugs anywhere near us. Many fly swatters have been invented and manufactured over the years, with each design promising to eliminate flies for good.
Made of many different materials, fly swatters have proven to be mildly useful and effective depending on the skill and dexterity of the wielder. When using the fly swatter, make sure that you do not hit objects that can pose immediate risks or dangers to you and your environment.
– Use Flytraps
Flytraps are one of the best ways to keep flies from porch areas and gardens. Flytraps work incredibly well because they are quick, inexpensive, and efficient in their purpose. Flies are immediately drawn to them and become stuck.
The downside to this method is that you might spend a lot of time looking at these unsightly pests stuck on bright flytraps in your outdoor spaces. This method can put a damper on parties and celebrations, although on ordinary days flytraps get the job done well.
You can buy commercial flytraps or you can make one yourself. Homemade flytraps come in all shapes and sizes so you may want to search for the one that appeals to you most.
– Switch On Your Electric Fans
Oscillating fans can offer an immediate and easy way to get rid of flies from your patio spaces and garden areas. Although this is not exactly long-term, using the wind from the fan can deter flies from ever buzzing near your porches, patios, and gardens. Whether rotary, industrial, or ceiling, fans can provide a great way to keep flies away.
This method can work as a temporary solution to repel flies, especially during outdoor gatherings and celebrations. The stronger the wind generated by the fan, the further away the flies will be from your party area.
– Cover Your Food
Flies are attracted to the smell of food, particularly meat and sugar. Keeping your food covered can keep flies off your food, although they will still be buzzing around and hoping to get at the food. Some people use netted covers as a way to keep the flies from the food.
This method is temporary and will require you to keep shooing flies away every time you lift the cover. While it may not be the most ideal, it is a quick and simple technique.
– Use Scented Candles
Candles with aromatic characteristics can have properties that are effective as fly repellants. One of the most effective aromatic essential oil found in insect-repelling candles is citronella. Citronella is an essential oil found in many plants that have been found to deter a lot of insects and pests.
This repelling quality makes the citronella essential oil one of the most popular ingredients in many outdoor products such as candles, sprays, and skin applications.
While notably effective, candles can be a fire hazard and must be carefully placed and stored to ensure safety from accidental fires. Nonetheless, it will keep the flies away since the smell will fill the air and cleanse the flies away from your patio.
– Cloves And Cinnamon
Some people have claimed that the strong scents of cloves, cinnamon bark, and cinnamon powders can repel flies and other insects. The belief stems from certain chemicals found in cloves and cinnamon that are said to be quite offensive to the olfactory senses of the flies.
While others use cloves or cinnamon as they are, some prefer to use clove or cinnamon essential oils as fly deterrents. Clove or cinnamon essential oils can be used in candle burners, diffusers, and other means to disseminate their strong scents.
People even use mixtures and blends of several essential oils as natural alternatives to bug sprays.
– Use Vodka Bags
Some people have reported a high success rate in using vodka as a fly deterrent for patio spaces and other outdoor areas. Flies are believed to loathe the smell of vodka and this has encouraged many summer outdoor celebrants to bag vodka in small plastic pouches. These vodka-filled pouches are then hung all over the area.
The vodka-filled plastic bags are tied but not completely to ensure that the vodka is partly exposed and allowed to evaporate into the air. While many swear by this method, some consider the technique a waste of vodka and would rather drink it up.
– Turn On Bug Zappers
Bug zappers are definitely one of the simplest approaches in ensuring flies are not just repelled but are eliminated. The electric bug zapper can get rid of flies on porch areas and garden spaces with a simple, well, zap.
Sold commercially, bug zappers can be easily hung and placed in locations where flies and other pesky insects are most likely to bother you.
Some bug zappers come in the form of portable electric swatters as well. These look like plastic tennis rackets that are designed to zap flies upon contact. Care should be taken so that you do not come into contact with the netted zappers to avoid accidental injuries.
– Spray Insecticides
Insecticides do a quick and efficient job at eliminating flies, insects, and other bugs from bothering you and your loved ones outdoors. The efficiency of the insecticide can come at some health expense for humans, pets, and beneficial insects.
Insecticides are formulated to ensure that all forms of insects and bugs are quickly decimated, regardless of their purpose. Some insecticides can pose additional risks such as damage to plants, wildlife and pet poisoning, and unwanted human side effects.
When opting to use this method, care should be ensured that you have made a thorough consideration.
How To Prevent Flies From Coming Back
To keep flies away from porch areas and other garden spaces is one of the most gratifying things we can do. Not just to keep them away for the meantime, but to prevent them from coming back or from even coming at all. After all, a clear summer day in our outdoor spaces is one of the most-awaited moments of the year.
– Keep Your Outdoor Spaces Clean
Flies are extremely attracted to open garbage bins, open compost containers, and animal droppings. The decaying vegetable and animal organic matter pose not only encourages flies but, is also extremely unsightly and smelly when left alone.
Be sure to close garbage bins, shut compost bins tight, and clean up animal fecal matter. This will prevent garbage smells to occupy the patio of your house, and thus will prevent the flies from flying around the outside of your house.
– Encourage Natural Predators
Spiders are one of the most efficient predators of flies. By encouraging beneficial bugs and insects to prey on flies and other pests, you’ll end up with a cleaner outdoor space. The presence of these helpful predators can allow you to focus on better things to do such as planning a relaxing day outdoors.
Other natural predators include birds and frogs. The presence of these avian and reptilian animals has been credited for keeping the fly population at bay in many outdoor spaces, and one of these areas could be yours.
– Plant Insect-Repelling Plants And Herbs
Lavender, basil, and mint are one of the most popular herbs reported to repel flies and other pesky insects. Planting these herbs in your garden and outdoor spaces can greatly affect the presence of flies. Not only do these herbs repel insects, but they are also particularly useful in culinary applications.
Lavender can also be quite aromatically beneficial, with many claiming that the smell of lavender flowers has calming aromatherapeutic properties. People have used lavender scents and oils for centuries as insect repellants.
– Cultivate Carnivorous Plants
Carnivorous plants are plants that have adapted to trap and eat insects through various ingenious ways. Plants like the Venus Flytrap, Sundew, and Pitcher Plant are some of the most popular carnivorous plants.
They are often placed in gardens for their ability to keep pests like insects and bugs away as well as for their unique and exotic appearances.
These plants are easy to care for as long as you understand their needs and provide them with the right growing conditions.
– Clear Out Stagnant Water
Since flies depend on water sources for hydration, clearing out any stagnant water around your outdoor spaces can deprive them of water. Stagnant water can easily collect in many things, such as small indentations on the lawn, small cracks and holes, discarded pots and cans, and so many other possible places.
Carefully checking your surrounding areas can help you eliminate the risk of having flies buzzing in your area, especially during the summer.
– Clean Up After Wildlife Leftovers
When you have an outdoor space such as patios, porches, and gardens, you are most likely to have at least a few birds in your area. Birds tend to feed heavily on local fruits and they tend to drop the leftover fruit on the ground. To make sure that flies do not get to these spoils first, it is best to clean the wildlife leftovers right away.
The same goes for other wildlife fruit feeders such as bats, squirrels, and lizards.
– Mow Your Lawn Regularly
Flies prefer to lay their eggs in grasses that offer them protection and water. Long grasses are their most preferred locations since their hatchlings can be easily hidden under the tall blades of grass. The grass keeps the maggots safe from predators such as birds, lizards, and other animals who prey on them naturally.
Keeping your lawn grass relatively short can lessen the chances of having flies and other harmful insects in your outdoor spaces during the summer.
Frequently Asked Questions
– What Draws Flies Outdoors?
Flies are attracted to sources of food such as decaying plants, animals, or matter. Flies are also drawn to sources of moisture, so if all elements are present in your home then you may have to acknowledge that flies can soon appear.
– What Is The Lifecycle Of Flies?
The lifespan of flies can be quite short with many living for 15 to 25 days. However, their rate of reproduction can be extremely speedy.
The speed at which they multiply can be particularly frustrating especially when they are at their most populated during the warm days of summer.
– What Are The Stages Of The Fly Lifecycle?
Flies are also drawn to shady or dark corners especially when their sources of food and water are nearby. Here in these darkened areas, flies are encouraged to breed, hatch, and develop their larva into tiny wriggling masses.
Female flies can lay from 75 to over 150 eggs, with each egg taking around 20 hours to hatch. Female flies have been noted to lay five to six batches of eggs in their lifetimes. Female flies also mature quickly, reaching adulthood 12 days after hatching.
Once the eggs hatch, maggots emerge and reach the first stage of their larval development. Maggots quickly molt and grow over a span of three days to eight weeks before they enter their second stage, depending on their species.
Once done, they enter their pupal stage where they slowly begin to display the characteristics of a fly. This stage can take anywhere from four to six days in warm conditions.
Eventually, the maggots emerge and develop into flies. The juvenile flies can take only several days before they fully mature into adults capable of quickly reproducing.
The lifecycle of the flies will go on as long as they are in their most favorable environments. This is why some people find getting rid of flies extremely difficult due to their rapid reproduction rate.
Conclusion
Keeping flies off patio areas, porch spaces, and outdoor gardens can take some patience and a little planning.
There are several methods to keep them away, some for a short time while other techniques can even prevent their presence.
Here are some of the quick and short-term methods:
- Physical methods are the easiest ways to get rid of flies, although their effects can be short-lived or inconvenient. Fly swatters can be a great tool if you are quick with your hands and if you intend to spend the entire time slapping flies. Flytraps and fly strips are an effective way of making sure the flies don’t bother you as long as you don’t mind seeing them all over your patios, porches, and gardens.
- Odors can either attract or repel flies and here you can select from the following items that repel flies. Use scented candles and diffusers to discourage flies from entering your abode, just make sure your candles do not pose a fire hazard to your intended purposes.
- Cloves, cinnamon, and other natural ingredients can repel flies. Some have suggested using essential oils featuring plant, fruit, and floral origins such as cinnamon, cloves, and lavender.
- Plastic bags filled with vodka have been reputed to be effective fly deterrents although some users would prefer to consume the liquor rather than use it to repel flies.
- Electronic bug zappers are the easiest ways to eliminate flies from your porch areas. Insecticides are another effective means to exterminate bugs, although you have to make sure that you are applying them safely and reducing any harmful risks.
While those mentioned above are short-term solutions, we have also mentioned techniques to lessen the possibility of having flown in your outdoor spaces. Keeping flies away from our outdoor spaces can be immensely gratifying since those annoying little insects can ruin even the best days of summer.
Now that you know all the tips and tricks in keeping flies away from porch areas and patio spaces, you can begin to plan ahead for those wonderful fly-free summer picnics and meals!
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