How to get rid of flies – The ultimate guide

Housefly feeding by liquefying food and sucking it up

Houseflies are dirty and carry diseases, so it’s important to get rid of flies as soon as the appear.

Houseflies are a genuine bioweapon, known to carry a range of pathogens including Salmonella, dysentery, cholera, typhoid and polio, even leprosy and anthrax, so there’s every reason to make sure flies are kept out of the house and well away from the kitchen. Fortunately, with a bit of knowledge, making sure your home is a fly free zone is fairly straight forward.

Why are houseflies so dirty?

Although the housefly is probably the most common fly you will find around your home, there are a number of fly species, including houseflies, collectively called filth flies. They get their name because they prefer to live, eat and breed around rotten organic matter – manure and garbage are much preferred! It’s therefore not surprising that they pick up a range of pathogens. Of course, when they then land on your food or kitchen surfaces, they can transfer one of the many pathogens they carry and cause illnesses and disease.

Fly infestation prevention tips

If you have a housefly problem you need to find the source of the problem and it’s probably due to there being a suitable breeding site / food source nearby. By eliminating housefly food sources and breeding sites, you can both make your home less attractive to houseflies thereby reducing their number.

Our top 5 tips to make your house less attractive to houseflies:

1. Make sure waste is placed in sealed bags, inside sealed garbage bins
2. Pick up and dispose of any pet faeces from the yard and garden
3. Avoid using chicken manure as a fertilizer
4. Don’t create compost heaps
5. Don’t leave uneaten pet food out

Housefly larvae or maggots will quickly hatch and grow in garbage bins

Well-fitted fly screens will keep flies out of the house!

There’s a reason Australia is home of the fly screen – there are lots of flies in Australia and fly screens work. But they need to be well fitted and be in good order (no holes or tears). Of course, a good fitting screen is only works if the doors are kept closed!

How to get rid of flies outdoors?

Houseflies can fly long distances, so even if you eliminate breeding sites around your home, they can still fly in from the surrounding areas. Whilst ensuring your entertaining areas are 100% fly free is probably not realistic, there are a few fly products that can be used to keep numbers in check:

·      Spraying the external walls of your home and other fly resting places with a long-lasting insecticide, such as PestXpert Pro Spray Outdoor Perimeter

·      Use fly traps which contain an attractive food source to lure flies in, however these are not for everyone as the traps may end up with numerous fetid fly bodies which can look quite disgusting

·      Fly paper, although old fashioned and a bit unsightly, the can be effective as flies are attracted by the vertical lines created by the paper.

How to get rid of flies indoors?

Hopefully fly numbers inside the home should be relatively low (assuming fly screens are in place). However, there are some different fly control options for inside the home.

·      Electric fly units attract flies through UV light and then use either an electric grid to zap them or a glue board to trap them. Don’t place the trap near windows (a competing UV source) or near food preparation area (flies explode when they hit the electric grid!)

·      Fly traps and sticky fly paper can also be used indoors

·      But with well fitted fly screens the best way to deal with the occasional fly invader is with a premium fly spray such as PestXpert Pro Spray Flying.

How to use a fly spray

Trying to hit a fly directly with an aerosol spray is a challenge as they pick up the pressure wave from the spray and fly off before the insecticide arrives. The best way to spray for flies, and the aerosols are designed this way, is to carry out a “space spray”.  

Close all the doors and windows in the room to be treated. Shake the can and spray into the air for several seconds before leaving the room and close the door. When you re-enter 10 minutes later the flies should be dead. This is a great technique for mosquitoes as well, as they can be hard to locate.

More details on How do fly sprays work?

Avoid the Australian ‘salute’ by getting on top of fly problems

Getting rid of other types of flies

Houseflies aren’t the only nuisance flies found around the home. Two other small pest flies are the vinegar flies or drain flies are a problem. Learn more about how to get rid of vinegar flies and how to get rid of drain flies.

Flies are more than just annoying – they are a health threat to your family, so it’s certainly worth trying to keep your home fly free. Of course, they are annoying too…

PestXpert products for fly control

PestXpert Pro-Spray Outdoor Perimeter

PestXpert Pro-Spray Flying