Home
Fact-checked

At HomeQuestionsAnswered, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

How do I Control a House Fly Infestation?

Jacob Queen
Jacob Queen

According to experts, the best way to control a house fly infestation is to keep your house clean. It’s especially important to avoid a buildup of rotting organic materials like garbage or animal feces in your yard. Another helpful step is to seal your house to the best of your ability because flies don’t need much space to get inside. When things get out of hand, you may want to try traps like fly tape or commercial pest sprays, although the latter are often considered unhealthy.

One of the first things you should try when dealing with an infestation of house flies is to figure out how the flies are entering your home. If your home is perfectly sealed, it can be very difficult for flies to enter. Ideally, they would only be able to come inside when people open or close the door. You should probably look at your windows, screens, and even in your attic so that you can find any area that isn’t sealed tight.

Keeping a house clean can lead to less flies.
Keeping a house clean can lead to less flies.

Another thing that can really help with a house fly infestation is to do some serious cleaning indoors and outdoors around your property. Flies will probably come in your house anyway, but they will generally be drawn in greater numbers if they smell things that attract them. Experts suggest that you should get rid of your garbage regularly so that it doesn’t pile up for too long. If you have a pet, it’s generally wise to deal with any accumulation of feces because this is one of the main things that causes a house fly infestation.

Rotting garbage and pet feces can attract flies and cause an infestation.
Rotting garbage and pet feces can attract flies and cause an infestation.

Fly tape is one of the safest traps that people can use on flies. You basically hang this tape up strategically around your house, and the flies will get stuck to it. Fly tape may not get rid of your problem completely, but it will probably reduce the numbers enough to make the situation more manageable. You may also want to try some other traps, such as ultraviolet bug zappers.

Fly paper or tape is a safe way to reduce the number of flies in a household.
Fly paper or tape is a safe way to reduce the number of flies in a household.

There are several commercial bug sprays available that can help with a house fly infestation, but they may have serious downsides. Many people don’t like to add these chemicals to their living environment because they fear the poisons may be toxic to humans. Most fly sprays are designed to be misted around the rooms in a house, and they will often kill most flies in a matter of minutes. Some sprays have different chemicals in them, and users are generally advised to use the least toxic sprays they can find.

Discussion Comments

anon314085

I have a problem with the flies making nests in the tracks of my window screens. I had new vinyl windows put in in 2003. Ever since then, the flies make a long row of nest in the window screen track. I even see the maggots in the nests. How do I avoid this? I get a long tool and scrape the nests out. If I forget to clean every window, the flies will end up swarming inside the house, basically in the windows. I keep no food in my windows.

anon301455

How do sugar and maple syrup get rid of flies? Do they kill them?

myharley

@andee - That sounds like an interesting solution. Since flies are attracted to anything that is sweet, I can see how they would come to the paper.

I have a couple of uncles who are farmers and their wives often have problems with house fly control. If you live in the country and have livestock, I can see how house flies would be a problem.

I have heard both of them talk about putting a penny in a bag of water and hanging it by a door or window. They say that flies have poor eyesight and the reflection from the water in the bag resembles a spider web so the flies will stay away.

I have never tried this myself, but both of them say they hang bags of water by their doors when the flies get really bad. It sounds like it would be an inexpensive thing to at least try.

andee

@sunshined - One year I made some of my own fly paper. I also think they have a lot of chemicals on them and I wanted to find something that was safer to use.

I made these to put out in the garage, since this is where most of the flies were coming from. When we would open the door from the garage to the house, flies would always come in and I would have a fly infestation in the house.

I found a place online where you could make your own fly strips. These were made with a brown paper bag which was soaked in maple syrup, brown sugar and white sugar. I hung these in the garage and it really helped cut down on the number of flies that came in the house.

sunshined

We have horses, so there is no way I can keep all the flies from flying around and getting inside my house. Getting rid of house flies can sometimes be frustrating, and I have been looking for some alternative ways to do this that will work.

We will spray our horses with fly spray so they aren't so miserable, but I don't want to use sprays like this inside the house. I also think the fly paper has a lot of chemicals on it that I would not want inside my house.

I wouldn't mind having one of these hanging in an outside space, but I think they look really gross when they are hanging inside a house. Has anyone used any natural solutions to get rid of flies in the house with good results?

bagley79

There are few things more annoying to me than house flies that are in my house and flying around the food when we are trying to eat.

It seems like no matter how hard I try, I can't keep the flies out of my house in the summer time. I have more than one fly swatter around my house, but many times these get misplaced or they are not handy when I need one.

I don't have to worry about flies in the house in the winter, but the summer time is when they are the worst. I know whenever the kids leave the door open even for a few seconds, the flies will find their way in.

I always try to get them with the fly swatter as soon as I see them. I also make sure if I have my windows open, that there aren't any holes in the screen where they can sneak inside.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • Keeping a house clean can lead to less flies.
      By: winston
      Keeping a house clean can lead to less flies.
    • Rotting garbage and pet feces can attract flies and cause an infestation.
      By: Aleksandr Volkov
      Rotting garbage and pet feces can attract flies and cause an infestation.
    • Fly paper or tape is a safe way to reduce the number of flies in a household.
      By: ra3rn
      Fly paper or tape is a safe way to reduce the number of flies in a household.
    • Flies can be killed by bug sprays, but many people do not like using toxic chemicals in their homes.
      By: Anterovium
      Flies can be killed by bug sprays, but many people do not like using toxic chemicals in their homes.
    • A house fly.
      By: emer
      A house fly.