If you want to fight the housefly sustainably, you should take a look at its living conditions. The profile of the insects gives clues as to what they like and hate. Measures to combat it can be derived from this.
Bait with sugar water
Flies like the smell of sweet foods. Empty wine bottles are an ideal foundation for building a simple fly trap. The neck of the bottle forms a kind of funnel through which the smell flows out in a concentrated manner and attracts the insects. As soon as these crawl into the container, they can no longer come out through the narrow opening and perish. With the right mix, the trap achieves the best possible results:
- Pour two tablespoons of sugar into the bottle using a funnel
- Half fill the wine bottle with lukewarm water
- Swirl the container until the sweetener has completely dissolved
- add a few dashes of dish soap to reduce surface tension
Make glue traps yourself
Glue catchers are popular ways to get rid of the annoying housefly. The sticky paper strips consist of different materials including natural resin, honey and rosin. An attractant is used to make the insects aware of the trap. They are suitable as a permanent method to keep the fly infestation under control. Glue catchers are not enough to combat an acute plague of flies. How to make a glue trap yourself:
- Cut a piece of paper into several long strips
- punch a hole in the top
- Pull a string through the opening and secure it with a knot
- Dip strips of paper in a viscous mixture of honey, sugar and water until they are soaked
- Attach the honey strips to a stick with the string and hang it up to dry
- Distribute dried traps in living spaces
Tip: Instead of honey, you can also take resin from conifers. At the same time, this gives off a pleasant forest scent in the apartment.
Attract by light
Musca domestica can be attracted by light sources. This explains why the flies often come into brightly lit apartments through open windows in the evening. You can take advantage of this preference with a little skill and the right utensils. Simply combine a glue trap with a light source that will attract the insects:
- Clean old glass or empty tin cans
- Smear the upper rim of the vessel with resin or honey
- alternatively, attach double-sided adhesive tape on the inside in the upper area
- Put a tea light, LED or flashlight inside
Put off with scents
Intensely smelling spices and essential oils have a disgusting effect on the housefly, so that it searches the distance or does not even come into the apartment. The duration of action is limited with essential oils because they are quickly volatile. Therefore, it is important to repeat the measures every day:
- Dissolve chilli powder in warm water and spray on popular seats with an atomizer bottle
- Let the eucalyptus or laurel oil evaporate in a fragrance lamp
- Garnish half a lemon with crumbled cloves and place on window sills
Tinker meat trap
Fish and meat are typical foods that attract houseflies. You can use the leftovers from your last meal to build an effective fly trap for yourself. Since the smell increases over time and can become a nuisance, you should replace this trap after a week at the latest.
How to make the trap yourself:
- Fill the vase halfway with water
- Add maple syrup, honey or sugar
- Cut raw meat into small pieces and put in the bottle
- add a few drops of washing-up liquid
- Cover the opening with cling film and make several holes
- Fix the foil with rubber
Tip: You can also use overripe fruit as an alternative to meat. A sprinkling of vinegar will increase the attractiveness.
Keep the apartment cool
The housefly prefers a warm and windless environment in which there is a wide range of food. Therefore, apartments that are easily accessible to the insects through open windows and doors are an ideal place to look for eggs and food sources. The warmer it is, the better the next generations of flies can develop. For this reason, you should pay special attention to the room temperature with regard to effective control:
- Keep the temperature of the apartment at 16 degrees
- Keep shutters or blinds closed during the day to shield sunlight
- Ventilate several times in the morning and in the evening at smaller intervals
Store organic waste correctly
Houseflies love the smell of biodegradable waste that collects in the garbage can. If this is open, the pesky insects can easily access the food source. Therefore, you should temporarily store the organic waste in lockable buckets. Measures such as correct placement and maintenance are of great importance with garbage cans:
- Do not place the vessel in the sun
- better is a cool place under the sink
- Dispose of waste daily on the compost or in the garbage can
- Then clean the bucket with hot water and a dash of vinegar
Tip: A large box with a lock and a rubber seal in the lid is even better. With this variant you not only prevent infestation by house flies, but also make it difficult for fruit flies to survive.
Growing aromatic plants
Some useful plants and kitchen herbs not only enrich the menu, but also keep flies out of the house and apartment with their essential oils. The aromas spread through the air when the leaves are touched. Wind also intensifies this effect. The following plants like the conditions on the windowsill:
- Tomato plants(Solanum lycopersicum) benefit from rain-protected conditions in front of the window
- basil(Ocimum basilicum) feels comfortable in bright places
- Catnip(Nepeta cataria) thrives splendidly in sunny and dry conditions
Put up carnivorous plants
Carnivorous plants have specialized in catching protein-rich insects. They develop different catch mechanisms, exude attractive aromas and attract their prey with intense colors. Because of their comparatively large traps, these carnivorous species are ideal aids to get one or the other housefly out of the way:
- Dionaea muscipula: easy-care Venus flytrap for the windowsill
- Nepenthes alata x ventricosa: Pitcher plant, which is suitable for the hanging basket
- Sarracenia purpurea: Pitcher plant, that feels comfortable in the pot outside of the greenhouse
Attach the fly screen
An effective method to prevent the housefly from getting into your own four walls is to attach mosquito nets. Prefabricated fly frames are stable and can be opened and closed, while nets with self-adhesive Velcro tape are sufficient for small windows.
