Easy tips to keep flies out of your home for good through the summer & the scents we love but they HATE

SUMMER means sunny skies, pleasant breezes, warm evenings…and bugs everywhere you turn. Flies are an especially persistent problem. You can expect them to sneak through every cracked window or screen door. Though the insects can rapidly reach a high population, there are a few simple strategies you can use to keep an infestation at bay. […]

SUMMER means sunny skies, pleasant breezes, warm evenings…and bugs everywhere you turn.

Flies are an especially persistent problem. You can expect them to sneak through every cracked window or screen door.

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Houseflies plague homes during the summer, but expert tricks can keep them away[/caption]

Though the insects can rapidly reach a high population, there are a few simple strategies you can use to keep an infestation at bay.

Natasha Wright MS BCE, technical director for Braman Termite & Pest Elimination and board-certified entomologist, told Homes & Gardens exactly what you should do to keep your home fly-free.

Sanitizing breeding grounds is the very first thing you should do, because it keeps any flies who do sneak in from recreating.

“The goal is to prevent the creation of attractive feeding and breeding areas,” Wright told the outlet.

“Killing adult flies does not stop the infestation. The breeding sites and the immature stages must be found and eliminated.”

Flies’ favorite food group is broadly defined as “decaying organic matter,” a term that comprises compost, garbage, and fecal matter.

If there are areas in your home with grime or buildup that might be host to flies and their families, clean them thoroughly with bleach and hot water.

To keep flies away from the house, make sure to clean up any excrement pets leave in your yard, and consider moving your compost bins if you have them.

Keep compost in a far corner of the yard and secure bin lids tightly.

The same goes for garbage cans inside and outside your home.

Clean them thoroughly every season, and change out the bags on a regular basis.

Letting bags get overstuffed or leaky creates those fertile feeding and breeding areas flies love so much.

It’s not possible to maintain a perfectly sanitary home, so you’ll need to be diligent with other precautions.

Are there tears in your window or door screens? If so, replace them, and repair gaps on the frames, too.

Then, you can take other preventative measures, including natural repellents.

Like mosquitos, flies despise citronella, so using those candles on the porch or patio should help.

You can also give your home a refreshing scent by using essential oils that will keep flies at bay.

According to the experts at Homes & Gardens, flies are deterred by mint and eucalyptus oil. They also don’t like basil, cloves, lavender, or cinnamon.

Use essential oils in a diffuser, if you don’t have pets that could have a negative reaction to the oil.

Or pick your favorites, and make a proprietary blend in a spray bottle to use in the kitchen and near garbage cans.

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Essential oils can help keep flies away when used safely[/caption]