Summer in my part of Louisiana is hot, humid and rainy. Basically, my backyard is the ideal breeding ground for most insects. By the time the end of summer rolls around, my backyard is infested with house flies. As someone who tries to only buy organic products, the fly population poses a big problem for me. Most effective bug sprays are loaded down with chemicals that I don't want in my house. So over the years I've found a few natural ways to kill flies. Some worked, some didn't. Here are my best ways.
Homemade fly deterrents
It is a strange but common belief in Louisiana that flies don't like bright lights. The theory is, the pest won't fly into anything shiny or bright so installing light catchers in your windows will keep the flies from coming in to your house. One common method is to hang a CD from a string and place it over a window. The CD will catch the light and reflect, keeping the flies at bay. The method I use is simple a bag of water and a penny. I fill a plastic baggie halfway full of water, drop a penny in the bottom and hang the bags outside of my windows and doors.
Fly catchers
Flies are naturally attracted to anything that smells sweet or rancid. To use this to my advantage, I pour a small amount of corn syrup in a flat dish. Then I add a chunk of banana or some near-rotten vegetables into the mixture. The flies are attracted to the scent, they land in the dish, and the corn syrup holds them in place. At the end of the day, I dump the mixture into a sealed bag inside my trashcan and start over.
Natural bug spray
My biggest problem was finding a bug spray that wasn't loaded down with chemicals. I tried a few homemade recipes with little success. Finally, I stumbled across one homemade recipe that works pretty well. Add one tablespoon of liquid dish soap into a spray bottle. Fill the bottle with warm water and shake well. For this recipe, I use an organic dish soap. There are a few brands that are available at most grocery stores and drugstores. Even with the organic soap, the spray works pretty well inside and outside my house. However, you have to use it liberally on any live flies you see.
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