How to Get Rid of Flies Outdoors (And Keep Them Away for Good)

Enjoying a lovely summer day outside sounds nice, but it’s not so fun when there are dozens of flies buzzing in your ear. If you’re fed up with the flies outside, you’re not alone: lots of people wish they could banish flies from their garden or patio space. That’s why we’ve gathered all the methods you can use to repel flies and keep them away for good.

Things You Should Know

Use fly traps outside to attract and kill flies.
Plant basil, elderberry, or mint to deter flies using landscaping.
Set up outdoor fans to blow flies away when they come near you.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Killing and Repelling Flies

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1
Make DIY fly traps. Mix molasses and cornmeal and place it in a shallow dish or saucer. Put the saucer far away from your patio or garden—the flies can congregate there while you enjoy your meal in peace.^{[1]
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- If you’re dealing with fruit flies, bait the traps with bananas.^{[2]
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  Joshua Bloom
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  Expert Interview. 22 April 2020.}
- To catch fungus gnats, try raw potatoes.^{[3]
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  Joshua Bloom
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Place fly light traps out at night. A fly light trap is an electrically charged light that attracts flies and zaps them.^{[4]
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Go to source} Try hanging them around your backyard, making sure they’re above head-height.
- Be careful setting these up. Light traps could never seriously injure anyone, but it's still quite painful to be zapped by them.
- Alternatively, try a UV light trap. Flies have compound eyes, and thus find the spectrum of UV light attractive. The UV light attracts the flies, and when they go to investigate the light they get stuck to the glue board built into the light.^{[5]
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  Kevin Carrillo
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  Expert Interview. 5 November 2019.}
- Sticky traps also work well, as long as you change them out often.
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Hang bags filled with vodka. Flies hate the smell of vodka. Try hanging plastic bags full of vodka around your porch or garden area. When the flies smell the vodka, they’ll head somewhere else.^{[6]
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- Quarter gallon freezer bags, tied with string to a gutter, work well.
- Use any cheap vodka that you have on-hand.
- You can also try putting small amounts of vodka on your skin. However, the smell can be intense, and it might dry out your skin.
4
Landscape with fly-repelling plants. Flies are deterred by the scents of some plants, so keep potted plants on your patio or near your doors. Choose from plants like:^{[7]
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- Basil
- Elderberry
- Lavender
- Mint
- False Indigo
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Landscape with carnivorous plants. While some plants simply repel flies, others actually eat them. Plant Venus Fly Traps and Pitcher Plants outdoors to keep the fly population in check.^{[8]
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- You can also keep these plants indoors if you deal with any pests inside.
6
Keep spider webs intact around your home. Spiders eat flies, but if you destroy their webs, the flies lose a natural predator.^{[9]
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Go to source} If you see any spider webs outside, leave them alone so the spiders can eat the pests.
- Spiders tend to congregate around entryways and underneath porches.
7
Encourage natural predators with birdhouses and bird baths. Birds are a huge natural predator of flies, along with bats and frogs. Encourage animals like these to hang out in your yard by setting up birdhouses, bird baths, or bat houses.^{[10]
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- While adding a pond to your landscaping might sound like a good idea, the standing water can actually attract more insects.
8
Set up outdoor fans. Flies don’t like the breeze. It may seem silly to put a fan outdoors, but if you are entertaining, a small house fan on your deck or patio may deter flies. Set up the fans so they point away from you to push flies out of your space.^{[11]
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- For a long-term solution, consider installing ceiling fans on your patio.
Flies aren’t the smartest insects around, and smoke from a candle is enough to confuse and repel them. Use Citronella candles to repel mosquitoes and flies at the same time.^{[12]
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Place cloves around an outdoor dining area. The smell of cloves repels flies. Decoratively place cloves on an outdoor dining table to deter flies from landing on any food.^{[13]
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- If you don’t want to use actual cloves, try spraying clove essential oil around your patio or garden area for the same effect.
- Other essential oils, like lavender, mint, and lemongrass are also effective.
11
Use fly baits with insecticide to kill flies. While insecticide isn’t super effective against flies, it does work in some cases. Set up insecticide traps, like QuickBayt or Golden Malrin, wherever the flies gather. When the flies feed on the bait, they’ll die.
- You can also use pyrethroid-based spray insecticides, both indoors and outdoors, to kill flies.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Preventing Flies

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Keep your yard clean and get rid of trash or food. Flies are attracted to any strong smell, which often comes from trash or food left outside.^{[14]
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Luke Lewis
Pest Management Expert

Expert Interview. 21 June 2022.} Flies have very short lifespans (only about 2 weeks), so if you eliminate anything that causes odors outside your house, the flies will leave or die within that period.^{[15]
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Kevin Carrillo
Pest Control Specialist, MMPC

Expert Interview. 22 October 2019.}
- Pick up dog poop, too. Make sure you put it in sealable bags before you put it in the trash can.
- Keep garbage can lids tightly closed. If you are having a party, make sure the trash can be used for paper goods disposable has a tight-fitting lid, and ask the guests to replace the lid after they dispose of their trash.
2
Avoid leaving meat out. Flies are strongly attracted to the smell of meat and will swarm your grill the minute you bring meat outside to cook it. Keep all meat covered tightly when it is not on the grill, and keep the barbecue lid closed while the meat is cooking.^{[16]
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- Protect your grilling tongs and utensils—flies will smell the meat and land on them. If you see flies have landed on your grilling utensils, take them inside and wash them before you pierce or turn the meat with them.
3
Cut your lawn often. Flies love tall grass and piles of brush. Keep your shrubs trimmed and don’t leave piles of cut grass, leaves or brush in your yard.
- All grass grows at a slightly different rate, depending on the species and time of year. A good rule of thumb is to trim your grass once a week in the summer.
4
Keep your compost bin away from your home. A compost bin is filled with decaying matter, which is like a smorgasbord to a fly. Don’t let the compost pile get too moist, and move it as far away from your patio, garden, and home as you can.^{[17]
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- Maintain your compost pile properly. Keep it “cooking” so that it is too warm to support fly larvae.
5
Drain stagnant water in your yard. Flies are attracted to moisture and standing water. Keep the water in birdbaths fresh, and don’t allow buckets or other containers to fill up with rainwater. Discard old tires or any debris in your yard that can collect rainwater.^{[18]
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- Standing water also attracts other pests, like mosquitoes.
If you want to give your backyard birds fruit treats, be sure to locate the fruit or peelings as far from your house as possible. Or, stick to using bird seed, which won’t attract flies.

How Do You Get Rid Of Flies Outside?

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What smell do flies hate the most?

Kevin Carrillo
Pest Control Specialist, MMPC
Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News.

Kevin Carrillo

Pest Control Specialist, MMPC

Expert Answer

Generally, flies are pretty much attracted to anything that we consider a horrible smell, and find practically no scent repelling.

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Tips

Insecticides usually aren’t an effective way to control fly populations. Flies can develop a resistance to pesticides, so it’s best to use other methods.^{[19]
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Some people swear that hanging shiny objects around their yard deters flies. There is no concrete evidence to support this, but you can try hanging strips of aluminum foil or anything else that has a reflective surface near your patio or in your garden.

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