Flies seem to be everywhere this time of year. Some people prefer to use homemade fly traps. What if you want to simply repel flies instead of trapping them after they’ve already become a nuisance?
I was out at a local farm just yesterday and the flies were very noticeable and quite annoying as I went about my work. Seeing all those flies reminded me of a simple, non-toxic, and very effective fly repellent that I observed in action at one of my children’s field trips a couple of months ago.
The class was visiting a petting farm with a large open barn where donkeys, horses, goats, and other livestock were available for the children to observe and interact with.
Despite so many animals in a small semi-enclosed area, there were no flies buzzing around! Curious, I asked the owner about this, and he pointed to the heavy-duty plastic bags partially filled with water hanging over every stall.
He explained that a clear bag of water with a penny at the bottom would repel the flies very effectively. He went on to explain that the “eye” of a fly is actually hundreds of eyes and the reflection of light on the bag of water keeps them away.
“Why the penny at the bottom of the bag?”, I asked.
Grandpa the farmer answered that he wasn’t exactly sure but the penny did seem to increase the effectiveness of the hanging bag of water alone. He added that he didn’t know how many square feet each bag covered so he just put a bag over every animal stall to keep as many flies away as possible.
He also had put up a few bags over the picnic area and it was so nice to be able to eat lunch without flies swarming everywhere!
Note that the clearer the water, the more effective this trick is. If you use rusty well water, it won’t work as effectively as ultra clean and clear filtered water.
Try this fly repellant method for yourself! If you do, please check back and let us know how it worked for you!
Fly Repellent Only Works for Flies
Please note that this fly repellent trick only works for flies, not mosquitoes, and other insects. It also works very well for flies in the Southern United States. However, it may not work as well for flies from other geographical areas such as blowflies in Australia.
If you need to repel other insects like mosquitoes, ticks, or horse flies, this article on natural herbal insect repellent can help.
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Attracting and Using Ladybugs for Garden Pest Control
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Spider Repellent Guaranteed to Work
Mosquito Bite Remedy
Can you put water in a glass jar & hang that instead of the plastic bags?
My grandpa also swears by this method and in all honesty it really does work we go up to his house for visits and its so nice to not hav eflies all over the place!!!
We have been using these bags of water for years. I keep one hanging by all of my outside doors to keep the aggravating things out of my house. Carol
Totally works! We live in a farm house at my fiance’s parents’ chicken farm, so the flies that wander over here from the chicken houses drive me crazy! I hung a bag in our garage near our dryer, and the flies are gone!! 😀
My question is where do you find lemongrass? I’ve tried my local Lowes, Menards, I even tried Meijer, and when it comes to food they usually have everything! From what I understand this is an herb grown primarily in India, so where can I find it in Indiana?
Do you leave the bag closed?
I just had an idea about hanging for those concerned about the sagging bags-how about a pant hanger?! Depending on your space that may work! I’m off to try it out!
Regarding the comments about consuming garlic (to keep mosquitoes away): I’ve heard that black garlic is not only sweeter tasting, but it also doesn’t cause the breath or body odor problems.
We tried this last night in the backyard and were amazed. Our table went from swarming with flies to NONE! My family thought I was a bit nuts and when it worked started asking a lot of questions 😉 We were in a hurry and just used small bags and placed three of them on top of the table … not beautiful, but it did the job! Thanks so much!
I thought this was a bizarre idea but decided to try it at the window that stays open for cats to go in and out. It is amazing how it works. We have farm animals so there are usually so many flies that come in. No it does not stop the mosquitoes but it stops flies.