However, let’s be honest. Few things, I think we can all agree, are as inconvenient as trying to eat outside while being surrounded by flies. They spread quickly, are simple to access, and contaminate anything they touch.
Your worries are valid. Flies pose a threat to human health because they spread a variety of pathogens and are more than just an annoyance. It’s crucial to be aware of the dangers posed by flies when dining outside and take steps to reduce their contact with you and your food.
In this article, we’ll give you some advice on how to keep flies away from food, including how to use fans in your dining area to reduce the breeding environment. Read on to find out more.
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Table of Contents
Houseflies: How Dangerous Are They?
Flies may not seem like a big deal to you, but they can actually be very harmful. they can:
disease spread: Simply by landing on surfaces used for preparing or contacting food, flies can spread bacteria that cause illness and other disease-causing microorganisms. More than 100 pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Shigella, can be transmitted by flies through their bodies, eggs, feces, and vomit. The symptoms of many of these illnesses include nausea, cramping in the stomach, diarrhea, fever, and dysentery.
Contaminated food: In order to dissolve and consume the food because they are unable to chew, flies immediately vomit when they touch food. Customers who consume food from flies may become ill from food poisoning because of the bacteria, rotting organic matter, rotting meat, and trash that flies carry in their stomachs.
Rapid reproduction: A female housefly has a lifespan of about 28 days and can lay up to 1,000 eggs in that time. In just 10 days, the larvae become adults. In other words, flies can multiply at a rate that companies cannot control.
tarnish your name and financial situation: No one wants to constantly shoo pests away from themselves and their food, so if you have flies in your establishment, you won’t have any customers. Fly infestations can harm your reputation, result in lost income, and increase the cost of failing health inspections.
How To Keep Flies Away From Food?
The biology and behavior of insects are the basis for many fly infestation control techniques that are more efficient than simply swatting insects. Sanitation, isolation, chemical control, and non-chemical measures are a few of the various categories that make up fly management. Keeping flies away from you and your outdoor gathering is easy with these practical tips:
1. Use Fans In Restaurants
Flies are small, which helps them avoid swatters but also keeps them from flying in strong winds. To establish a no-fly zone around the food, install fans all around the dining area. You could also put in an overhead ceiling fan to achieve the same result if you have a covered patio or porch.
During the hot summer months, using an electric fan to help you stay cool while keeping flies away from your food is a great non-chemical control method. To eliminate specific flies, you can also employ a more direct approach by using an electric fly swatter.
2. Cover Food, Get Rid Of Trash
Flies are drawn to food scraps and open containers when eating outside because food is exposed. By covering food when you’re not serving or eating it and putting trash in a container far from activity, you can reduce the appeal of your barbecue. Fruit, sauces, and desserts, in particular, should be watched out for because they tend to draw flies.
A straightforward, commonsense solution that can help you and your guests with the flies is covering food and clearing the area of trash. It also stops flies from landing on your food and potentially contaminating it with the disease.
3. Reduce The Breeding Environment
Eliminating fly breeding areas is one of the first steps in fly problem prevention. Fly eggs are laid in decomposing organic matter, such as animal carcasses, rotting vegetation, and food scraps, where the larvae can feed and grow into adults. If you have a garden, make sure to harvest it in a timely manner, or take your garden out of your yard.
Even though they are environmentally safe, compost piles have a lot of decaying plant matter that can attract flies. Although the heat from a properly maintained compost pile can discourage flies and reduce their chances of survival, there may still be fly issues near your compost pile. One solution is to place a black plastic barrier over the compost pile; this serves as a physical defense and increases heat absorption to keep flies away.
By picking up after your pet, you can also manage the breeding environment that is available. Flies are drawn to fresh animal droppings, which can also serve as a haven for fly larvae. The removal of fly breeding grounds and food sources after the passing of pets, particularly dogs and horses, is possible.
4. Clean Recycling And Trash Tanks
Litter is one of the main draws for flies, so the jars in which you store the litter will also draw them. Even though the majority of people don’t believe their empty trash can attracts these bothersome bugs, trash cans and leftover odors continue to draw flies. Due to the prevalence of trash cans next to residences, flies may bother you when dining outside if there is a pest issue there.
Flush the recycling and trash bins with water from a hose to get rid of the fly problem. Rinse the interior of the empty litter box to get any spilled litter out. Just be cautious when picking up trash and refrain from leaving trash in your yard or nearby storm drains. You can buy or rent a power washer to thoroughly clean a particularly soiled pot.
Make sure the rinse water from cleaning the trash doesn’t run off into the grass or soil nearby because flies can thrive in organically rich soil. Even though it can be a messy task, if you use this technique frequently, you’ll immediately notice a difference in the smell around the trash can and a reduction in the number of flies you see. Keeping your trash away from your home, securing the lids of your trash cans, tying your trash bags tightly, and emptying your trash frequently are additional ways to keep flies away.
5. Be Careful With Drinks
Being cautious with your beverages is another way to assist you in getting rid of flies at a picnic. In their search for sugar, flies are drawn to carbon dioxide produced by the fermentation of rotting fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, any sweet carbonated beverages at an outdoor picnic are also included in this attraction. By sealing open containers when you’re not pouring soda, beer, or wine, you can lower the bothersome fly population. Remember to clean up any sticky spills from outdoor tables right away as well.
6. Plants that Repel Insects
If you keep certain plants close to your outdoor dining area, they can serve as natural insect repellents. For instance, to deter flies and freshen the air, keep a pot of basil on the dining table. Other perennials in the herb garden that deter insects and have a pleasant scent include lavender, mint, pine, and thyme. Make several of these herbs and use them as the focal point of your upcoming picnic or barbecue.
To lessen the number of flies that disturb your outdoor gatherings, you might also think about buying carnivorous plants like pitcher plants or the Venus flytrap. Due to their unusual appearance, these plants naturally kill flies by preying on them. They also make excellent conversation starters.
7. Use Natural Repellents
Try these natural solutions if you’re looking for an effective temporary fly repellant that won’t harm your children or pets:
- Paprika: Combine paprika and water in a spray bottle, then mist the solution in places where flies congregate and around doorways. The potency of cayenne will keep flies away, but if you accidentally swallow some, it won’t hurt you or your family.
- Lemons and cloves: Scatter 20 to 25 lemons in a few halves anywhere you put food, such as on the kitchen counter. These two ingredients are the ideal deterrent for flies, preventing them from landing on your food.
- Hang strips of fabric that have been soaked in eucalyptus oil near doors and windows that are used frequently. Fly avoidance is a result of eucalyptus oil’s ability to disrupt fly senses.
8. Put On Insect Repellent
While hiking or on vacation, you may have used a mosquito repellent, but flies can also be repelled with certain products. DEET, propidium, and lemon eucalyptus oil are just a few of the active components used in insect repellents. For protection from flies around you and your food when dining outside, consider wearing fly repellant. Try using a natural insect repellent instead if you don’t like the way the scent of insect repellent sprays makes you feel. These products use the essential oils of herbs like peppermint, rosemary, lavender, and basil.
9. Use Essential Oils And Candles
The aforementioned deworming herbs’ essential oils can also be applied in various ways. In order to deter flies, you can buy an electronic scent diffuser, fill it with essential oils, and scatter it all around your outdoor dining area. Similarly, you can purchase candles made with essential oils and use them to spice up your event while keeping flies away from everyone’s meals.
10. Set Up Sticky Traps
Try to lure the flies to land on sticky traps so they are unable to escape rather than trying to drive them away. Sticky traps have the advantage of not emitting unpleasant smells and requiring no effort on your part. These traps draw nearby flies to a sticky gel pad using pheromones, preventing them from escaping. Since sticky traps are safe for both you and your pets, they might be the best fly-management solution for you.
11. Using Pesticides To Treat
By using insecticides in the form of sprays, baits, and pest tapes, you can reduce the number of flies in and around your house. Applying chemicals to doorways and window frames before holding an outdoor event in your yard or close to your home can help with fly issues. If you decide to use chemical control, a certified pest control specialist needs to inspect your home and use pesticides safely.
12. Homemade Fly Trap
Consider creating your own flytrap if you enjoy crafts but can’t stand the scent of insect repellent. Inexpensive jars or bottles, wire, vinegar, oil, yeast, syrup, and honey are a few examples of materials that can be used to create various types of flytraps.
DIY Fly Paper: You can create your own sticky traps by combining sugary materials like honey or syrup with thin plastic sheets (like strips cut from grocery bags). Simply apply a substance of your choice to the plastic strips, let them dry, and hang them where the flies are most active.
Bottle Funnel Trap: Make a quick and low-cost bottle funnel trap using an empty two-liter bottle or another plastic container. Just below the neck, cut the bottle’s top; then, flip it over; and secure it with tape or glue. To draw flies into the funnel trap, fill the trap with vinegar, wine, ripe fruit, sugar water, honey water, or honey. Add a drop of liquid detergent or oil for added assurance to increase surface tension and drown any captured flies. Both indoors and outside can be used to set the trap.
Cup or container traps that are disposable: A plastic takeout container or disposable cup can be used as a simple fly trap. Fill a container with a lid with apple cider vinegar, then make a few tiny holes so that flies can enter. Once inside, the vinegar quickly suffocates the flies. To help the flies slide inside the container, add petroleum jelly or oil.
Yeast Traps: Another option is to use yeast as the bait in fly traps. A packet of active dry yeast is sprinkled on top of warm (but not boiling) water that has been partially added to a glass jar. To get the yeast going, stir in a teaspoon of sugar and then stir the mixture with a spoon. The solution will begin to bubble and release carbon dioxide after a short while. Make a hole for the flies to pass through, then cover the top of the jar with plastic wrap or a plastic bag, and fasten it with a rubber band. The majority of flies won’t be able to escape the jar once they’ve climbed inside.
Conclusion
That is how to prevent flies from swarming around food. The aforementioned precautions can help you and your visitors enjoy your food and surroundings, flies not included. If your home shows signs of a fly infestation, you might want to speak with a fly control expert for efficient fly control.