My House Is Infested With Flies (What To Do)
It’s hard to feel comfortable at home when you constantly hear flies buzzing around. This problem won’t fix itself, and it can even get worse if you don’t discover the cause and find a solution. You’re not alone if you’re confused about why your house is infested with flies.
A house can become infested with flies due to clogged drains, open trash cans, and animal waste. Cover your trash bins and keep them away from entry doors at home to deter house flies. You can get rid of house flies if you reduce the indoor humidity level, install weatherstripping, and burn essential oils.
Fly infestations are just as dangerous as they are annoying, and they don’t get better without help. Follow along as we explore why your house is infested with flies and highlight solutions.
Why Are There So Many Flies In My House?
Whether it's because you opened your windows at the wrong time of year or you have clogged drains, many of the things we do can attract flies. If your house is infested with flies, it can be due to many factors, including:
Clogged Drains
A clogged drain can make your life at home quite inconvenient, no matter where it happens. That’s especially true if you suddenly notice your house is infested with flies. Clogged drains are dark, damp, and typically contain decomposing organic materials.
This can explain why there are so many flies in your house. Of course, this is most common with kitchen sink drains, but these flies can appear in any drain.
Uncovered Compost
Composting is a great, sustainable way to ensure nothing goes to waste at home. However, your compost bin can attract animals and bugs, like flies, when left uncovered. Flies are drawn to the moisture, darkness, and abundance of food sources in an uncovered compost bin.
The biggest problem is that flies quickly reproduce and lay eggs, which then turn into larvae. Finding maggots in your compost is a bad sign, and they can easily enter your home upon hatching. Depending on how close your compost is to your home, there’s a good chance they will make their way indoors.
This alone is reason enough to upgrade to a compost bin instead of a heap. Cover your compost bin to keep flies away from your house, or the infestation may migrate.
Excessive Moisture
Controlling the indoor humidity level in your house in some cases can be difficult. That’s especially true if you don’t run a fan while showering, or if you have lots of houseplants. Some people notice a fly infestation at home after overwatering their houseplants.
Damp soil gives flies a nice habitat to nest and lay eggs, but they will quickly venture out and explore your home once mature. Pipe leaks and HVAC problems, like damaged coils, can also increase your home’s indoor humidity level. Excessive humidity is the perfect atmosphere for a fly infestation.
Pet Food And Waste
Having pets can make life at home much happier and more rewarding. However, your pets can also explain why your house is suddenly infested with flies, especially if you’re a new pet owner. New pet owners sometimes underestimate how much a bowl of kibble can attract bugs.
An uncovered bowl of dog or cat food is aromatic enough to attract flies. Flies also flock toward pet waste, whether it's a dirty potty pad or a litter box.
How To Keep Flies Out Of Your House
Seal The Gaps And Cracks
Many pests, such as spiders, cockroaches, and flies, enter homes via cracks and gaps in doors and windows. This often coincides with extreme temperatures and seasonal changes, but it can happen year-round in some climates. The easiest way to keep flies from entering your home through door gaps is to install weatherstripping.
Weatherstripping is cheap, easy to install, and available at any home improvement store. You can easily attach it to the bottom of any door that has a large gap. Patching other gaps and cracks may require caulking, especially if you have cracks in your window sills.
However, it’s worth hiring a professional if you have widespread gaps and cracks in your exterior walls and doors. For example, you may simply want to replace your window if the base and glass are both cracked.
Be Careful With Trash
Homeowners sometimes are bombarded by flies when taking the trash out. Trash cans typically contain a lot of food waste and moisture, which can attract flies. Where you keep your trash cans can have a lot to do with whether or not flies infest your home.
For example, some people keep their trash cans right by entry doors or their garage. When you enter your home, flies may take a detour away from the trash can and into your house. This can happen over and over until you can’t manage the fly problem at home.
You can largely keep flies out of your house by covering your trash cans and moving them away from entry doors. Unfortunately, you may not have space to move your trash can too far away. However, even just covering your trash bin will help you manage your fly infestation.
Keep Your Drains Clean
Some people wait to clean their drains until they become clogged, and that’s understandable. However, preventative maintenance can not only prevent clogs, but should also help keep flies away. For example, regularly running hot water down the drain after doing the dishes can help prevent clogs.
It’s also a good idea to put a strainer over the drain to catch food remnants before they enter the drain. Always run hot water while using your disposal, and leave it on for 30 seconds after turning it off. For minor clogs, you can clean the drain with baking soda and white vinegar.
It’s also worth keeping a drain snake at home, so you can quickly fix minor clogs before they get worse. Doing so can help stop drain flies from appearing, and it can help you save a fortune on plumbers.
Remove Animal Waste From Your Yard
Dog owners know the struggle of taking their puppies outside and finding flies circling the solid waste. While that’s disgusting, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as animal waste can attract flies. The flies can follow you and your dog when you go back indoors.
You can avoid this problem if you get into the habit of removing solid waste each time you take your dog outside. This can be a hassle, but it will help keep flies out of your house and keep your yard looking great.
Burn Citronella Candles
It’s hard to enjoy your porch or backyard if flies constantly dive bomb you. That’s especially true when you go back inside and realize they’ve followed you into your house. You can avoid this problem if you burn some citronella candles near your home’s entry doors when you sit outside.
Citronella candles emit a strong odor that many people consider pleasant, but flies don’t. This is more effective than growing citronella, as citronella candles are more concentrated. Flies and mosquitoes should avoid the candle’s radius and leave you alone. That way, they won’t follow you when you go back inside.
Reduce The Indoor Humidity Level
Sometimes, fixing the indoor humidity level at home takes more than just patching pipe leaks. That’s especially true if you live in a humid state, like Louisiana or Missouri. Sometimes, you have to invest in a dehumidifier and trust that it will fix the problem.
Luckily, you can get away with a small, cheap dehumidifier if you have a small home. First, get a humidity monitor to determine which rooms are the most humid. Ideally, you should install a dehumidifier in any room with a humidity level over 50% to 60%.
Your fly problem should improve if you maintain an indoor humidity level of 30% to 50%. This can also help reduce the risk of mold and mildew in your house.
Deter Them With Scents
Flies have a great sense of smell, which you can use to your advantage. For example, you can keep flies out of your house by spraying the exterior perimeter with a mixture of cayenne pepper and water. You can achieve the same effect by mixing peppermint and lavender with water and spraying the exterior walls and doors.
Some people also put essential oils in diffusers and run them indoors. This can help control your fly infestation.
Summing It Up
Your house may be infested with flies because of drain clogs and excessive household humidity. This can also happen if you have an uncovered compost bin and lots of animal waste in your yard. Maintain a 30% to 50% indoor humidity level and seal the gaps in your doors and windows to keep flies away.
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Nick Durante is a professional writer with a primary focus on home improvement. When he is not writing about home improvement or taking on projects around the house, he likes to read and create art. He is always looking towards the newest trends in home improvement.
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