If the same thing happens to you, you’ll need to act fast. Besides being a nuisance, some flies can transmit disease-causing organisms like salmonella, e-coli and even typhoid fever. Yikes!

We asked Rachel Maccini, an urban entomologist and pesticide safety education program coordinator at the University of New Hampshire Extension, to offer her insight into the characteristics and behaviors of flies. “There’s a lot homeowners can do themselves to remedy a fly infestation, though it may require some detective work,” says Maccini.

Start here:

Step One: Catch and Kill

Use a bag-type vacuum cleaner to suck up as many flies as possible. Dispose of the bag outside in a sealed trash container. Since flies can carry germs, don’t forget to wear protective gloves.

Another option: Your trusty fly swatter. This old-school method works if you’re only dealing with a handful of pests. For a larger cloud of flies, go with the vacuum method.

Step Two: Locate The Fly Breeding Site

Most flies enter the home from outside in search of shelter or food. Some species, however, breed and complete their life cycles indoors, especially if they find a wet and warm spot to start their families.

You know you’ve found the breeding site if you see small, dark clusters of spots the size of a pinhead (eggs) or pale-colored larva (maggots) resembling little worms. Once these maggots develop hard cases, flies are about to hatch!

Three common varieties of flies lay eggs indoors, each with a different preferred breeding site:

• House or cluster (aka blow) flies: These lay their eggs in moist garbage or pet waste. Adult house flies measure about 5/32- to 17/64-in. long with sponging mouthparts, a thorax with four narrow stripes and one pair of wings. Cluster flies are large and sluggish, often invading homes in fall and turning into wintertime pests.
• Fruit or vinegar flies: Usually found on overripe fruit and vegetables (i.e., bananas on the counter or tomatoes in a bowl). They’re about 1/16- to 1/5-in. long and dull brownish-yellow to brownish-black. Their head and thorax are tan-colored, while the abdomen is black and gray underneath. Some species have red eyes.
• Drain (aka moth or humpback) flies: These live and reproduce in drains where organic material tends to collect. Slightly larger than fruit flies, they range from light tan or gray to black. They’ve got furry bodies with large, oval-shaped wings.

Step Three: Eliminate the Fly Breeding Site

Your remedy depends on the type of fly.

For house or cluster fly eggs

Cover or remove garbage containers. Seal compost bins and drain and dry areas with standing water.

For fruit fly eggs

Ditch the fruit they’re attracted to. After that, Maccini recommends covering or storing susceptible food in a refrigerator for at least a week so the adult flies die off. (Their entire life cycle only spans one to two weeks.)

For drain fly eggs

Clean pipes with a brush to remove the bacterial scum that often lines plumbing, which these flies are attracted to. Use an enzyme-action product found in custodial supply stores or online to break up the sticky bond of bacteria and algae in the pipes.

Avoid bleach; it’s not effective against fly larvae. And do NOT pour insecticide down the drain. Maccini says it’s unlikely to work and can severely damage sewer and sanitation systems.

How To Prevent Fly Eggs From Hatching in Your House

To prevent the eggs, you need to keep out the flies that lay them. Try these methods:

• Keep home clean and sanitary;
• Cover food and beverages or store them in a refrigerator;
• Install or repair screens on windows and doors;
• Seal cracks and fill in crevices to the exterior with expandable caulking or other material;
• Clean litter boxes and yard of pet waste;
• Close trash cans and seal garbage bags completely;
• Remove household garbage every four to five days in hot summer months;
• Set out sticky traps, flypaper or make this simple DIY fly trap;
• Install ultraviolet light boxes that attract flies, then kill them with an electric zapper;
• Employ fly bait that contains insecticides that, when ingested, kills in minutes.
• Apply indoor fly spray (found at grocery or hardware stores) directly to the insects or their larva. Coat surfaces around windows, doors, screened-in porches and cracks with a residual fly pesticide. These types of sprays can remain active for weeks, so they’re effective at suppressing fly populations.

When To Call a Pest Professional

If you’re unable to determine which kind of fly has infested your home, Maccini advises contacting a pest control specialist ASAP. Failure to clean a breeding site thoroughly means your fly problem will most likely continue.

In northern Minnesota, where I spend many of my weekends, I can’t remember a year when the mosquitoes were this terrible. All summer long we’ve experimented with new and different insect repellents, fogging methods and anything else to limit my family’s itchy bites. Nothing worked.

So I started scouring the internet for mosquito extermination options and found the Skeeter Hawk Fly Trap. I ordered one up and tested it to see if it could be the thing to save our summer.

What Is the Skeeter Hawk Fly Trap?

The Skeeter Hawk Large Fly Trap lures, captures and kills mosquitoes, gnats, house flies, horseflies and many other flying insects. The dual-band, bright blue LED UV light attracts them, and the ultra-quiet fan draws them to the canister where they die from dehydration.

Roughly 16 inches tall, it plugs into a conventional 110-volt outlet. A fold-down hanging hook makes it easy to keep out of the way, indoors or outdoors. And a single power button and twist-lock insect dehydration canister make it extremely user-friendly. Skeeter Hawk Large Fly Traps protect large rooms, yards, pools, patios and decks without chemicals or continuous buzzing.

How We Tested It

With the summer winding down, I packed up the family for a quiet August weekend at a small northern Minnesota cabin. Since my in-laws are also staying there, I brought the Skeeter Hawk Fly Trap to help keep the mosquitoes away during outdoor meals and patio sessions with us and our new baby, their newest grandchild.

I was eager to determine how well the the fly trap worked, whether the sound or brightness were nuisances, and how easily I could dispose of the dead insects.

Operation

FAQs

Q: Can the Skeeter Hawk Fly Trap run on batteries if there’s no outlet available?

A: No, it requires a wall outlet.

Q: Do the Fly Traps come in any other sizes or colors?

A: There are two sizes of Skeeter Hawk Fly Traps: small and large. They’re only available with a gray body and blue LED lights.

What Other Reviewers Had To Say

Learning how to keep bugs out of your kitchen is one thing, but keeping them away from the porch proves to be more challenging!

Why Do People Hang Pennies in a Bag of Water?

According to Wide Open Country, zip-top bags filled with water and a few pennies adorn many restaurants, porches and doorways in the South to keep flies away.

Supporters of this DIY fly repellent claim success based off a couple of theories, but the most popular has to do with the mechanics of a fly’s sight. The eyes on a fly are more complicated than human eyes. Orkin says their eyes are compound, made up of thousands of individual lenses that are very perceptive to changes in light.

So, when light hits the bag of water filled with shiny pennies — or even pieces of aluminum foil, in some cases — it refracts and confuses the insects. Overwhelmed, they fly away and hang around somewhere else. That’s the theory, anyway.

Does It Work?

This is up for debate all over the internet. Some people swear by it, sharing success stories on blogs and Facebook pages, while the fact-checkers at Snopes say scientific experiments show it may not make a difference.

Either way, if you’re looking for an affordable pest solution, this is an inexpensive DIY test.

Fruit flies are undoubtedly pesky pests. They fly around your head while you cook, gather in groups on your kitchen counter and take up residence on your basket of fruit. And while you can shoo them away with a wave of your hand, they’re bound to come right back. Thankfully, there are ways to make sure that once you get rid of them, they stay away for good!

Deter Them With Scents.

Fruit flies can’t stand the smell of basil, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, lavender and clove. If you’ve had a fruit fly problem in the past, try placing these fragrant herbs in muslin sacks or tea bags and hanging them around the house. You could also buy them in essential oil form and use them in a diffuser.

Change Your Sponges and Dishcloths Regularly.

Since fruit flies are attracted to food and odors, it makes sense you’d want to keep the things that come in contact with their favorite snacks as fresh as possible. Never mind the fact that fruit flies can breed on these common household items. Yuck!

Keep Your Kitchen Sparkling

Much like with your sponges and dishcloths, it’s important you keep your whole kitchen, specifically your counters, as clean as possible. Dirty dishes should never be left in the sink, surely, but you should also wipe down your counters at least once a day with an all-purpose spray and a microfiber cloth. This will remove the fruit flies’ snack bar.

Try using this homemade all-purpose cleaner on countertops and surfaces to disinfect and freshen your home.

Clean Produce

Fruit flies catch a ride on your produce long before it enters your home, especially on the backs of bananas and melons. This is why it’s important that you wash the produce you plan to leave on the counter. You can purchase a fruit and vegetable wash for this purpose. Just be sure you do it as soon as you get back from the store to rid your food of any flies and their eggs.

Cover Up

For extra precaution, be sure that clean bowl of fruit is covered if left on the counter or table. You can use a cake dome or plastic wrap to ensure fruit flies aren’t attracted to your produce.

The change in seasons from fall to winter means that it’s time to start thinking about clearing snow and ice. While you can take some steps to prepare your driveway and sidewalks before it snows, you’ll still need to spend some time clearing them throughout the season. But what happens if you go outside to dig out and your snowblower won’t start?

Don’t panic. Chances are it’s something that you can fix yourself. Here are some basic troubleshooting tips to get that engine to fire up and to make sure that it will do so every time the snow flies.

Check the Ignition and Fuel

To start your snowblower, always look for the simple stuff first. Is the ignition key inserted properly and in the right position? If there is a fuel shut off, is it in the on or open position? Most importantly, is there fuel in the tank?

Do You Have the Right Fuel for Your Snowblower?

If there is no fuel in the tank, better fill it up with the right type of fuel, depending on what type of motor you have. There are two types of motors, 2 cycle and 4 cycle. If you have a 4-cycle motor, it’s just straight gas that goes in your tank.

For a 2-cycle motor, you have to mix oil in with the gas, so be sure you have the mix ratio right. That ratio is often written on the gas cap or nearby on the engine housing. If you can’t find it, consult the owner’s manual to be sure. Many auto parts, and even convenience stores, have bottles of 2-cycle oil proportioned for 1 or 2 gallon gas cans. These are great because they take all the guesswork out of getting the right mix.With both 2- and 4-cycle motors, it is best to get a minimum of 87 octane gas with no more than 10% ethanol.

Use Fresh Fuel

Make sure that the fuel is fresh. The most common culprit of a hard-starting engine is stale fuel. If you left fuel in the tank over the summer, it’s best to drain it by accessing the fuel line or using a siphon system. If that leftover gas is less than a third of the tank, top it off with some fresh fuel, and be sure to include a fuel stabilizer to help condition the mix. Follow these same guidelines for your gas can.

Check the Starter Fluid

So, if you’re sure your gas tank is full of fresh fuel and your motor still won’t start, you might consider trying a can of starter fluid. But beware, most starter fluid has an ether base which makes it extremely flammable and can also ruin a 2-cycle motor because it strips necessary residual oil off of cranks and cylinder walls. It’s best to find a spray can of non-Teflon, petroleum-base lubricant, such as WD 40, to use for starter fluid. To use this, you will have to access the intake of the carburetor which is usually found behind the air filter. Give a couple of solid squirts into the throat of the carburetor and then try starting the engine. If it’s still a non-starter it usually means that the issue is with your ignition or spark plug.

Check the Air Filter

While you’re taking off the air filter to get to the carburetor, make sure to inspect it. If the filter looks dirty, try cleaning it out with some compressed air or a vacuum. If after that it still looks bad, go ahead and replace it. Look for the serial and model # stamped somewhere on the motor or body of your machine, snap a picture of it and then head to a hardware store or a small engine repair shop with the air filter in hand.

Check the Spark Plug

If you’re sure the engine is getting gas, or you’ve tried some starter fluid and it’s still a no-go, its time to check the spark plug. Locate the spark plug and pull off the cap. Find the appropriately size deep socket, usually 5/8 or 13/16, to remove the plug. Once out, dry off the plug with compressed air or a rag. Look for signs of carbon build up. If it looks bad, you can grab some fine-grit sandpaper and clean it up, but the best bet is to just go buy a new plug. It’s a less-than-$10 investment. Get an Iridium spark plug because they provide faster starts and last longer than conventional spark plugs.

Once you’re ready to put the plug back in, make sure you check the gap on the spark plug. The gap on a spark plug is the distance between the center and ground electrodes. You can find a simple spark plug gapper at a hardware store. New plugs are usually not gapped properly and it’s quite likely your old plug was never gapped right in the first place.

Is the Engine Flooded?

If you feel that in the process of trying to start the motor you flooded the engine with fuel, now is not a bad time to pull that starter cord several times with the spark plug out. This will force any excess fuel vapors out of the cylinder and dry things out a bit in there. If you do this, make sure your ignition switch is turned off so that you don’t accidentally ignite any of those escaping vapors.

When to Seek Professional Repair

If after going through all of these steps your snowblower still won’t start, and your arm is maybe falling off from pulling that starter cord, it just might be time to cry uncle and admit defeat. Find a reputable small-engine repair shop and bring your snowblower on in. Fair warning though, these shops are probably maxed out with other machines in the same condition this time of year. You’ll probably have to resort to shoveling because your snowblower might not be ready for a couple of weeks.

The best advice to make sure your snowblower is ready when the snow starts is to take the time at the end of each season to drain your fuel tank and add a bit of fuel conditioner into the tank to keep any fuel that remains from getting stale and making the machine hard to start. Even with that done, it’s still a good idea to take your snowblower in every few years for a tune-up in the off season. That way you have better odds of it starting when you really need it in those wee hours of a cold and snowy winter.

To see these troubleshooting tips demonstrated, watch this video:

Caulk Windows and Doors

It can’t be said enough that windows and doors are the two leading culprits for winter heat loss in your home. With these caulking tips, you’ll be able to keep your home warm and ensure a tight seal around interior trim. And as a result, warm air stays in your home. It’ll also help reduce your heating bills.

Those Pesky Flies

The United States is home to many different species of flies, from drain flies and blowflies to houseflies and the gnat. Regardless of the type, they’re all annoying when they make it inside your home. Flies are not only troublesome, they can also carry disease and are a health hazard if left untreated. So if you experience regular, annoying flies, it’s time to take care of them. Here’s how to do it:

How to Get Rid of House Flies: Create Fly Traps

For flies stuck inside the house, your best option is to lure them into inescapable fly traps. A DIY fly trap is very easy to make. Start with an empty two-liter soda bottle and cut the top third cleanly off with scissors. Then turn the top third upside down and put it over the open bottle, like a funnel and secure it with tape or staples. Next, fill the bottom of the bottle with about half an inch of a melted sugar water mixture or another type of sweet sticky liquid and add in a few teaspoons of vinegar, preferably white vinegar. This will help keep bees and other unwanted insects away from the trap. When filling the bottle try and drip the sticky liquid down the edges of the funnel so that when the flies come towards the funnel, they will stick right from the start. This makes it easy for flies to crawl inside, but very difficult for them to ever leave.

If pesky fruit flies are invading your kitchen, grab a small bowl and pour in a little apple cider vinegar. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and punch a couple pencil-lead-sized holes in the plastic. The fruit flies will be attracted to the vinegar and they can get in but not out. Vinegar can also be used to make a natural cleaner.

If you have flies in a specific area, like drains or plants, then an eco-friendly fly spray is very effective.

Ward Flies Away From Your Home

There are certain scents and substances that flies don’t like: These can serve as a deterrent to flies, especially when used around the outside of your home. Growing herbs in a sunny spot like basil, bay leaves, and mint are all helpful here.

Fly Spray for House

And you can make your own fly repellent spray with essential oils. Mix lavender, peppermint and witch hazel with water in a spray bottle. Use it to mist furniture, linens, fly infested plants and around exterior doors.

Replace Weather-Stripping and Close Other Gaps

Replace the weather-stripping around doors and windows if it’s worn away: This will seal the gaps that flies are using to enter your home. Also, close insulation holes and any other spaces in your house where flies could enter, using spray foam insulation.

Many flies, like cluster flies, love the sunlight and warmth, which is often why they buzz against windows. So always make sure your open windows have screens to keep any more flies from entering. Likewise, don’t leave doors open for long periods of time.

We can also help if you have problems with other house-related pests like wasps or woodpeckers.

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