Keep flies out of your kitchen with £1 trick that ‘really works’

Flies can be a nuisance at this time of year, as they love nothing more than buzzing around your kitchen as soon as you open the windows to let in some fresh air.

Not only are flies irritating, but they can also be dangerous to have in your house. Common house flies can carry over 200 pathogens, including bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella. If you have food on your kitchen counters and flies land on it, they can transfer that bacteria onto the food, potentially giving you food poisoning when you go to eat it.

This makes getting rid of flies a priority, but it isn’t always easy to do. Commercial fly sprays do work to kill the insects, but they aren’t always practical, especially if it means you’re left with a load of dead flies to clean up.

But according to one home hacks expert on social media, there is a simple way you can get rid of flies from ever wanting to make your kitchen their feeding ground in the first place – using just two items that will cost you less than £1.

Dilek Rebke shared a video on Instagram in which she shared her hack for deterring flies from her home in the summer, which she insisted “really works” and keeps her home fly-free throughout the warmer months.

All you need for the hack are two items – a lemon and some dried cloves.

Loose lemons cost around 35p from most supermarkets, while dried cloves typically cost around £1.50 for a jar. As you won’t need the entire jar of cloves for the trick, the hack costs less than £1 per use, making it a cost-effective way to keep flies at bay.

Dilek explained: “It works. I didn’t believe it would, but it does. This is what I do every summer, because as soon as you open those doors, [the flies] come in. Uninvited.

“All you do is you get a lemon, make sure you roll it so it’s juicy. Then you get some cloves, and you put about 10 to 20 cloves in the lemon. Just keep pushing them in.

“You put these around your windowsills [or] anywhere where the flies come in. Anywhere. Outside in the garden when you’re eating. The smell deters them.”

The woman said that after a few days, the lemon will dry out and the smell will no longer be as pungent. However, you can use a match or a lighter to gently heat the fruit, and the aroma will be released again.

How to get rid of flies from your home

As well as cloves, there are multiple other natural remedies you can use to keep flies at bay. There are several natural scents that flies and other insects don’t like, so putting them around your home can help deter the pests.

• Basil and mint: Flies hate the smell of herbs like basil and mint. The best way to use basil in your own home is to buy a basil or mint plant and keep it by your windowsill. Not only will this deter flies, but you’ll have your own supply of fresh herbs to use in cooking.
• Lavender and marigold: If flies are a problem in your garden, plants like lavender and marigold can help deter them. You can also place these plants near windows and doors to keep them from entering your home.
• Cinnamon: Another scent flies hate is cinnamon, so placing cinnamon sticks by your windows can help keep flies – as well as many other insects – away from your home.

Keeping your home clean and tidy can also be a big help in deterring flies. Make sure you never leave any food uncovered on your kitchen counters, and use food waste bins with a tight seal to get rid of food scraps safely. If you don’t have a food waste bin, you can use biodegradable food waste bags for your scraps and then put the sealed bag in your household waste.