How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes and Flies at home

Flies and mosquitoes control methods indoors have much in common. Though, these are absolutely different insects. Mosquitoes are blood-sucking. The sweat, carbon dioxide and heat waves attract them. Flies do not feed on blood. Dropped food, meat and sweet food items magnet them.

Though, these insects have one common thing – they are extremely pesky and annoying indoors. Besides, they are the carriers of diseases and parasites. Mosquitoes infect via their saliva injected into the bitten area. Flies infest meat and other food products with bacteria and helminth eggs. Homeowners often ask how to get rid of mosquitoes and flies completely and thoroughly.

STEP ONE: Prevention

First, flies and mosquitoes control starts from preventive measures. Try to stop flying insects from entering your home.

1. Keep your rooms clean. Pick up dropped food in the kitchen. Besides, try not to eat in the rooms. In addition, throw the litter away regularly. The smell of food attracts flies.
2. Install door mesh and window screens. They do not allow flies and mosquitoes get into the house. However, no-see-ums (or midges) are able to make their way to home through the holes in the nets. For better results, treat the screens with permethrin.
3. Sleep under bed nettings. Keep your kid in the bed covered by the mesh as well. Moreover, stick anti-mosquito peel-stick patches on clothing, bedsides and baby-carriages. They will keep flies and mosquitoes away.
4. Close the entrance door immediately when coming in. Never open windows and doors without screens or nets.
5. Change outdoor lightning. White bulbs attract swarms of insects and bugs at night. Thus, replace them with  sodium-vapour or yellow light.

How to Control Flies and Mosquitoes Naturally

Plant insect-repellent flowers and vegetables in pots. In fact, mosquitoes and flies can’t stand the smell of tomato leaves, geranium, eucalyptus, myrtle and tansy. Grow them in pots on your window sills.

Moreover, use essential oils for flies and mosquitoes control indoors. Spread bay-tree oil on furniture, door and window frames twice a month to repel flies. Drip cloves oil on cotton balls and place them on the window sills to deter flies and mosquitoes. Mix 20 drops of Lemongrass oil with 1/2 cup of hot water. Then, spray the solution along the doorways and on the window frames and screens. Instead, you may use Lavender, Peppermint, Eucalyptus or Citronella oils.

In addition, make deterrent “Lemon with Cloves”. Cut a lemon and cut it into two pieces. Then, insert 10 cloves in each of the halves. In addition, place the scented repellants in the corners of your bedroom. Their smell will deter mosquitoes.

At last, fumigate rooms with camphor and citronella smoke. Take some pieces of camphor or citronella candles. Light them. Let the candles or camphor pieces burn in all your rooms. Then, shut the windows and doors for about half an hour. When the camphor or citronella smoke fades, you may enter the house. Thus, all flies and mosquitoes will avoid the treated rooms.

Insect Nets for flies and mosquitoes control outdoors

Moreover, you can install additional protective mesh equipment, such as patio umbrella nets and nettings for baby-carriages. It is obligatory if the area where you are sleeping is exposed to the outdoors. Besides, if you like to read or have a rest in air, the best solution is a screened-in porch. In addition, screened tents are necessary for insect-free camping.

STEP TWO: Extermination

If pesky insects have already attacked your home, the next step for flies and mosquitoes control is elimination of all flying and blood-sucking pests.

Fly Swatter

A fly swatter is a simple device that helps in fight with flies and mosquitoes. However, you won’t get rid of all of flying insects at once, you will just handle them one-by-one. This method for flies and mosquitoes control is effective if you just get a few winged pests in your house at a time. Such a situation may occur when a door or windows without screens have been left open. A rolled-up newspaper or magazine may replace a fly swatter wherever you are.

How to Get rid of Mosquitoes and Flies with Electric Traps

Another method to control indoor flies and mosquitoes is to use electric traps for insects. In fact, it is a device that has a special trapping mechanism and an insect attractant in its base. Light, warmth, or CO2, magnet the flies and mosquitoes. Then, they are trapped and killed. In fact, there exists a great variety of killers or zappers. The most available are the following:

1. The first type contains sources of light (and carbon dioxide) and a killing grid. Attracted to the glow, winged mosquitoes and flies land upon an electric grid.
2. The second type uses UV fluorescent bulb. It generates warm light which attracts insect swarms. Then, a built-in vacuum fan sucks the flies and mosquitoes into a chamber. It is a retaining cage where insects starve to death.
3. The third type is a light trap that includes solar-powered light bulbs, which shine on a sticky board trap. Mosquitoes and flies approach the light, and land upon the glue paper.

Some of the traps are cheap, others are expensive. Though, they really worth the money, as they really work. Moreover, they are eco-friendly and non-toxic, as they do not release any insecticides into air.

Homemade Traps for Flies and Mosquitoes Control

There are lots of recipes for homemade insect traps from plastic bottles or small containers and kitchen products. The mixture that attracts mosquitoes contains the yeast or beer to emit carbon dioxide. The sticky substance for flies has honey, sugar syrup or sweet liquid soap to give off pleasant odor. DIY traps for mosquitoes and flies have much in common.

DIY Traps from Plastic Bottles

Take an empty plastic bottle and cut it in half. Pour the attractant into the bottom half and cover it with top half turned upside down. Then, wrap the trap in a black covering.

Recipe 1: Take 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast. Instead of the yeast, you can take beer. The mixture in the DIY mosquito trap releases CO2. In fact, carbon dioxide and dark colors attract the mosquitoes. They fly into the bottle and simply drown in the solution.

Recipe 2:  Mix a cup of Apple cidar vinegar and 1-2 tablespoons of liquid soap or scented dish soap. Instead of the vinegar, you may use whisky. Pour the solution into a bottle trap.

Traps DIY on small Plates

These traps need small open containers to keep toxic attractants.

Recipe 1: Take 2 tablespoons of sugar and dissolve in 1/2 cup of hot water. When the solution cooled down, add 1 tablespoon of powdered black pepper. Pour the mixture into small plates or nappies and place them on the window sills. Pepper contains capsaiccin that is a poison to flies.

Recipe 2: Mix 4 tablespoons of milk, 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of powdered black pepper. Place the solution in some small containers in the insect infested areas.

Recipe 3: Dissolve 2 teaspoons of raw honey and a bit of saccharin (0,1 g) in 1/2 cup of water. Leave the traps in areas where flies come. Saccharin is a synthetic sugar substitute that is toxic to insects.

The recipes for homemade traps are very simple. However, they have some drawbacks. In fact, these traps do not eliminate indoor mosquitoes and flies completely. Moreover, CO2 traps smell disgusting after some days of application.

Flypaper and Sticky Traps DIY for flying insects

A flypaper or fly ribbon is an old and proven method of flies’ elimination. It is a sticky device for killing flies.

For flypaper DIY, take some pieces of paper and cardboard. Cut them into strips. Then, mix 60 g of honey, 300 g of colophony and 200 g of flax-seed oil. Instead, you may combine 300 g of pine tar, 150 g of flax-seed oil, 10 g of wax and 50 g of honey or sugar syrup. Cover the strips with a thick layer. Let the mixture soak into the paper. Hang these sticky traps DIY in the kitchen and other rooms. Place sticky cardboard traps on the sills.

STEP THREE: Seek Pest Control Help

There are situation when you are unable to cope with the problem of flies and mosquitoes. In this case, the best solution is to call the professionals. They know what insecticides to apply and how to get rid of mosquitoes and flies immediately.