How to Get Rid of Flies in the Garden

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Flies often congregate in garden areas for several reasons. They are attracted to manure, which is used as a fertilizer, and they find homes in flowers and vegetables, especially rotting ones. Flies are bothersome and aggravating, so its best to remove them from the garden if possible. There are a few ways to control the fly population in any garden, and they include aggressive tactics from using traps to more passive ones such as cleaning up around the garden.

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Things You'll Need

  • Fly Traps

  • Pencil

  • 1 Gallon Milk Container

  • Cider Vinegar

  • Corn Syrup

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Step 1

Remove garbage and trash from the garden area. Move trash cans away from the garden and into an enclosed shed. Trash attracts flies and can increase the fly population. Moving garbage and trash discourages flies from taking up residence and breeding near the garden.

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Step 2

Refrain from using compost, manure or other fly attractants such as chicken manure as fertilizer. As effective as this is in growing vegetables, it attracts flies. Move the composting bin away from the garden.

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Step 3

Set out fly traps that use a common natural remedy such as small cloth bags of mint leaves or cloves, bay leaves, and eucalyptus bundled in cheesecloth.

Step 4

Make larger fly traps by poking holes into an empty, 1 gallon milk container with a pencil. Fill it with a mixture of 1/4 cup corn syrup and 1/4 cup of cider vinegar and add water until it is about half full. Set these out around the garden to capture flies.

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