Flies seem to be everywhere this time of year. Some people prefer to use homemade fly traps. What if you want to simply repel flies instead of trapping them after they’ve already become a nuisance?
I was out at a local farm just yesterday and the flies were very noticeable and quite annoying as I went about my work. Seeing all those flies reminded me of a simple, non-toxic, and very effective fly repellent that I observed in action at one of my children’s field trips a couple of months ago.
The class was visiting a petting farm with a large open barn where donkeys, horses, goats, and other livestock were available for the children to observe and interact with.
Despite so many animals in a small semi-enclosed area, there were no flies buzzing around! Curious, I asked the owner about this, and he pointed to the heavy-duty plastic bags partially filled with water hanging over every stall.
He explained that a clear bag of water with a penny at the bottom would repel the flies very effectively. He went on to explain that the “eye” of a fly is actually hundreds of eyes and the reflection of light on the bag of water keeps them away.
“Why the penny at the bottom of the bag?”, I asked.
Grandpa the farmer answered that he wasn’t exactly sure but the penny did seem to increase the effectiveness of the hanging bag of water alone. He added that he didn’t know how many square feet each bag covered so he just put a bag over every animal stall to keep as many flies away as possible.
He also had put up a few bags over the picnic area and it was so nice to be able to eat lunch without flies swarming everywhere!
Note that the clearer the water, the more effective this trick is. If you use rusty well water, it won’t work as effectively as ultra clean and clear filtered water.
Try this fly repellant method for yourself! If you do, please check back and let us know how it worked for you!
Fly Repellent Only Works for Flies
Please note that this fly repellent trick only works for flies, not mosquitoes, and other insects. It also works very well for flies in the Southern United States. However, it may not work as well for flies from other geographical areas such as blowflies in Australia.
If you need to repel other insects like mosquitoes, ticks, or horse flies, this article on natural herbal insect repellent can help.
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I read this and wondered if it would work. I went to a friends out door party in the country and they had one. During most of the day there were no flies, but I didn’t know if they ever really had them. As soon as the sun starting getting lower in the sky and the sun wasn’t shining on it anymore here come the flies. Count me a believer!
So, I think the sun has to be on it. And I was really skeptacle when I read this article.
so, you fools fall for this joke? plastic bag with a penny
you’ve got to be kidding
really now
I have tried this trick numerous times. Never once could I tell that it worked. Admittedly, I did not put a penny in the bag, but I really don’t believe that would make a difference.
This is a myth, in fact the show “MYTHBUSTERS” busted this one !!!!!! Does not work!!!!
Hmmm… my daughter told me this trick last summer. We tried it and it did not work at all. Glad everyone else seems to be having good results, though. Not sure how I could have done anything wrong with such simple directions, lol.
I have used this for several years. I shape mine like a hornets nest and tie with a string and hang next to the back door
I have just read that a penny(s) in a bird bath helps to prevent algae. I would think this is the purpose for the penny in the bag as well.
We had so many flies in the back yard that we couldn’t sit on the patio. The flies would drive us inside. I found this remedy on this site about 5 days ago and decided to try it. I hung one on each corner of the patio, closest to the door into the house. Since then, the number of flies has shrunk to almost none. We do get a few, but they seem to just buzz through and leave. They don’t land on anything and stay for more that a very few seconds.
I hung them on the back end of 2 screws that hold my awning in place. and they haven’t torn.
Hello,
This may seem like a dumb question, but do you have to use a copper penny? Or doesn’t it matter? I come from Australia and we no longer have copper pennies.
Only copper pennies deter algae and only ones made before 1982. Copper pennies weigh 3.11 grams, whereas the zinc pennies weigh only 2.5 grams.
If this is to work wouldn’t the sun need to shine on it? Maybe those who it didn’t work for placed it in the shade or tried it on a cloudy day? Isn’t the point of it that the sun reflects off it and flies eyes see tons of annoying reflections?