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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Doesn’t work worth a hoot for us.
We had 12 flies on our west facing wall near the doorway to the house. I put up one of these fly bags and in 10 minutes there were only 2 left. I think the penny looks like the hole of a wasp nest, the natural predator to the fly. I hang one above each entry of my horse stalls and that helps them as well. Now if we could just figure out how to protect the horses out in the field…..
You can also use empty 2 liter bottles of soda, fill to the top with water after removing the label. All these methods work as long as the light from the sun hits them, so place them strategically in different parts so that the sun light reaches them at different times during the day…
I’m sorry to be the thorn amongst the roses, but I just had to tell you that “repellent” is misspelled.. It is Ent not Ant.. However, I did like the information and will try it if I ever have flies.
This does not work. We tried this while camping.
.For those who had no luck with this, try putting them at about six feet high. Works in Floridea.
Works wonders! I have a kitchen window and patio right by each other, no screen on the window and a compost in the kitchen. Flies were becoming a pest so I hung a bag of water (no penny) outside the window (using the baby clothes pants hanger suggestion thx). No flies now for 2 days.
You know, I was skeptic, but I put up two bags today at my patio door and so far – it’s working. I used DUCK TAPE to hang the partially filled bags of water and actually, each of my bags have 7 pennies in them, because at the time I was desperately making them – I didn’t know exactly HOW MANY pennies to use.
Its been an hour and the flies have opted to leave the porch. Prior to me hanging baggies, I couldn’t go in and out of my home w/out fighting off fly company.