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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Natural Flea Infestation and Prevention Strategies
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Spider Repellent Guaranteed to Work
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Those flies are God’s creatures too.
Actually the Musca domestica or house fly is not one of God’s creatures. It is a spawn of Satan
This does work, we’ve been doing it for years.
Getting chickens is a great way to get the fly larve.
I wish this worked for mosquitoes as well.
Tried this at my front and back doors last year and didn’t work at all 🙁 but we have a *severe* fly problem where we live, due to the proximity of a commercial egg farm as well as an organic fertilizer plant.
worth a try!
Seen the baggies for years but never heard of adding a penny. Hmm
I put 5 pennies to a baggie!
This is not a joke it does work. I have been using the penny baggie going on three years now and I swear by it. No flies at my house.