flies

Question

Does there seem to be more flies than usual this year? I have a lot around our corn and strawberries. and even in my greenhouse. They just seem to be everywhere. What can I do to get rid of them or are some plants attracting flies?

Answer 1

Yes, there are likely more this year due to the fact that many of us experienced a milder than usual winter, which means those fly populations did not get killed off. It's also been an extremely hot/humid summer this year, which the flies seem to like.

Flies in garden areas are normally attracted to manure fertilizer, sweet fruits and even pollen. They also like trash, so if there is any around, you'll need to get rid of that. If you are prone to using compost or manure, keep the pile away from your gardening area. The best way to control flies is to make natural fly traps and place them around your garden or problem areas.

Here is a good recipe/method you could try: poke holes in an empty gallon milk jug. Fill it halfway with a mixture of 1/4 cup corn syrup and 1/4 cup of cider vinegar and water. The flies will go into the holes after the sweet liquid and become trapped and drown.