You?re two bites into a juicy, charcoal-grilled burger at the neighborhood cookout when a black fly lands on your bun. It was there for less than a second, so no big deal, right? Wrong. Black flies may carry as many as six million bacteria on their feet, transferring all of that delicious bacteria to your burger. Black flies aren?t the only problem. Mosquitoes, bees and even moths are more than annoying, they carry disease. So keep flies, moths and all things with wings out of your home and away from your food and family.
Moths ? Moths hate mint. It?s a fact. So to repel moths, take two handfuls of fresh mint leaves and let them dry in the sun. Once they?re dry, place the leaves in small bags like these?paper tea bags and place them in rooms where you have a moth problem. If moths have already entered your house, use sticky fly-strip paper.?To make your own DIY fly-strip paper, read: Going Home To Roost.
Fruit Flies ? To trap fruit flies, make a bowl trap. Put a piece of old skinless fruit or some sweet wine in a bowl (a combination works well, too). Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and poke many small holes in the plastic with a fork. The fruit flies go in and can?t get out (make sure the holes are very, very tiny). Then you can release them outside. If you don?t want to release them into the wild, add honey and a large amount of sugar to your mixture. The fruit flies wings get stuck in the honey so they can?t fly and drown in the liquid.
Mosquitoes ? To prevent mosquitoes from ruining a backyard barbeque, throw sage and rosemary on the hot coals. Mosquitoes hate these plants and will stay away, and the herbs add a pleasant aroma to your get-together. Also, mosquitoes are most active at sunrise and sunset, so try to avoid being outside 30 minutes before and after dawn and dusk.
Bees ? If bees are buzzing in your garden and ruining your backyard barbeque, lure them away with sweets. Purchase a few jars of marmalade and open them at least fifteen feet from you when you?re outside or rub the marmalade on nearby tree trunks. The bees will stay busy and stop buzzing around you.
Black Flies ? If black flies are biting you, wear light clothing like khaki, white and light blue. Black flies are more likely to pester you if you are wearing darker colors, according to the Algonquin Provincial Park website. If your fly problem is an indoor issue, you can make a DIY flytrap out of a plastic coke bottle. For step-by-step instructions, visit EcoBites. If you have black flies in your house, purchase sticky fly-strip paper from your local hardware store. To make your own DIY fly-strip paper, read: Going Home To Roost.