Deterring flies from kitchen

[PinkFizz]

Help! I keeo getting so many flies in my kitchen - I have the back door open all day as it is sooo hot but is there anything that will deter them coming in in the first place?? Im going though cans of fly spray.I heard that possibly a basil plant may help but not sure is that is true.

[annavc]

Not sure about the Basil plant theory although I have one on my kitchen windowsill and I don't get many flies in the kitchen so maybe it does work! Might be worth a try. Only other thing I can suggest is borrowing my cat - he's the most effective fly catcher I've ever known. His leaps into the air to catch them mid-flight are becoming more and more impressive!

[PinkFizz]

Hi annavc! I already have 2 cats which yes,are quite spectacular in their gymnastics,but still cant catch all of them.Its driving me mad.:/

[sweetdor]

how about a plastic bead doorscreen or metal link door screen cant think what there are called and there is a plant just folage and when you touch or rub the leaves it smells of lemons its called lemon scented .....?lots of chinise take aways have them in there windows they are really good i suppose it works like citronnella candles

[Thunderbird+]

You could try some spriggs of lemmon balm in vases near the door, or other strong smelling mints such as eau'de cologne. ( some continental resturants use this method)
If your handy at DIY, you could do what ive done and make a simple screen-door, I purchased my material from 'the fly screen queen, online and tacked it on to a 2" x 1" wooden frame. Good luck. T bird+

[Thunderbird+]

Ps, If you do go down the screen-door route, I would advise you use loose pin hinges, so it can be easily removed in the winter.

[BRUCE BAXTER]

your cooking pinkfizz! that shoulg stop them coming in. tell your husband that you will be taking charge in the kitchen for the next couple of weeks.

[peanut]

GET A CAT !!! Flies don't stand a chance in my house with my kitty "Peanut" runnin around. Its only a matter of time before those smartass flies do something stupid, then its lights out for them and handy little snack for peanut.

[peanut]

Holy crap i can't believe i somehow missed your post about having a cats already. sorry.

[Lynn_M]

I just so happen to have a basil plant in my kitchen and it hasn't deterred the blighters. It might be worth trying one of those electric fly killers; the one's with the blue light that they have in shops. That's what I'm going to try, I'm sick of being buzzed.

[mauray]

Try hanging old DVD's from the door frame with string. Most flies dont like the reflections. You may have to keep swinging it when the wind doesn't blow. I saw restaurants abroad swinging a clear plastic bag of water over the tables which seemed to work.

[tellboy]

Put a pile of horse manure in the living room !

[PinkFizz]

Bruce Baxter - very helpful answer - not! lol

[brnmhn]

fill used jam jars with water and place them on the window sill

[TreeHugging1]

The Victorian�s were very resourceful; at the front of their houses they would plant Lavender, as flies cannot abide the scent � and so, they could enjoy a family meal together with the windows open in the dinnng room without the intrusion of pesky flies.

So plant some Lavender and place it on your windowsill.