Don’t drop it in your soup: 7 tips for driving away flies without insecticide

Whether it’s in your food, your pet’s poo, or your own skin, flies hover happily as ambient temperatures rise. Although we should be aware of the role they play in the food chain, we all want them to be further away than near.

But in this often desperate effort to keep them from circling around our rooms, they often fall for insecticides, applying large toxic clouds with the promise of extermination. However, this is not the best answer to the problem. On the contrary: it is the worst.

Even if the question that arises with the first flies that make the rounds of the kitchen is: why do these insects arrive when it is hot? “In general, the biological activity of organisms, including flies and other insects, is more accelerated at higher temperatures,” says Constanza Schapheer, an entomologist and scholar in the Department of Biology at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences. . “Life cycles are shortened and there may be more generations per season,” he adds. As this year has been rainier than the previous ones, “there are more resources available” for these living beings to reproduce.

“The temperature threshold in which flies have their shortest cycle is between 25º and 30º”, explains entomologist Alfredo Ugarte. “On hot days, like the ones that have been in the central zone lately, flies may show up more,” he says.

According to the two professionals, the most common fly in Chilean homes is the domestic musca, a brachycerous dipterous insect — that is to say, with only two wings and short antennae — of the Muscidae family. Their presence is not only inevitable but fundamental, since “many act as pollinators and participate in the processes of decomposition of organic matter”, explains Schapheer.

But its bad reputation, caused by its buzzing sound and its tenacious insistence on perching on food, also comes from its capacity to carry infectious-contagious diseases, which can be transmitted when they intervene in our food. According to the slogan iNaturalist diseases susceptible to vector transport by the domestic musca These are typhoid fevers, cholera, salmonellosis, bacillus dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, and also parasitic worms.

How do we avoid flies in our sacred private spaces? It is a difficult task, but not impossible. A good way to try it is to follow these recommendations made by entomologists.

• Keep trash covered and take it out frequently. Leaving no trash in the air — especially organic waste — and emptying internal trash cans before they overflow is the most important strategy. “In this way, we reduce the development spaces for the larvae,” says Schapheer.
• Air currents. Keeping windows open at certain times of the day is essential. “For flies, they are like air storms,” says Ugarte, who points out that these insects are usually found in corners, eaves and places where there is no wind. “If you generate air currents, the flies won’t be calm and most likely they will fly away,” he says. How to achieve it? Simply open two opposite windows or doors to generate an airflow. If this is not possible, pedestal or ceiling fans also work. “We don’t need to put it to the maximum: enough current is enough for the fly to leave,” he says. It works just as well with flies as it does with mosquitoes, insects that will surely be just as abundant in the next warm season.
• Use of repellent: Although almost everyone associates it with vacations or more exotic and jungle excursions, repellant is also a card you can play at home, especially if you’re enjoying an afternoon in the garden or on the terrace. “If you are in the afternoon on a terrace, in the grass or in the swimming pool, and the flies do not let you rest because they land on your leg and tickle you, for these cases it is ideal to put on a coat of repellent, spray or cream,” says Ugarte. He recommends Aloxo, a repellent that has good adhesion to the skin and is very effective against flies, mosquitoes and mosquitoes.

• mosquito nets: If there are a lot of flies in your neighborhood, using these nets is also a “good option,” according to Schapheer. Their system is simple: they work like a filter, so flies can’t get in — although they can’t get out either if they manage to get in through another source — and your indoor environment will remain more controlled.

• Essential oils : Some essential oils have been proven to repel flies. “For example, turmeric has an excellent repellent effect, as do mint and eucalyptus,” says Schapheer. “A very interesting fact is that the essential oil of peumo, a tree native to Chile, is a very good natural insecticide, but unfortunately it is not marketed,” he adds. In Squire They advise putting a few drops of these oils on a cloth or hanging it near doors and windows. Using a diffuser will also work.
• Pick up the poo: “All faeces are a source of attraction for flies, regardless of whether they come from dogs, cattle, pigs or horses,” says Ugarte. So that they do not become a major attraction factor in the terrace, it is necessary to clean them rigorously. “That is to say that if the puppy poops, you have to go pick it up or sweep it at least twice a day”, explains the specialist, more often when it is hot. To avoid throwing them in the trash, he recommends burying them in a hole, because “it’s organic matter, so it can be very good for your garden since it’s a natural fertilizer”.
• No to insecticides: “Any insecticide or chemical that we use in our homes will also affect us,” says Ugarte. If we apply them frequently, it can affect our long-term health. “These aerosols that we launch end up precipitating, they go to the ground, they go on top of furniture or clothing,” explains the entomologist. When you pour insecticide and after some time run your finger over the surface, you will find your footprint contaminated with this liquid. “The cure is worse than the disease. There are several skin reactions that dermatologists are slow to detect because of this. What about children, who play on the floor and frequently put their hands to their face or mouth”, analyzes he.

“There is growing scientific evidence on the negative effects that insecticides of all kinds have on human health, as well as on other living things, such as plants, animals, insects and microorganisms “, adds Schapheer. “The negative effect of sublethal doses of insecticides on the nervous system of bees has been proven, which disorients them and prevents them from returning to their nests. This has the consequence that they do not provide their offspring for the next season and end up dying”, which also has negative consequences for pollination and the whole ecosystem.

In short, a fly-free environment is only achieved in inert space, with almost no signs of organic life. If there are children, plants, animals, and fresh fruits and vegetables in your home, these insects will surely appear too. More than eliminating them, with the previous tips you can chase them away. So that none fall into your soup.

*Prices for products in this item are current as of September 7, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.