Keep Annoying Flies Out Of Your Home With Two Kitchen Ingredients
Flies can seem to come out of nowhere and are always pesky, but there are two kitchen ingredients that can work well to deter flies naturally. If you want to keep these pests from making their way into your busy morning routine, all you need is to dig out the turmeric and salt from your spice cabinet, and you'll have a safe solution.
Salt and turmeric, used together, can work to deter pests from areas of your home. For example, using this combination of spices in your kitchen will help keep flies away from that area. If an infestation occurs right now, use this trick throughout the impacted area. That, along with a few other steps, should help to reduce their numbers. If you want to prevent flies in your home, especially after a period of wet days that can make them more readily present, you'll want to use this natural treatment for several days while the threat exists.
Making your home less desirable for flies is an important step in this process. That means keeping any food debris or organic material inaccessible, such as stored in the refrigerator or outside of the home if it is waste. Flies are more likely to find their way into your home if they smell a food source, and with their powerful sense of smell, any small amount of organic material will attract them.
How do salt and turmeric work to keep flies out?
Salt is an important mineral to all life, meaning flies need salt to survive. That may seem to indicate that flies would be drawn to it, and to some degree, that's possible. However, too much of a good thing isn't safe for any animal (including your cats or dogs that may be nearby). Too much salt dries out the flies and causes them to die.
Turmeric powder is the key star of this natural pest deterrent. With it included in salt, the flies will likely be far less likely to hang around for long. Flies do not like this ingredient's pungent, even bitter, smell (via Sci Rep). They also don't like the taste of it. When you apply it, then, to areas where the flies are likely lurking, they are going to shy away from it and move on to find a new source of food.
A flylife goal is to seek out a food source to reproduce. On that path, it's going to look for the easiest access to a food source. The strong smell of turmeric is an instant turnoff, causing them to turn around and go another way instead of searching for food. Turmeric is highly effective like this and has been used in many types of pest control solutions for decades. It's often used, for example, in agricultural settings as a natural insecticide.
How to use salt and turmeric to keep annoying flies away from you
Several ways exist for using salt and turmeric as a natural fly deterrent, but the most direct method tends to work best. If fruit flies or houseflies suddenly overrun your kitchen, combine salt and turmeric (about a tablespoon of each) in a container and then sprinkle it over the surface of your kitchen counters in the troublesome area. This method should encourage flies to move on, and if they do nibble at it, the high salt concentration is likely to cause them to die quickly.
Don't stop there, though. In order to be effective, especially for long-term prevention of flies in any given area, you need to treat the entire area. Find the food source attracting the flies in the first place, such as those overripe bananas that fell behind something on the counter or the food material next to the stove. Also, spend some time cleaning down the cabinetry and countertops.
You can also use a simple fly trap using a bowl with vinegar covered with plastic wrap. Place a few very small holes in the top to lure the flies in. They aren't able to get out once inside. You can also consider growing some mint or other plants in your kitchen, which is also a natural deterrent for flies and other pests. These natural methods are all better solutions than using chemicals in many cases.