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One of the joys of summertime is being able to sit on your deck or patio and enjoy some good old fashion BBQ along with a few cold beers.
However, what is not so fun about the summer, mainly if you live out in the countryside, is insects. So, will a bug zapper can kill flies?
Between the mosquitos, no-see-ums, flies, wasps, and other insects, enjoying some time outdoors, let alone a meal, can be pretty challenging.
So, you have heard of bug zappers – more or less an electric chair for anything creepy and crawly? So, how effective are bug zappers as far as flies are concerned?
Do Bug Zappers Kill Flies?
Bug zappers don’t discriminate between one insect and another.
They have enough juice in them to seriously hurt your fingers, and if a bug zapper is strong enough to take care of mosquitos and wasps, you better believe that it will also take care of flies.
Bug zappers have more power than they need, and they will kill virtually any insect that comes in contact, including all sorts of flies, whether small biting flies, mosquitos, and larger nuisances like horseflies.
The Issue with Flies and Bug Zappers
Although bug zappers will kill flies on contact, you need to consider several issues. First, most flies, such as houseflies, have terrible vision. At best, a regular fly can see maybe 20 feet.
The issue is that many of these bug zappers use light as the primary means of attracting bugs, but of course, if a fly is too far away, due to its poor vision, it won’t see the light and therefore won’t be attracted to the bug zapper in the first place.
Some bug zappers use natural odors and attractants to attract insects, but there is a certain cost involved.
The other thing to consider is that although bug zappers will take care of virtually all insects on contact, this is not actually a good thing.
According to research conducted, only around 0.22% of insects killed by bug zappers are insects that bother humans. That is far less than 1 percent!
As our world is currently facing a crisis in terms of the climate and the rapid extinction of animals, flora, and habitats, indiscriminately killing thousands of insects that don’t bother you is probably not the best action plan.
Other Ways to Get Rid of Flies
There are other options to get rid of flies and prevent them from being attracted in the first place.
You may not want to use a bug zapper because you don’t want to kill off all the insects in the vicinity or because they may not be overly practical on houseflies with poor vision
The best thing you can do is get rid of all organic matter, particularly old and rotting organic matter. This is the number one thing that attracts flies.
This can include rotting food, garbage cans, old grass clippings, and even animal feces. The less these things are in the area, the fewer flies will be attracted.
Another easy way to control the fly population, particularly in an enclosed space, is to use glue traps.
Glue traps are convenient, they don’t release toxins into the air, and for the most part, they only attract the insects they are designed for, which is the fly.
Although fly tape does not look attractive to the eye once flies are stuck to it, they are cheap and effective.
Remember that flies love the smell of apples and vinegar. Using this information, you can devise your own homemade fly trap using apples and vinegar, or even just apple cider vinegar, as a lure in your trap.
There are plants for your garden or to keep in pots around your home to deter flies. Flies generally do not like marigolds, mint, and lavender plants.
There are also essential oils you can spray in your home to deter flies, with the best ones for the job being peppermint, lemongrass, and eucalyptus.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that bug zapper will kill flies on contact, but that said, it may not be the best way to tackle a fly problem, at least not in the grand scheme of things.
