[Dailydrool] Simple fly preventatives

[Anne Savidge]

  For reasons unknown, my previous attempt to post was swallowed up by cyberspace, so I'll try it again.

   I know this first suggestion will sound grade-A bonkers, but I swear it works. My parents and sister Susan have tried it with success.

   Fill clear plastic bags about three-quarters full of water, tie the tops securely, and hang them at eye level or higher around the area you wish to be the "no-fly zone." Flies will avoid the area. Allegedly, this is because of fly eye anatomy: water in the bags acts as a magnifier, and when the flies get close to a bag, they see their own magnified reflections through their multi-faceted eyes.  Thinking that huge predators are after them, they buzz away.

   You can also get a kind of no-pesticide plastic bag fly trap at places like Home Depot and Lowes and garden centers. I do not remember the brand name. You fill the bag with a prescribed amount of water, which activates a natural but stinky lure. Flies find their way into the one-way plastic valve at the top of the bag and then drown in the water. When the bag is full of dead flies, you toss it in the garbage. Because of the minor eau de manure smell, it is recommended that you use these outdoors. Our local gardening writer for the Dallas Morning News tried them and proclaimed these traps very good.

Auntie Anne