DIY Life is at it again – testing out odd pest control solutions, that is. This time, they took a collection of tips for getting rid of flies in and around the home and tested them on their real, live fly problem. Most of the strategies that they tried out didn’t work too well at all, but there were 2 methods that seemed to be an effective solution to the fly problem. When both of the following tricks were used, the fly situation was solved:

Dish Soap Trap

Pour an inch of fruit-scented liquid dish soap into an open mason jar and add another inch of water. Flies will be attracted to the scent and then get caught in the jar, unable to fly out.

Fan

This solution works indoors and outdoors. Get a big box fan and put it by a screened window. Set the fan so that the cooled air is directed toward you. This creates a sort of wind tunnel for flies and they’ll have trouble flying near you.

To read about the other 8 claims and why they weren’t so effective, head over to DIY Life’s Testing: 10 Odd Ways to Get Rid of Flies.