Houseflies can be extremely irritating as well as unsanitary. These small insects appreciate any scrap of food they can find, and since they don't wash their hands before meals, they can leave a trail of bacteria behind them. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques which can greatly help to reduce the number of houseflies in your home. You can get rid of houseflies cheaply and entirely naturally, without risk to pets, children, and your food.
If you want to rid your home of houseflies, start by keeping your house clean. Use orange, clove, lemon, or basil oil in your cleaning, as these oils repel flies. Make sure to keep surfaces wiped down and dry, and cover compost, garbage, and platters of fruits or breads. Many companies make baskets for covering fruit platters with a fine mesh which allows the fruit to ripen without allowing flies to come in contact with it. You should also strongly consider installing insect screens on your windows, and putting in screen doors so that you can ventilate your house without inviting insects in.
You can also repel houseflies in an assortment of ways. They do not like the smell of cloves, so you can try setting out oranges or apples studded with cloves. In addition to smelling good and looking ornamental, these cloved fruits can get rid of houseflies by making your house unappealing. Some people also have success with cutting oranges in half, juicing them, and packing them with salt to act as fly deterrents. Flies also don't like basil; you might consider planting basil in windowboxes or a patch of basil by the front door to get rid of houseflies.
Even with these measures, you may still experience housefly invasions, especially if it is cold outside or you have a lot of food around the house. These houseflies can be trapped in a variety of ways, ranging from the mundane to the decorative. Flypaper is a popular tactic to get rid of houseflies. This paper is sticky and covered with a fly attractant. The flies are drawn to the paper and then they get stuck; many companies add some fly poison so that the flies die instead of starving to death on the flypaper. You can also make a non-toxic and cheap fly trap using a narrow necked bottle or a jar with a whole in the lid. Bait the trap with something sweet like sugar water or candy. The flies will crawl in, but they cannot crawl out.
You can also get rid of houseflies while adding to your interior décor, with carnivorous plants. Many of these plants look very interesting, and they are quite effective at killing off the flies in your home. If you have a major fly problem, consider starting a small carnivorous plant garden to help you manage it.