Bunnings shopper's 'disgusting' $11 solution to common summer problem: 'It works'

The warm and deliciously long days of summer are here, drawing us all outside for backyard BBQs and picnics by the beach. But as we spend the holiday season drinking and dining in our great outdoors, it’ll be hard to ignore the hundreds of uninvited guests who come to crash the party.

Fly season is well and truly here, with those pesky buggers circling our dinner tables and evading every attempt to be swatted away. Understandably, Aussies are desperate for a safe and affordable solution.

“Flies are more common in summer,” Dr David Yeates, director of the CSIRO’s Australian National Insect Collection, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “They tend to spend a lot of the winter time just resting or in immature stages as larvae, and then in summer they emerge when it’s warmer.”

RELATED:

• Bunnings shopper transforms living room in minutes with $12 item: 'One-of-a-kind'

• $6 Bunnings item that tackles one of the most frustrating parts of summer: 'That is genius'

• Bunnings shoppers' solution to the most annoying part of camping and caravanning: 'Works every time'

“It’s been an especially good year this year because of the rain and the warmth.”

He explains that the two main culprits are the house flies that go after our food because they feed on decaying organic matter, and the bush flies that try to land on our face and around our eyes because they’re looking to feed off the sweat on our skin.

$11 Bunnings solution for fly problem

One Aussie woman recently took to TikTok to share a cheap solution to the summer fly problem that’s inspiring and grossing people out in equal measures.

Perth nurse Keeley Starling explains that she uses an $11 Bunnings fly trap to rid her backyard of flies, demonstrating that after leaving it outside for just three days, the little plastic jar is teeming with dead and dying flies.

Keeley can barely hold it close enough to the camera without gagging. “It’s really disgusting,” she says, “It actually f**king stinks, but I’m telling you, it works.”

The traps work when you dissolve a powder in water to create a non-toxic, pesticide-free green solution that attracts the flies when placed in the sun. They enter the container via holes in the top then drown in the solution when they’re unable to find their way out. When it’s full, you bury the dead flies and refill the container again.

It’s remarkably effective at catching and killing flies but the downside is the disgusting smell that’s been described as “revolting”, “foul”, “like death”, and so bad “it will haunt you for the rest of your life”.

If using one of these traps, it’s important that you place it away from your doors so you’re not actually attracting more flies into your home, and that you empty the trap after a couple of days so you don’t risk it filling with maggots.

Do fly traps really work?

The traps are very good at killing flies, but will they reduce the number buzzing around your Christmas lunch? Dr Yeates thinks not.

“I think they give people a sense of having killed some flies,” he says, “They see dead flies and that gives them a good feeling, but in reality, I don't think there's any real reduction in the population.”

“There's no end to flies, you won't get rid of them by just putting a little fly trap in your garden. Flies fly around a fair bit, so if they discover a backyard where there aren't very many flies, that's where they are going to end up because there aren’t any other flies there to eat the resources in that garden.”

While they may not make much on an impact on the overall number of flies, Dr Yeates says at least these traps are better than spraying chemicals or pesticides to try and reduce fly numbers in your backyard as that will also kill all the beneficial insects in the area creating less balance and ultimately worsening the fly problem in the long run.

Other ways to reduce flies this summer

There are plenty of other little things you can do to help reduce the number of flies entering your home or crashing an outdoor dinner party over summer.

• The first is to keep food - and that includes food scraps, leftovers and compost - covered

• Flyscreens on all windows and doors are an obvious one, make sure to check them for holes and gaps where the flyscreen meets the window frame

• Take your bins out often and make sure the lid of your outside bin is secure so flies can’t slip in through cracks and breed inside

• Clean up after your pets do their business outside

• Wear insect repellent when eating outside

• Don’t leave pots of water sitting around your backyard

Dr Yeates also suggests planting more flowering plants if you have a bad fly problem, as that will encourage more good insects, which in turn will help create a better balance in the ecosystem.

SHOP:

• Camping and beach essential every Aussie needs this summer: 'Great value'

• Prices slashed on award-winning household gadget that saves time and money: 'Worth every penny'

• Free product that could help increase your home's value by $112,000

“Usually it's the case that when there's a pest that's annoying you, something’s a bit out of balance in the ecology of the surrounding area,” he says.

“A lot of our urban and peri-urban areas are pretty well out of balance. There's a lot of modification of the normal habitat that would've been there before.”

Want the latest lifestyle and entertainment news? Make sure you are following us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter.