Why is My Lawn Full of Flies?

There’s nothing worse than a fly landing on your food during an outdoor barbecue. Flies are not only annoying, but they can carry disease-causing organisms. This brings us to the following question: why is my lawn full of flies?

Flies are attracted to leftover food, garbage, and even pet waste. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your outdoor living space clean, pick up after your dog, and make sure any garbage stored outside is properly covered.

The main reason why flies are in most lawns can be traced back to humans. When we lure them in with food, they will lay eggs and produce more flies. In the sections below, I’ll walk through how you can keep your lawn free from these pesky insects.

Why Are Flies In My Grass?

Old Food

Let’s face it, flies love food. It doesn’t matter if you have a grill, smoker, or other type of device that cooks meat. Flies will be able to smell any kind of food around your house from very far away.

Even though flies don’t have noses, they’re able to smell with an antenna. These antennas are covered with small hairs called sensilla. So, how does all of this relate to flies in your lawn?

When a fly smells food, it will come to your property. Once there, the flies will lay eggs and produce even more. That’s why it’s so important to clean up after you grill and wipe down any surfaces where you ate.

Pet Waste

If you’re a dog owner, hopefully your furry friend knows how to do their business outside. Unfortunately for you, flies are very much attracted to pet waste. That’s why it should be picked up with a bag and thrown away.

The main problem is that flies are lured to dog feces because it’s an ideal environment for them to lay eggs. These eggs will eventually hatch out into maggots, before transforming into what we know as flies.

Because maggots feed on dead matter, it’s crucial to clean up after your dog. You can either pick up the waste with a plastic bag, or use a shovel to move all of that waste to another area in the yard – ideally far from your house.

Rotting Garbage

Garbage, specifically food waste, is another major trigger for flies. And because no one wants to smell old trash in the house, we tend to keep it outside. That’s why you will see so many flies buzzing around trash bins.

Most of the time flies are drawn to decaying matter on food. This is most popular with old fruit, because yeast cells will begin to grow when the fruit starts to rot. A female fly can land on these foods and lay hundreds of eggs.

That’s why you need to throw old food in plastic bags, before storing it in a trash bin with a lid. The plastic lining will shield the smell of fermenting fruit and the bin will prevent any flies form landing inside.

How to Get Rid of Lawn Flies

1. Cut Grass Short

One of the first ways to prevent flies relates to lawn care. Keeping your grass short not only looks more presentable, but it will also stop flies from laying eggs in tall grass were there’s plenty of shade.

But tall grass also holds more moisture, as flies sure do love water (more on that below). Even though short grass can dry out quickly in the hot summer months, it will prevent flies from bothering you.

2. Keep Surfaces Clean

Good housekeeping (both inside and outside) is an essential step to fly prevention. As you have learned by now, these insects love old food, pet waste, and rotting garbage.

They will not only hang around your lawn because of this, but female flies are more likely to lay eggs in these areas. So, make sure to keep your outdoor kitchen clean, pick up after your dog, and cover trash.

3. Drain Standing Water

Flies are also known to gather around pools of water. These can be buckets that have filled up with rain water, gutters, bird baths, pipes, and even areas on your patio that are not level.

Flies will feed and even lay eggs around areas with water, which is why keeping the exterior of your home dry is needed. Removing water will give flies one less reason to stick around your house.

4. Try Fly Strips

If you can’t get flies to leave your yard, the next option is to catch them. One way to do this is with fly strips. These are made with glue attached to paper that can be hung around your house.

Flies will land on the strips and the glue will prevent them from escaping. After a while the strips will get old and you will need to throw them away. Make sure to hang these away from doors, so flies won’t get in the house.

5. Embrace Spider Webs

Don’t get me wrong, I’m always looking for ways to remove spider webs. But if you have a problem with flies around your lawn, you might want to consider keeping webs around.

Spider can feed on flies and they do so by catching them first. Even though spider webs don’t look very attractive, they can work well by acting like a natural fly catcher.

Do Flies Lay Eggs in Grass?

We know that female flies look to areas with decaying matter to lay their eggs. But do flies lay eggs in the grass? When conditions are right, flies will land on your lawn and lay eggs in the grass.

This is most common in areas with trash and feces – but garden waste can also be a breeding ground. Grass clippings will decompose over time, which makes it a type of organic material flies are attracted to.

Flies Hovering Over Grass

Insects that look like flies hovering over grass are actually lawn gnats, or fungus gnats. They are very small insects that can often be mistaken for mosquitoes. You might see them in big swarms shortly after a rain.

The main reason for this is lawn gnats are attracted to moisture. Because lawn gnats thrive on moist soil, it’s difficult to remove them in a natural way that doesn’t involve some kind of chemical treatment.

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