- Remove any dog feces from your backyard. Flies are attracted to rotting organic matter and feces, so your dog's droppings will be a fly magnet. Clean up your dog's droppings as soon as possible to keep flies from invading. Carry a plastic baggie to pick up and dispose of your pet's droppings or monitor your pet if you give it free roam of the backyard.
- Close the lid to your trash can and keep it tightly locked at all times. Flies will swarm to the smell of garbage, and leaving loose trash bags around or open trash can lids is asking for an infestation. Flies will use trash cans as breeding sites for their larvae, which are white, worm-like creatures known as maggots. Spray your garbage can with insecticidal poisons if you suspect that flies are using it to breed.
- Put out bait stations in the areas with the most fly activity. These bait stations contain poison that the flies ingest, eventually killing them. Bug zappers may also be commonly used, but these don't prevent flies, as they simply eliminate the flies that are already there. They work by attracting flies to an electrified steel grate with an ultraviolet light. However, according to the Texas A&M University Agricultural Service, they are not effective against large populations.
- Hang baggies of water from clotheslines or tree branches near your activity area. It is purported that these water baggies disorient flies or trick them into thinking they are near a spider web, thus keeping them at bay. There is debate as to whether or not these water baggies actually work to prevent flies, but it is a low-cost, low-effort tactic to try.
- Fly tape will not prevent fly infestations, but may serve to reduce their numbers. Fly tape is a sticky strip of tape that you hang from a tree branch or pole that attracts flying insects with a sweet aroma. The flies will get stuck on the tape as soon as they land and will eventually die.
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