Can this trick to keep flies away really work?

house cat · ‎08-23-2012

/> It says a Ziploc bag, half full of water, with 4 or 5 pennies in it, zipped shut, will keep flies away. I don't have time for a detailed explanation, but Google says it has something to do with the prism of light this creates.. it freaks out the flies. Has anyone ever tried this?

faeriemoon · ‎03-14-2010

I have seen it posted on these boards before but never tried it myself.

Looks like it's worth a shot.

~What a terrible era in which idiots govern the blind.~ William Shakespeare

Lynneuk · ‎03-10-2010

Was it posted on April 1st?

faeriemoon · ‎03-14-2010

On 4/8/2014 Lynneuk said:
Was it posted on April 1st?

Ha!

No, last summer I think.

~What a terrible era in which idiots govern the blind.~ William Shakespeare

Marienkaefer2 · ‎03-09-2010

Yes, I have eaten at restaurants where they put these around the outside dining area. I didn't notice any flies.

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If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.--Marcus Tullius Cicero

JGalt · ‎03-10-2010

We have a terrible fly problem all summer, and I live in a town not rural. So, I actually do this every summer. LOL, I thought that photo was my door. Does it work? Well, I still get flies in the house. At first, the penneyed water bag works. But then they either wise up, or there are such a great number of flies, some are always hanging around my doors waiting for me to open the door.

Once flies are inside, the best I've found is the sticky traps you attach to the inside of windows. It's gross because those sticky traps work best (attracting more flies) when there are at least several flies stuck. Chasing flies with a swatter is just not enough.

Zhills · ‎11-15-2011

We used these at the river house and they worked. We hung them in the open, not against something. Put them on the ceiling fan pulls. Nice to eat out without any flies.

DoneTryin · ‎03-09-2010

That's interesting; I'll have to try it sometime. I usually keep an oscillating fan going nearby wherever I'm sitting (indoors or on balcony) during the flying insect season. Tiny bugs' wings aren't strong enough to fly into the rapidly moving air, so it keeps the critters away from me. Really great way to repel mosquitos. The only problem is that I can't carry a big fan around with me when I'm out for a walk, at the park for a picnic, etc.

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

It absolutely works!

I've been doing this (although I only put one penny in the bag) for several years now. I cannot STAND having a fly in my house. I didn't have a single fly last year. The summer before that I had carpet laid and the guys left my front door open for a couple of hours. So I did have two flies that day, but none the rest of the summer.

In the previous 3 summers I could count the number of flies that got in my house on one hand, with fingers left over.

I have them at every entrance. Before I did this it wasn't a fly den or anything, but flies would routinely get in the house and it just grossed me out. It's something I cannot handle at all. Now I don't worry about it. Even with a man and a dog in the house I am able to preclude flies getting in 99.999% of the time.

I get the freezer Ziplock baggies - so that they are stronger. I half-fill the bag with water and toss in a penny. Then I either tape it with 2" packing tape across the top or I cut a horizontal slit in the top part of the bag and hang it on a horizontal hook.

Sure, it looks silly but I don't care. I'll take silly all day long before letting flies in my house.

Most people ask about it and are surprised. One day, however, I had some Mexican guys bringing my new furniture. As one guy looked at it I started to explain it and he said 'oh, I know. We've always done that and it works great'.

Barbarainnc · ‎03-11-2010

My hubby did this and it works. He said the fly sees it as a wasp nest or it just scares them away by seeing their reflection. Any way it works. He just uses a clear gallon bag filled with water, no pennies.