There are few things more maddening than being the constant target of a house fly. The incessant buzzing, their lack of personal space! Sometimes, a fly swatter simply won’t cut it, which is why we asked experts how to get rid of flies inside and outside. Meet the experts: Roberto M. Pereira, Ph.D., is an insect research scientist and professor emeritus with the University of Florida. Nancy Troyano, Ph.D., is Director of Operations Education and Training for Rentokil Terminix. Frank Meek is a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager at Rollins. You can be plagued with swarms of house flies almost any time of year, but may tend to notice them in full-force during late summer to early fall. Below, house bug pros share advice for getting rid of flies naturally and other methods that can steer them away. If there’s such a thing as a fly-free season, this advice will get you as close to one as possible. The overarching goal of fly removal should be preventing them from entering your home in the first place, says Nancy Troyano, Ph.D., an entomologist and director of operations and education and training for Rentokil Terminix. That means it’s important to keep doors and windows closed when possible, cover food, clear away food debris, and keep trash in tightly sealed lids. For those that inevitably make their way in, there are a few home remedies, outlined below, that you can try to catch several at once, says Roberto M. Pereira, Ph.D., a professor emeritus and insect research scientist with the University of Florida. Combine equal parts of the two in a small bowl and add a pinch of sugar to the mix. Ideally, the dish soap will have a fruity smell. “The fermented smell from the vinegar can attract flies,” Pereira says. “But the soap is really what will kill them.” This is a sticky strip of paper that you can easily string up from the ceiling or wherever the flies are hanging out the most. When flies (or other winged insects) check it out, they get stuck to the paper. Similarly, you can put eucalyptus oil on hanging paper strips—say, near a window—to repel them, as flies don’t like the scent, says Frank Meek, board-certified entomologist and technical services manager at Rollins. The essential oil method will only repel them, not kill them. Take an empty plastic bottle and cut off the top third of it. Put sugar water in the bottom third and then place your cut piece back on top, but turn it upside down so that the top of the bottle is facing the liquid and creates a sort of funnel. The flies will work their way into the bottle, but won’t be able to get back out,. Because most flies make their way into your home from the outdoors, Pereira recommends making some changes to your surrounding property. Flies will breed in them, Pereira says. If you don’t have that much space to work with, at least try to keep the pile away from doors and windows. Flies are attracted to the scent of fermented and rotted goods, which is why they’re especially into garbage. Keeping your cans sealed and away from points of entry should help, Meek says. “Not only are feces a perfect breeding place for flies, they may land there before landing on your food,” Troyano says. Certain plants, like basil, lavender, and mint, may actually help repel flies and other pests, Troyano says. Again, they just don’t like the smell. The problem is likely originating outside of your house, but a few indoor hang-ups can make it worse. Here, a breakdown of how they take over. Technically, flies can breed inside your home, but the odds are pretty high that they’re coming from the outside, says Pereira. Most commonly, flies will make their way in through torn window screens and open doors, and they love to linger around mulch piles (which they breed in) or garbage cans stored near points of entry. If you have pets who leave their business in the yard or happen to live near a cow pasture, animal poop can also be an issue, says Troyano. “Flies outside breed on decaying organic waste, such as feces or rotting meat,” she says. “If there is a place for these insects to breed, they will continue coming back. The reproduction rate of flies is also extremely high and an adult female can lay hundreds of eggs that develop into adults in as little as seven days.” Generally speaking, some of the tactics you might use to banish flies are the same ones you could use to keep them away—especially using natural repellants like plants and eucalyptus oil. In general, though, the best thing you can do to keep the bugs away is to keep your home and its surroundings as clean as possible. You can also make sure there are minimal points of entry by repairing window screens and sealing any cracks around doors or windows. Unless you have a fly infestation in your house (which is pretty rare), Pereira says it’s important to do fly control on the outside of your home and then do your best to block their entry. But if you feel like you are constantly seeing flies, they’re extremely bothersome, and home remedies aren’t working, it may be time to call in a professional exterminator. “Your local pest management professional is trained to help manage flies and similar pests,” Meek says. “Since every home is different, your provider will design a unique program for your situation.” There are plenty of accessible, DIY methods to getting rid of flies indoors and outdoors. Experts recommend trying them before reaching out to a professional exterminator to handle a serious infestation, a problem that isn’t very common.