Flies are irritating but can also carry harmful bacteria that can make you sick. Repelling flies is easy, but we usually do not know the process. There are a lot of organic ways to deal with flies.
This article will discuss if eucalyptus oil is effective enough to repel flies and some related facts that may be helpful.
Eucalyptus to repel flies
Eucalyptus oil is an effective way to repel flies. The pungent smell of eucalyptus oil repels the flies. You can make a homemade eucalyptus oil diffuser or spray to deal with the flies. You can apply the oil to your body to keep the flies away when you are outdoors or camping.
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We use many products to repel mosquitoes, but we really do not care much about repelling flies. But flies can be pretty irritating in summer, and most of the time, we have zero preparation to deal with them.
There are commercial products, but they can be harmful to health and nature.
So, what are the natural ways to repel flies effectively? Essential oils are effective in removing household bugs and pests. Different essential oils may work well on different types of insects. So, how good is eucalyptus essential oil to keep the flies away?
Let’s explore the insides of the effectiveness of eucalyptus for repelling the flies.
Eucalyptus leaves have a pleasant sweet smell, but the scent of the leaves is not strong enough to keep the mosquitoes away. But the case is different for essential oil. The Eucalyptus essential oil is pretty strong in repelling flies.
How does eucalyptus oil work on the flies? In simple words, flies do not like the smell. But I guess that does not satisfy your curiosity. To understand this better, let’s clarify a few concepts first.
What is eucalyptus oil? It’s an oil that is extracted from the eucalyptus leaves. You need many eucalyptus leaves to make just one drop of essential oils. That’s why the smell of the essential oils is too strong.
But what is smell, and how does it affect the flies? A scent is nothing but thousands of tiny droplets of something that we can sense by our nose. When you get the smell of essential oil, you breathe a microscopic droplet of that essential oil.
Flies are arthropods and have less complex physiological mechanisms than other animals. (still pretty complicated) They breathe with tiny pores of their body. Air gets inside those holes, and they get oxygen from the air.
But they struggle when there are small smelling particles that also have a spicy nature.
The eucalyptus oil makes breathing difficult, and the pungent smell also causes blockage on their other sensors. That’s why the flies do not stay at the place where they get the scent of eucalyptus oil.
Other essential oils also work similarly to repel flies and bugs. Eucalyptus oils are also quite effective in repelling other pest insects.
Compared to other commercial fly or insect repellents, it is cheaper and works decently to keep the flies away, but the flies may appear when the smell goes away. To keep your household free from flies, you can spray the eucalyptus essential oil and water in different parts of your house.
But the flies irritate us more when we are having a picnic or doing similar outdoor activities. You can use the essential oil on your body. But you can not add them to your food. Sadly, food attracts the most flies.
Flies can cause diarrhea and other food-borne diseases if they sit on our food.
So how can you stop that? You can set a eucalyptus essential oil diffuser or apply eucalyptus oil around the area. We will discuss the step-by-step process of making a eucalyptus oil fly repeller in the later part of the article.
Let’s find out if those eucalyptus parts can effectively repel flies.
Eucalyptus oil:
Eucalyptus oil works efficiently to keep the flies away.
Eucalyptus leaves:
Eucalyptus leaves are not effective enough to repel flies or other pests.
Lemon eucalyptus:
Lemon eucalyptus oil is more effective than eucalyptus oil alone. It repels the flies and also confuses them.
Does eucalyptus repel black flies?
Eucalyptus oil does repel black flies. You can use eucalyptus oil in your body to keep the black flies away from you. But other parts of the eucalyptus are not strong enough to keep away the black flies.
Female black flies need blood to lay eggs, and they are also known to bite humans. Their bite causes swelling, itching, and pain. Also, their bites can cause diseases like onchocerciasis, so you should be careful of the black flies, and eucalyptus oil can protect you from them.
However, like mosquitoes, black flies sometimes become reckless with the blood. When that happens, black flies can sometimes ignore the smell and still bite you. For better protection from the black flies, you can easily use lemon eucalyptus oil for enhanced power.
How effective is eucalyputus against flies?
Eucalyptus is moderately effective against flies. They are not super effective as they do not work for a long time. But it does work to keep the flies away from the application place decently. The eucalyptus oil usually does not finish off the flies.
Flies only go away from the area.
But if the fly can not move away from the eucalyptus oil place, the fly can become confused and even pass away. The essential oil works best when there are not too many flies, but when there are a lot of flies, eucalyptus oil spray may not be able to remove all the flies completely.
However, if you add other essential oil with eucalyptus oil, the spray will be more effective on the flies.
How do I use eucalyptus oil to repel flies?
Flies can not bear the smell of eucalyptus essential oil. Knowing this can help you repel flies, but following those two methods can make the repelling more effective and easy to use.
Spray
Spraying eucalyptus oil in the corners and entrance part of your house can easily keep the flies away from your home. Follow the steps below to prepare the spray.
Add water:
Add ¾ of water to a spray bottle.
Add the essential oil:
Then add 20 drops of eucalyptus essential oil.
Mix the solution:
Mix the solution by shaking. Your eucalyptus essential oil spray is ready to use.
Eucalyptus fly repellant
Here is a way to repel flies without having to handle the hustle of spraying. Follow the steps below.
Wash the can:
Find an empty tin can with a lid and wash the can.
Add ingredients:
After drying, add a tablespoon of hazel or vodka, two tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 100 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to the can. You can also add other essential oil such as lavender or citronella oil to make that repellent powerful.
Stir the solution:
Stir the solution until the ingredients mix well together.
Add a cloth inside:
Now, add a cloth inside the can. Some parts of the cloth will be submerged in the solution, and some parts will stay out of the can.
Close the lid over the cloth tightly:
Now, close the lid over the cloth tightly. Place the can in the area where you want to repel the flies. You can make several cans to cover large areas. You can take a few with you if you are camping outdoors.
Make sure to add essential oil when the effectiveness of the repellent starts to fade.
What other smells do flies not like?
Eucalyptus is one of many essential oils that works against flies. Flies dislike the most pungent smell, and almost all the essential oil does a decent job of keeping the mosquitoes away. But there is undoubtedly some product that works better than others.
Here is a list of smells that flies do not like.
Cinnamon:
You may like the smell of cinnamon, but it’s the opposite for the flies. Using cinnamon oil will work effectively to keep the flies away.
Lavender:
Lavender essential oil is one of the most effective oils to repel flies. You can mix eucalyptus oil with lavender oil to enhance the repelling power.
Peppermint:
You can also use peppermint to keep the flies away. It also helps to repel other types of pests and bugs from our households.
Final Thoughts
Eucalyptus oil does excellent in keeping the flies away from your households. You can also use it on your skin to repel flies outdoors. But always remember to dilute the essential oil before using it on the skin. Ingesting eucalyptus can be fatal, so keep it in a safe place for pets and kids.