Nobody likes the annoyance of having house flies in our homes. There are endless alternatives of repellents available at stores. However, they are full of chemicals that you might not want in your home. Luckily, you can always find healthier alternatives that are just as effective as store-bought ones. The best ones would be essential oils and candles. Let’s see which essential oils are the best choices against flies.

Short answer from my personal experience I've used the following with great success: Lavender, Citronella, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus & Peppermint. The classic fly warder is the good old fashioned citronella essential oil but the above oils all work by masking the scent of the things flies are attracted to, so I'd pick one of the above depending on what you like the most!

These essential oils are great at getting rid of flies, you can either use them in a candle format like I sell here, reed diffusers, oil vaporisers or just dabbing oil around your house.

Most popular choices

Starting with the most popular choices, you do have more options when it comes to finding the perfect essential oils. This is great news for those who might be more sensitive to certain scents.

Essential oils to get rid of flies

Lavender

This essential oil is mostly known and used for its relaxing effect that makes it perfect for bubble baths and sleeping. What not that many people know however, is that it is also great for getting rid of flies. Actually, it is one of the most effective choice that is out there.

Eucalyptus

Apart from a long list of positive health effects, eucalyptus is also often used for keeping certain insects such as flies away. More specifically, the oil most effective for it is lemon eucalyptus. You can even find botanical compounds with it to repel pests.

Peppermint

Peppermint is a useful oil against insects. The reason behind it is the fact that this scent effects their olfactory system in a way that it makes it harder for them to find food sources. This is most likely due to the menthol included in peppermint oil.

Lemongrass

A popular choice when it comes to pest control solutions, lemongrass is a great option for getting rid of flies. Lemongrass can effectively disguise the human scents and thus makes it harder for them to sense us.

Citronella

Lastly, citronella is one of the most popular essential oils to use when it comes to fly repellent candles. The scent of lemon is proven to be really effective against insects. What is even more important is that just like lemongrass, this scent hides the scent of humans that would otherwise attract all those not wanted bugs.

How to use them effectively?

Knowing the options definitely makes it a lot easier for you to choose a scent that you’d actually enjoy in your home. After finding the perfect scent for you, the next question is how to use it effectively against flies. When it comes to using them, you still have a few choices, most commonly scented candles or diffusers.

Diffusers are great options because they provide a steady stream of the chosen scents. Scented candles on the other hand make a really nice atmosphere while being used as fly repellents. Also, if you wouldn’t like to smell the chosen scents all the time, with a scented candle you can easily control it. So, a scented candle could be a better option if you only use them for keeping flies away, but not really enjoying the smell itself.

All in all, whichever scent and form you are choosing, it will be a great alternative for the store-bought versions.