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Whether you’re hosting a barbecue or simply lounging outdoors, flies can be an unwelcome nuisance that ruins the enjoyment of your garden spaces. Although many homemade pest-control tips rely on vinegar, there’s another everyday food that’s said to help keep the insects away instead. It turns out that simply using coffee grounds and bicarbonate of soda can prevent flies and mosquitoes from invading your gardens.

Many pests rely on their scent to survive. Co-Owner of EcoCare Pest Management Mosh Latifi, spoke to Ideal Homes and shared: “Coffee grounds produce a powerful, bitter aroma that insects find deeply unpleasant and that masks the smells that attract them in the first place, such as food, sweet drinks and carbon dioxide from humans.

“Bicarbonate of soda used as part of a mixture can produce carbon dioxide when combined with an acid, which confuses mosquitoes whose tracking systems are tuned to follow CO2 towards a host. Used together, they create a reasonably effective scent barrier around a patio.”

How to use it

For the best results, sprinkle bicarbonate of soda in and around rubbish bins or in areas where food odours tend to linger. Then place completely dry coffee grounds in a heatproof container and light them so they smoulder rather than burn.

Place the container near seating areas, keeping it away from anything flammable. The bicarbonate of soda absorbs odours while the coffee grounds continue to smoulder, but once the smoke begins to disappear or new smells develop, flies and mosquitoes are likely to return.

This method also works best if your garden is cleaned, including emptying bins, cleaning up spills, and removing fallen fruit. Mosh added: “It is a reasonable first line of defence for casual outdoor use and has the advantage of being cheap, natural and widely available.

“It will not replace a citronella candle or a pheromone trap for serious mosquito pressure, but as a supplementary measure around a patio table, it is worth doing.”

They continued: “The burning coffee grounds method in particular is something I genuinely recommend for evening use outdoors when mosquito activity peaks.”

Another way to prevent flies is to hang bags of water from porches. This is supposed to reflect light and throw off the flies’ sight. However, this would not have enough of an effect to make a difference on more than a few flies.

Alternatively, you can use fly traps. Insight Pests says you mix sugar and water to attract a few flies to the trap; however, they warn that once the flies become trapped and die, the dead flies will start to attract live flies.

They also suggested using blue lights as the best solution. A study by the University of Florida for the U.S. Department of Defence found that blue objects are more likely to attract flies.

If you’re using a blue-light insect trap, position it away from areas you want to keep pest-free.