Why a bar of soap & a pair of tights are all you need to keep pesky flies out of your home AND away from your BBQ treats

The Irish Sun

01-05-2025

THE sun's out, and a weekend of barbecues is being planned by thousands.
But one thing that can end up ruining warm days is the pesky flies that come with the lovely weather.
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There's nothing more annoying than flies sneaking into your house in the summer
Credit: Getty - Contributor
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But this aloe-based soap could be the answer to keeping them away
Credit: Supplied
While there's an array of gadgets on the market to get rid of the insects, they often contain a whole load of chemicals.
However, there's another hack that promises to keep the pests away from your home - and your BBQ - and it's completely natural.
People on Facebook have been sharing the clever trick, which uses just a bar of soap and an old pair of tights.
It does have to be a particular soap though - namely Irish Spring, which you can get for around £3.49 a bar online.
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The strong and "invigorating" scent is believed to be an effective fly repellent, and works well used on patios, by doors or around windows.
All you need to do is shred the soap, which you can do with a cheese grater, and put it inside a mesh bag.
If you don't have a mesh bag - this is where you can make use of your old tights.
People took to Reddit to reflect on the effectiveness of the hack, with one asking: "Does this really work?"
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"Not sure if it's all in my mind but usually we have a horrible fly problem in the garage area or near outdoor kitchen," one wrote.
"But my wife shaved some in a plate and placed it in those areas and they've pretty much stayed gone… till the smell ran out."
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"Do you have an idea of how long the smell lasted?" another asked.
And when the person said the soap scent lasted for around two to three weeks, the posted replied: "This could be a good frugal solution!"
"I guess I'll try applying it every two weeks and see how it goes."
Why do flies come out in summer?
Flies are present all year round, but all of a sudden when summer comes, they are just EVERYWHERE!
The main contributing factors are the breeding cycle of flies and the soaring temperatures.
Insects are cold blooded and in summer, when their body temperature rises from the external heat, they become more active.
The hotter weather also let's them seek out cool moist spots, like inside your home, to escape from the sweltering heat and to lay their eggs.
House Fly eggs take around 20 hours to hatch, but when the temperature rises above 37 degrees, can hatch within 8 hours!
In extreme hot weather the eggs can mature from larvae to adult fly in as little as four days.
The average lifespan of a housefly is 21 days, so each female can lay up to 900 eggs during the summer months!
"Basically no flies this year where in the past, despite fly trap and ribbon and tape everywhere, it was still a big issue," a third added.
"I am 1000% sold. It really is a miracle...
"And we did not shave the bars, we just hang the whole bar in sachets."
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The hack can stop flies getting anywhere near your BBQ treats too
Credit: Alamy