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This DIY fly repellent for porches is such a great idea for not only porches, but also outdoor tables or any space you might need to keep flies away.
The reason I love this is how simple and cheap it is to make.
But it really works to deter flies!
Now, come back next week because we are also going to share an awesome post about how to deter flies in general. We have so many tips in this post, but I wanted to dedicate a post just for this recipe first.
DIY Fly Repellent For Porches
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What You Will Learn In This Post about DIY Fly Repellent:
- How to make a diy home remedy fly repellent
- Why it works
- Using citronella to make it work better
- Reasons why it might not work 100% for your area
Ingredients:
- Irish Spring Soap Bars (Found Here)
- Citronella Essential Oil (Found Here)
- Mesh Bags (I like these)
Directions:
- Gather your soap bars, I have three for my porch area. You can use as many as you want to place around your area.
- Add drops of citronella oil to the soap bars. It will slowly soak in to the top, but it is also okay that it runs down the sides.
- Let the bars sit out for just a few minutes before placing them in the mesh bags or add them while the citronella is still wet. Either way is fine!
- Add one bar of soap to your mesh bag. If a full bar doesn’t fit, you can cut it in half.
- Set them around your porch or hang them up.
Does Irish Spring Soap Really Deter Flies?
Let’s talk a little bit about the science behind this. Irish spring soap has been a home remedy for gardeners and outdoor people for many decades.
I used Irish Spring soap to deter bugs from plants, and I was impressed how well it worked. I grated up the soap and placed it around one of my plants that was having lot of ants. I tested many different bug repelling methods for it, and the soap did the best! Soap in general is an insect deterrent and has been used for decades in this manner. You can read more about this in our Ivory Soap post from last year. This publication in the post was from 1916, so you know the idea of using soap as a bug deterrent has been around for a long time! Since Irish Soap has the more pungent odor, I wanted to use it for this recipe.
After I started trying different fly repelling methods for the porch, this method proved to be the best and easiest.
Many People Say The Irish Spring Soap Method Is a Myth..Is it?
Like we talked about above, using bar soap to deter insects is a home remedy I have read about in books published back in the early 1900s. Irish Spring wasn’t around then, but bar soap was used for many things like this. But more than that, I have seen a huge success doing this! So, I say no, it isn’t a myth. When we share our huge fly post next week, you can learn more about things and why home remedies might not work for you like they do other people 🙂
Does It Have To Be Irish Spring Soap?
I have used several types of soap before for deterring insects. I think this one works best due to the stronger smell! I have used Ivory soap like I mentioned above, and it can work too. I think for this method, you want to go with the stronger smelling method, so go with the Irish Spring Soap.
What is the secret to this DIY fly repellent for porches?
Simply the pungent and strong scent. By using this soap, it creates a simple method to permeate scent without needing to light a candle. This soap is so strong, it holds the scent for weeks. Up to a month usually.
Adding in the citronella
I like to add in the citronella because it seems to make this work even better. Citronella is one of the best natural fly repellent remedies you can use. I also love it for mosquitoes like in our mosquito repelling candles. The best part about this recipe is you can take the soap out and add in more citronella drops every few days to every week if you’d like which will keep this fly repelling recipe working even longer. Keep in mind, the citronella will slide off the soap a little. But it dries after a few minutes. I just add it into the mesh bag while it is still wet. This just makes it stronger in smell!
Homemade Fly Repellent Spray
If you want to take things a step further, you can use our awesome spray to actually spray flies that land on tables or chairs. I have found that this diy fly repellent does an amazing job of keeping flies from the vicinity, but if you need something extra to keep them off surfaces, you can use this spray.
This spray has to be used directly on them, but it will kill them if you can get them saturated. This is the tough part about flies compared to other insects. They are quicker and harder to spray.
What does it mean if this homemade fly repellent doesn’t work 100%?
I tested this out in several areas. I added these mesh bags to my front porch and back porch. It deterred flies 100%. We didn’t have a single fly come on the porch! However, here are some reasons you might not see complete success with this recipe.
First, if you have food around your porch or table for outdoor eating, the flies are super hard to deter. I recommend keeping the bags directly next to the food too. Also, you can check out our post next week on deterring flies. You might need to add in a another tip to keep them away!
Another thing to keep in mind, if you have livestock or animals nearby, this also makes flies HARD to repel. You can do more of these mesh bags to combat them or check our post next week to make sure you add in some other tips.
This homemade fly repellent method has been awesome for our porch, so you will enjoy too. Just keep the above information in mind!
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Definitely gonna try this. I have a little tip for you using Irish spring soap… last year my little pumpkin patch was under attack from Bambi and her whole squad ? and I looked online and found an article saying to put a bar of Irish spring soap in a mesh bag and nail it to a stake (I just used some scrap pieces of wood I had lying around) and boy did it work. You need to put one stake about every 20 feet or so and they need to be changed out when you can no longer smell them. But it saved my pumpkins from the gang of little critters but didn’t hurt them in the process. Hope this helps someone else. And thank you so much Alexis for all the hard work you do and the time and effort it takes to bring us science backed articles that we can trust and depend on. Btw you have got me absolutely hooked on lemon infused alcohol so no more complaining from the family about “the stinky vinegar” lol. Thanks again.
That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing! It’s amazing how the scent repels many types of insects and animals! That’s awesome, love the lemon alcohol too. My husband cannot stand vinegar so it’s a staple in my house to this day 🙂
Hi there! I’ve been following your tips for several years now starting with your vinegar recipe for weeds which I’ve shared with others. Now this new recipe repellent I will try but I have just one question: Where can I get those mesh bags? Never saw one. As I read your article I wondered if an old sock would work as well. I already have the other ingredients.
Thanks!
Hi! I have the mesh bags linked in the ingredient list, you can click “found here” beside the mesh bags. I buy them on Amazon! I have not had as much luck using other things like socks, I think the mesh allows more scent to permeate. You are welcome to try though!
Thank you! I found mesh bags at the Dollar Tree. They were in the section where bridal things are sold. Used to put things in at wedding tables, etc. I never heard of a mesh bag. Hey – I’m a guy! What do you expect? 🙂
Great! The dollar store always has everything you need 🙂
Just one more question – the citronell oil – can it be the same oil I use for the Tiki Torch? I went to Amazon and the oil is pricey and I think I can do better. Thanks!
Not usually, I only recommend just a regular essential oil. The oil I have linked in this post is $15 for 4 oz, and I have used the same bottle for about 3 years now for projects 🙂 It lasts a long time.
I follow you on facebook, but have never left a comment before. I use all your cleaning tips and have been for years. I just wanted to say that we finally made these after you shared the recipe. I didn’t have the mesh bags with the zipper, but I had some small ones leftover from a craft. I cut the soap in half to fit. I have a porch swing out front, so I set them around that and hung one up above the swing. It worked so well. I didn’t have any bugs around me.
Thanks so much for sharing! I am glad they worked for you. It makes such a difference!
I made these this weekend, and we are shocked how well it worked. I set three bags around my outdoor table. Not one fly the entire time! We usually have annoying flies when we sit out there to eat. My grandmother uses Irish Spring soap to deter bugs from her plants, and she swears by it
Yay! I am surprised how well it works too. I tested it for a long time before sharing because I thought for sure it wouldn’t work 100%, but it does for us!
Can this citronella and Irish Spring remedy work inside? If so, would it harm young children or pets like dogs, rabbits and/or cats?
It’s not harmful, but I don’t use it inside. Flies are harder to repel inside due to the small space, food in the kitchen, etc. I usually use a spray inside for them.
I was thinking that maybe hanging them by doorways and windows outside might keep them from entering the house
It can definitely help, but I have found doorways depending on air flow etc can impact how well it works!
Thank you for the recipe for this, will definitely try it out. To make spraying or swatting flies easier, wave your empty hand while you’re aiming. It confuses them and you have a better chance of getting them. Works at my house.
Thanks for the tip!!
I will be trying this, we live on a farm surrounded by other farms and at times our deck looks like a Stephen King movie with all the flies. We have to put jar lids over our cups and glasses to keep the flies from going for a swim in them and forget about eating out there. Hopefully this will at least reduce them thank you!
I would definitely check to this post on other fly repelling tips. My friend lives on a dairy and has horrible flies. She has to use several methods to keep them away, but it helps!
Akexis – well you’ve done it for me again! It’s been over a week since I used Irish Spring recipe with citronella oil and I’ve seen maybe 1 or 2 flies and they didn’t hang around long. I shredded the soap bars then added the oil. I place the bags on both ends of the garage near the trash containers where they like to gather and haven’t seen one fly there yet! I put 3 near the deck window and another by the mesh screen. No flies!
Awesome!!! So happy it has been working for you! We just love this for our porch, and it has made our summer more enjoyable without all the flies
Would this be effective for keeping mosquitoes away also? It would be nice to sit out on the deck.
It does help with mosquitoes, but since they are attracted to people more so than surfaces like flies, it doesn’t work 100%. Here is our post on mosquitoes.
Can you use any scent of Irish Spring, or does it have to be the original?
Original works best due to the scent…But I think even the other scents would work okay in this recipe. If you have them on hand, it is worth trying
Will definitely try this. I have a cute little turtle my grandma crocheted to hold a bar of “Casmere Bouquet” soap to scent my lingerie drawer. Might get my daughter the crochet queen to make a few more to put around the patio.
That’s a great idea!