Flies will stay away from homes all summer if you do a 30-second evening task now in May

It might seem early to worry about flies in May, but spending just a few seconds each evening now can help keep them out of your home once summer arrives.

00:01, Tue, May 19, 2026

Picture of a kitchen sink

I discovered last year that sinks can actually attract flies to your kitchen (Image: Katherine McPhillips)

Summer is now only a month away, which means most people will be preparing for their holidays or planning some leisurely days out to enjoy the warm weather. However, right now is actually the perfect time to make sure flies do not bother you at all, and last year I discovered a simple way to keep them out of your house for good.

In July 2025, I started to have a really bad fly problem in my kitchen, and nothing I did seemed to get rid of the annoying pests. I thoroughly cleaned my bin, I did not have any fruit sitting on my countertop, and I even set out vinegar fly traps, which helped a little but the pesky insects kept appearing. I was getting really frustrated as I was having to keep my windows shut despite how hot it was, but I did not realise that it was my sink drain that was encouraging them to come into my home.

Picture of a sink drain

Drains tend to be covered in food scraps and grease which can encourage flies l (Image: Katherine McPhillips)

Why check your sink drain in summer?

Flies are attracted to food waste, which is why you are often advised to clean out your bin if they become a problem, but sink drains are also exposed to food scraps daily.

A lot of people do not realise that a lot of food goes down the drain when you wash the dishes, and flies have very keen senses so can smell it rotting even outside your home.

If your sink has not been cleaned in a while, flies may be attracted to the drain because it is warm and damp, providing plenty of food for them to survive.

I thankfully caught my fly problem early, but if left unattended for too long, then flies can start laying eggs, so you end up with an infestation for the rest of the summer.

However, you do not have to spend ages cleaning out a drain or buy any products, as I managed to keep flies away by simply pouring boiling water down my drain.

Picture of me pouring hot water down the drain

Simply pouring hot water down the drain every evening helped keep flies away from my home (Image: Katherine McPhillips)

How to keep flies out of your home in summer

All I did was fill up my kettle, let it boil, and then slowly pour the hot water down my drain every evening before I went to bed.

I did this every day in July and August, and it just took 30 seconds of effort, but I did not have any problems with flies again and could keep my windows open all day long.

The boiling hot water removed any food buildup in the drain, so there were no smells to attract the flies, and it also killed any insects that might already have been in my kitchen.

I also set up lots of apple vinegar traps in my home, changed my bin bag daily and also kept herb plants near my windows as flies are known to despise the smell of them.

I hate using insect repellent sprays in my home as I have a dog and worry about how the chemicals can affect him, so it was a great relief to find an easy way to get rid of flies for the whole of summer.