24 Smells that Attract Flies Like Magnets

Flies are an unpleasant part of life. They can quickly make your home feel dirty and gross, or ruin a fun outdoor adventure. There are many articles out there that talk about how to keep away flies. However, knowing what attracts flies is also important if you want to keep as many away as possible. After all, you can’t truly get rid of flies without figuring out what’s attracting them.

This list below covers 24 of the smells that flies like most. Most of them you may know, like trash and rotting food. However, there are probably several on there that you might not realize are attracting these annoying pests into their home.

Keep reading to learn what smells attract flies, and which ones you might want to keep far away from your home to keep flies as far away as possible from your home, yard, and relaxing adventure outside.

1. Carcasses

Hopefully, you don’t have any rotting bodies near your home, but if you are getting a lot of flies all of a sudden, it may be a good idea to go and check to see if a poor animal has died on your property

2. Grease

Fryers and old grease should be carefully cleaned up and removed from your property to keep away bugs, flies especially.

3. Flowers

Usually, you associate flies with nasty smells, but any sort of strong odor can attract these pesky insects. After all, flies are pollinators.

4. Fecal Matter

If you have pets, you likely have piles of poop in and around your home, or even in bags in your trash.

5. Manure

Since manure is just a special kind of fecal matter, it makes sense that this is also on the list.

6. Decaying Plants

it’s not only dead animals that attract flies, but decaying plants too

7. Rotting Food

Flies like trash, so if you have an area in or around your home where the trash is a little more fragrant, then you’re going to attract these pesky bugs.

8. Leaves

Piles of leaves can be a breeding ground for flies, especially if you live in a more humid environment.

9. Fruit Trees

If you don’t manage to harvest all of your fruit on time, rotting fruit on the ground will attract flies.

10. Food

When you’re leaving food out to cool or even making a tasty recipe, you’re likely to see more flies buzzing around

11. Candles

The smell of these kinds of candles can attract flies who think food is nearby.

12. Fermented Foods

The strong yeasty smell that these ferments produce will bring all the flies to your kitchen.

13. Standing Water

This smell attracts flies who lay their eggs in standing water full of bacteria and algae.

14. Perfume

Like candles, perfume sometimes has a strong floral or fruity odor that can attract flies.

15. Deodorants

Go for more mild or less fruity and floral smells with your deodorants if you want to keep flies away.

16. Body Odor

Body odor has a sharp, pungent smell that’s attractive to flies, so make sure you bathe regularly and put on deodorant.

17. Animal Food

Dog food, cat food, and livestock feed are all attractive to flies, especially the wet stuff that has a strong smell.

18. Sugary Foods and Drinks

If you make a mess, such as spilling a soda or dropping cookie crumbs on the floor, you’re going to see a lot more flies in the area.

19. Scummy Water

The scummy water that sits around your drain and in the p-trap attracts all sorts of flies and gnats.

20. Vinegar

This is because it’s the main product in fermentation, especially in fruit.

21. Grills

The cooking meat, charred bits, and fat drippings are a deadly and irresistible combination for flies.

22. Overwatered Soil

Some flies and gnats, like fungus gnats, will often be found around plants that are overatered.

23. Sewage

Obviously, animal poop attracts flies, but sewage smells from toilets, septic tanks, and open sewer valves are also hotspots for lies.

24. Yeast

It was already mentioned that yeasty fermentation attracts flies, but there are other yeasts too, such as bacterial yeast on your body, and some tree saps.

Why This Matters

Most people don’t want to attract flies, so why does knowing what does matter? Well, once you’re aware of what’s causing so many flies in your home, you can work on elimitiating those problems.