I just had this email sent to me and thought it quite interesting.
Subject: Get rid of flies w/zip lock bags
WE KNOW THAT THIS REALLY WORKS.......TRY IT.
We went with some out of town friends to Sweety Pies on Sunday for breakfast, and we sat in the enclosed patio section beside the house. We happened to notice a couple of zip lock baggies pinned to a post and a wall. The bags were half filled with water, each contained 4 pennies, and they were zipped shut. Naturally we were curious! Ms Sweety told us that these baggies kept the flies away! So naturally we were even more curious! We actually watched some flies come in the open window, stand around on the window sill, and then fly out again. And there were no flies in the eating area! This morning I checked this out on Google. Below are comments on this fly control idea. I'm now a believer! More comments not included here were about pet dogs and fly problems.
Zip-lock water bags Sue says:
Many people swear that a zip-lock bag filled half-way with water and attached over entry-ways will repel flies. No one yet knows how or why it works, but there is speculation that it has something to do with the way the moving water refracts light. If you have tried this please use the comments form at the bottom of the page to share your results with the rest of us.
Ann Says:
October 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I did tried the ziplock bag and pennies this weekend. I have a horse trailer with full LQ. The flys were very bad this weekend while I was camping. I put the baggie with pennies above the door of the LQ. NOT ONE FLY came in the trailer. The horse trailer part had many. Not sure why it works but it does!!!!!!!
Danielle Martin Says:
September 20th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Fill a ziplock bag with water and 5 or 6 pennies and hang it in the problem area. In my case it was a particular window in my home. It had a slight but significant passage way for insects.Every since I have done that, it has kept flies and wasps away. Some say, that wasps and flies mistake the bag for some sort of other insect nest and are threatened by this.
Maggie Says:
June 7th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I swear by the plastic bag of water trick I have them on side porch ( our house entry) and all around the basement door. We saw these in Northeast Mo at an Amish grocery store & have used them since. They say it works because a fly sees a reflection & won't come around.
Just DJ Says:
May 16th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Regarding the science behind zip log bags of water? My research found that each of the millions of molecules of water presents its own prism effect and given that flies have a lot of eyes, to them it's like a zillion disco balls reflecting light, colors and movement in a dizzying manner. When you figure that flies are basically prey for many other bugs, animals, birds, etc., they simply won't take the risk of being around that much perceived action. I moved to a rural area ant thought these "hillbillies" were just yanking my city boy chain but I tried it, worked immediately! We went from hundreds of flies to seeing the occasional one, but he don't hang around long.
-- Edited by Cinnamon on Wednesday 26th of August 2009 09:03:07 PM
Rolly said
11:53 PM Aug 26, 2009
Gotta try that one when the weather warms up.
Thanks, Cinnamon.
P.S. Welcome to the site from me too :)
Ma said
07:06 AM Aug 27, 2009
Hey Cinnamon, you know what's going to happen now don't you........Mortein is going to go bankrupt............LOL
ibbo said
07:36 AM Aug 27, 2009
Silly question.............where do I get pennies from?But thank you for the tip I will certainly give it a go.Cheers.Ibbo.
Ma said
08:05 AM Aug 27, 2009
would you like a lend of a couple of pennies Ibbo, got heaps
Cinnamon said
07:22 PM Aug 29, 2009
Sorry Ibbo, forgot about the pennies. Don't you have a few hanging around in the garage cupboards somewhere. I wonder if one or two cents would work, now don't tell me you dont have any of them either.
Cinnamon said
07:24 PM Aug 29, 2009
Probably Ma, but just think, no polution in the air.
ibbo said
09:24 PM Aug 29, 2009
I guess that I will have to use a few soverigns I have stacked away in a Tea chest.Ok,well maybe the soverign I got from a Xmas cracker made in China.Cheers.Ibbo.
Disco Duck said
06:41 PM Nov 5, 2009
Ibbo............"Where do I get pennies from??" You would still have the first pennies you ever earnt wouldn't you?? :)
Cruising Granny said
11:34 AM Nov 8, 2009
Is it the affect of the water and the pennies, or just the water.
Why "pennies"? would something else shiny do?
Have a bit of experimenting to do haven't we?
I don't even have any cents left. A little ambiguous perhaps?
stunshaz said
08:47 PM Sep 23, 2010
Very interestin read it makes sense as in what "Just DJ" says as in with water ya get that prizmatic effect also sayin they have lots of eyes (compound eyes) entomology is not really my subject but when ya think about it maybe it could be a case of observing the amount of fly's when the penny's are there or the water is there as i cant see what the attraction would be.
As fly's will home in on gases produced by decomposition gases like methane etc the same as a mozzy homes in on carbon dioxide when we exhale i guess it will take some workin out but very interestin thread all the same thanks Cinnamon these are the threads i enjoy readin also "techies corner"
Regards- Stu n Shaz
WE KNOW THAT THIS REALLY WORKS.......TRY IT.
We went with some out of town friends to Sweety Pies on Sunday for breakfast, and we sat in the enclosed patio section beside the house. We happened to notice a couple of zip lock baggies pinned to a post and a wall. The bags were half filled with water, each contained 4 pennies, and they were zipped shut. Naturally we were curious! Ms Sweety told us that these baggies kept the flies away! So naturally we were even more curious! We actually watched some flies come in the open window, stand around on the window sill, and then fly out again. And there were no flies in the eating area! This morning I checked this out on Google. Below are comments on this fly control idea. I'm now a believer! More comments not included here were about pet dogs and fly problems.
Zip-lock water bags
Sue says:
Many people swear that a zip-lock bag filled half-way with water and attached over entry-ways will repel flies. No one yet knows how or why it works, but there is speculation that it has something to do with the way the moving water refracts light. If you have tried this please use the comments form at the bottom of the page to share your results with the rest of us.
Ann Says:
October 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I did tried the ziplock bag and pennies this weekend. I have a horse trailer with full LQ. The flys were very bad this weekend while I was camping. I put the baggie with pennies above the door of the LQ. NOT ONE FLY came in the trailer. The horse trailer part had many. Not sure why it works but it does!!!!!!!
Danielle Martin Says:
September 20th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Fill a ziplock bag with water and 5 or 6 pennies and hang it in the problem area. In my case it was a particular window in my home. It had a slight but significant passage way for insects.Every since I have done that, it has kept flies and wasps away. Some say, that wasps and flies mistake the bag for some sort of other insect nest and are threatened by this.
Maggie Says:
June 7th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I swear by the plastic bag of water trick I have them on side porch ( our house entry) and all around the basement door. We saw these in Northeast Mo at an Amish grocery store & have used them since. They say it works because a fly sees a reflection & won't come around.
Just DJ Says:
May 16th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Regarding the science behind zip log bags of water? My research found that each of the millions of molecules of water presents its own prism effect and given that flies have a lot of eyes, to them it's like a zillion disco balls reflecting light, colors and movement in a dizzying manner. When you figure that flies are basically prey for many other bugs, animals, birds, etc., they simply won't take the risk of being around that much perceived action. I moved to a rural area ant thought these "hillbillies" were just yanking my city boy chain but I tried it, worked immediately! We went from hundreds of flies to seeing the occasional one, but he don't hang around long.
-- Edited by Cinnamon on Wednesday 26th of August 2009 09:03:07 PM