How to Use Cinnamon to Keep Flies Away

Fly infestations in and around your house can be a nuisance, especially when you know they are often attracted to animal waste, trash, and decomposing organic matter.

If you don’t want to use commercial products that include harsh chemicals, you can use cinnamon oil as a natural fly repellent. But how can you use cinnamon to keep the pesky flies away?

Let’s take a look at the different ways you can use cinnamon to keep flies out of your house.

Top 3 Ways To Use Cinnamon To Repel Flies

Cinnamon is a very effective natural repellant that can prevent flies from entering the area where the scent is present. Flies find the smell of cinnamon to be quite powerful and overwhelming. It makes them drift away and seek refuge in another place.

In addition to being repulsive to insects thanks to its scent, cinnamon contains eugenol, a chemical frequently found in other insect repellents.

If you have cinnamon lying in abundance in your storage, here are three ways to use cinnamon to repel flies from your house:

Create a Cinnamon Flypaper

Follow these easy steps to create a DIY cinnamon flypaper:

1. Cut a paper towel into 1.5-inch wide and 12 inches long stripes. You can also use cotton ribbons as an alternative.
2. Each strip should have one drop of cinnamon essential oil at the bottom.
3. Hang a few strips with cinnamon oil in front of windows or other potential fly entry points.
4. Use adhesive tape to attach the strips to the ceiling or the top of the window frame. If a fly approaches and smells the cinnamon, it will be reluctant to enter your house.

On-Skin Cinnamon Repellant

Combine cinnamon essential oil with body lotion or sunscreen before leaving your house. Use enough cinnamon oil to overpower the odor of the body lotion or sunscreen. Apply the solution to your body to repel flies.

Follow these steps to create a home-made on-skin cinnamon repellant lotion:

1. Add 16 ounces of olive or jojoba oil to 1 ounce of cinnamon essential oil in a jar.
2. Seal the jar and shake to combine the oils. Then, apply some drops of the oil mixture to your skin to ward off flies.
3. To make a repellant spray, add 1 ounce of cinnamon essential oil and 16 ounces of rubbing alcohol in a spray container.
4. Shake the container before you apply the oil or spray the repellant on your skin.
5. Do a little swatch test first to check if you are allergic to any mixture components.

If you don’t want to go through all this trouble, you can add water to cinnamon essential oil and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. It will serve as a short-term deterrent to keep flies away.

Cinnamon Powder

For a quick fix, you can diffuse the smell by sprinkling ground cinnamon on a low burner. The cinnamon will emit a powerful scent that will keep any bothersome flies at bay. Alternatively, you can spread some cinnamon powder near the entry points and windows.

Can Cinnamon Kill Flies?

Cinnamon is an excellent way to keep the flies away, but it is not a lasting solution as it does not kill them. When you burn cinnamon incense or use a cinnamon spray to repel flies, they find another place to wander until the smell fades away.

Additionally, putting cinnamon in every part of the house is not practical. So, if you have an authentic fly problem in your home, you should look for more permanent solutions like pest control to get them out.

Conclusion

Cinnamon’s pungent scent and eugenol components are an exceptional repellant for insects and bugs, including flies. But remember, cinnamon powder and spray are only deterrents. It will keep the flies away for a while, but you won’t permanently eliminate them.

While cinnamon can be a temporary antidote, it cannot replace the permanent measures of full-fledged pest control.