Warmer weather is finally returning to the UK – and with it, the return of one of the most annoying aspects of spring and summer is coming back too: the onslaught of flies buzzing around our houses.
With some spring sunshine arriving, people have already started seeing flies flitting into their homes through open windows, and the problem is only going to get worse as summer approaches. But Mrs Hinch fans – ever resourceful – have reminded people of a top tip that need only cost you a penny, or a few pence at worst, that will cause flies to turn around and buzz off, without entering your house. A post which has racked up thousands of comments tells people that a simple plastic sandwich bag and some loose change, especially coppers like 1p and 2p coins, seems to help keep flies at bay.
The cleaning enthusiast’s fan shared that the see-through bag should be filled with water and some coins, and placed in front of the homeowner’s door as he assured it “stopped them from coming in”.
The Mrs Hinch Cleaning Fans group member added: “Not sure why it works but it does reduce them.”
Others said they hung 1p and 2p coins directly in front of windows.
But why don’t flies like a bag full of coins, anyway? Can they smell the copper? Are they put off by the smell of money soaking into water?
According to popular science, flies are put off for two reasons. They don’t like water, and they don’t like the colours given off by 1p and 2p coins, which is why coppers work best (not because of the metal in them itself).
The Farm Bureau explains it. They said: “So how does a plastic bag filled with water drive flies away you may ask? Some have said it magnifies the pennies resembling another insect’s eyes, scaring the fly away, while others say the clear liquid looks like the surface of a body of water, which the flies perceive as a place they don’t want to land.
“The best explanation is simple light refraction going through the bag of water that confuses the housefly. If you will remember your biology from days in school, a housefly has large complex eyes made up of thousands of simple eyes that don’t move or focus.
“The fly bases his movement by light and the refracted light coming through the water in the plastic bag confuses the fly causing him to move on to a place that is easier on the eyes. And when you have a few thousand to deal with at one time, the easier, the better.
“At least this is the explanation that some entomologists are giving to this new insect remover now spreading across the internet and making its way to backyard gatherings. However, others are calling it old wives’ tales and modern superstition. But, if it works, don’t knock it.”