You may have noticed flies buzzing around your favorite dog and home on summer days. Even though flies are small creatures, they can do a lot of damage to your dog’s peace of mind and health. So it makes it important to keep flies away from your dog.

If your home has a fly infestation, your dog may be suffering more than you know. Not only can flies irritate dogs, but fly bites can also irritate the skin and induce infections. Getting flies off your dog and controlling further bites can be as easy as changing your cleaning habits and using regular cleaners.

Luckily, there are some easy ways to protect your dog from annoying flies and their painful bites. Most notably, keeping your dog, yard, and home cleaners will do a lot of the work, but you may require a couple of extra steps to get freed of more serious fly invaders.

6 Ways To Keep Flies Off Dogs

1.    Keep Your Dog Clean

The easiest way to prevent flies from biting your dog is to keep your dog clean. Frequent cleanings can go a long way. Flies gravitate toward dirt and bad odors. Ensure to use dog-approved shampoo every time you wash their coat. Brush your dog’s coat in between washings to stop mats and buildup. It will prevent dirt, mud, or skin buildup, all familiar food sources for flies.

2.    Keep Your Home Clean

Beyond keeping your yard and dog clean, keep your house clean, too. Though it’s impossible to control flies from being drawn to your yard, you can prevent them from coming into your house by keeping it clean.

Most importantly, take the trash out regularly and don’t let food sit out. It contains little pieces of food in your sink. Similarly, wash dishes immediately as the smell can attract flies inside your home.

3.    Clean Your Dog’s Waste

Another easy and effective way to control flies from coming near your dog is to ensure all of your dog’s waste is cleaned up on your property. Flies and other creatures are attracted to waste for a food source and laying eggs. It can lead to a full-out infestation.

Clean up the trash daily to prevent flies from being attracted to your house in the first place. It will keep the flies away, helping to prevent them from biting your dog. Train your dog to toilet in a specific yard area to make cleanup easier. Set up a daily toileting routine for your dog and award them for easing themselves in the specified area.

4.    Sprinkle baking soda on your dog’s bedding & Place Petroleum Jelly on Target Spots

If your dog’s bedding smells unpleasant after washing it, baking soda may eliminate the scent. Sprinkle a little baking soda on the bedding, leave it for about 15 minutes, and then vacuum it up.

Even if you are stubborn in keeping your dog, yard, and home clean, flies may still be drawn to your dog, mainly if you live in a moist or swampy environment. To further save your dog from insect bites, place petroleum jelly around the spots that fly attracts the most.

Flies mostly like to bite at your dog’s ears and other thin skin. So place petroleum jelly near these areas to act as a barrier. Flies cannot chew through petroleum jelly, which is why it prevents them from pecking at your dog.

5.    Make an At-Home Fly Repellent

You must effectively cover your entire dog in petroleum jelly if you have so many flies. Create an at-home fly repellent instead. You can use many natural at-home repellent formulae that are safe for your dog but fight flies.

One of the most useful fly repellents includes equal parts of apple cider vinegar and water. First, put an equal amount of the ingredients into a spray bottle. Then, spray the solution over your dog to prevent flies from attacking. Repeat as often as required.

6.    Use Fly Catchers in Your House

You can use flycatchers in your house to kill flies. It’s best to place the catchers near areas where flies are attracted to food sources. For instance, place them around a junk can, sink, or other areas they are prone to visit. You may also want to put them beside doors and other entrances into your house.

When to Call a Professional

In the summer, flies may be an ordinary and unavoidable occurrence. In most cases, you should be capable of combating the flies yourself. However, you may require to call a professional after flies have plagued your yard and home. Calling a professional will ensure the flies are removed, helping keep you and your pup safe.

You should call a professional whenever you cannot get rid of the flies. It is true if you cannot find the breeding ground for the flies. Most frequently, it will be around your dog’s waste. If that doesn’t seem to be the location, call a professional to find it for you and eliminate the problem.

Flies are a problem that can’t be ignored. Not only are they irritating, but their bites can be hurting and lead to infection for your dog. Therefore, keeping your dog, yard, and home clean is essential to remove flies. Doing these three simple things will essentially eradicate the issue. So check out these ways to get rid of files and make your dog happy.