Skip to content
Grow In Backyard
Pest Control

How to Get Rid of Flies in a Backyard With Dogs

Dog waste is the breeding source, so daily pickup does most of the work. The safe traps, sprays and barriers to use where dogs have free access.

By Salma 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A black German shepherd sitting among flowering purple catmint
Photo: YamaBSM, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
On this page

In a yard with dogs, the fly problem is almost always the waste, and the fix is unglamorous: pick up every day, keep it dry, and site anything you hang well away from the dog.

Step 1: remove the breeding material

  • Pick up faeces daily, twice daily in hot weather
  • Bin it in a sealed container emptied weekly, not an open bucket
  • Wash food and water bowls daily — the slime film in a water bowl is a breeding site
  • Move bedding off bare ground onto a dry raised surface
  • Fix the mud patch by the gate or kennel; drainage removes habitat you cannot see
  • Clear fallen fruit and compost cooked scraps in a closed system only

Step 2: make the space inhospitable

measurenotes
Pedestal fan on the patioMost effective thing on this list for a seating area
Mesh food coversFor your meals; flies move between both
Shade and airflowFlies cluster in still, hot, sheltered corners
Kennel ventilationA stuffy kennel collects both flies and smell

Step 3: sprays and traps, used carefully

Permethrin and cats

Pyrethroid yard sprays are generally labelled as safe for dogs once dry, but permethrin is acutely toxic to cats and all pyrethroids are highly toxic to fish. Do not use them where cats roam or anywhere draining into a pond, and keep dogs off until fully dry — read the label’s re-entry time rather than guessing.

  • Essential-oil sprays are safe once dry and last 30 to 60 minutes. Avoid tea tree oil — it is toxic to dogs
  • Protein-bait bag traps work well, smell appalling, and must hang 20 to 30 feet downwind, out of the dog’s reach
  • Sticky ribbon only at head height or above, never where a dog or child can reach it
  • Skip chewable bait stations containing insecticide

The biting flies are a different problem

Stable flies and black flies feed on blood at the ear tips and belly:

  • Veterinary fly repellent ointment on the ear margins, made for dogs
  • Keep the dog in at dawn and dusk, their peak activity
  • Clear manure, wet straw and compost within a few hundred feet if you can
  • See a vet if the ear tips are open, crusted or bleeding — they get infected and attract more flies

Common questions

Why are there so many flies in a yard with dogs?

Because dog faeces is close to a perfect fly nursery. A housefly lays several hundred eggs and the cycle from egg to adult takes about a week in warm weather, so waste left for a few days produces hundreds of flies. Food bowls, water bowls with slime, and urine-soaked ground add to it. Daily pickup is not a tidiness measure here — it is the single most effective fly control available in a dog yard.

What fly spray is safe to use where dogs go?

Read for the active ingredient and the re-entry time rather than the marketing. Pyrethrin and pyrethroid yard sprays are usually labelled safe for dogs once dry, typically a few hours, but they are highly toxic to cats and to fish, so avoid them where cats roam or near a pond. Permethrin in particular must never be used around cats. For a lower-risk option, essential-oil based sprays work briefly and are safe once dry; avoid tea tree oil, which is toxic to dogs.

Are fly traps safe around dogs?

Bag-style protein-bait traps are safe in the sense that they are not toxic, but a dog that reaches one will roll in or eat the contents, which is unpleasant and can cause vomiting. Hang them well out of reach, 20 to 30 feet from where the dog rests, which is also where they should be for trapping anyway. Avoid sticky ribbon at dog height, and skip any bait station containing an insecticide a dog can chew open.

Why are flies biting my dog's ears?

Those are usually stable flies or black flies rather than houseflies, and they feed on blood at the ear tips and belly where the coat is thin. The bites crust and bleed and can become infected or attract more flies. Treat with a veterinary fly repellent ointment made for dogs, keep the dog indoors at dawn and dusk when stable flies are most active, clear manure and wet straw within range, and ask a vet about the sores if they are open.

Does keeping the yard dry help?

A great deal. Stable flies and many other species breed in wet organic matter — soggy straw bedding, a muddy run, standing water in a bowl or a dip in the lawn, and wet food residue. Improving drainage in the dog run, moving bedding to a dry surface, emptying and scrubbing bowls daily and fixing the mud patch by the gate all remove breeding habitat you cannot see.

Do any plants or home remedies keep flies off a dog yard?

Marginally. Basil, lavender, mint and rosemary deter flies when the leaves are crushed, so pots near a seating area are mildly useful; as untouched plants they do very little. The clear bag of water trick has no effect. A pedestal fan aimed across the patio works better than any remedy on the list — flies cannot hold position in moving air — and costs nothing to run for an evening.

Backyard Weekly

Know what to plant, week by week

Join the weekly email for seasonal jobs, fixes for what is going wrong, and gear worth buying.

Not ready to subscribe? The planting calendar is free and needs no email.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. Grow In Backyard will never sell your address.

Keep reading