There’s a pest control trick that some Americans have long been using to repel flies, and it involves a handful of pennies, water, plastic bags and sometimes string.
Residents of the southern U.S. have passed down the tip and say filling sealable plastic food bags with water and pennies keeps flies away when hung or placed near a window, door or seating area, according to various blogs and magazines.
Does it actually work?
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Testers of the trick certainly seem to think so, but some experts aren’t convinced.
There’s a rumored fly repellant trick that supposedly involves a sealable plastic food bag, a handful of pennies and water. (Cortney Moore / Fox News Digital)
“There is no credible scientific evidence to suggest that this type of methodology works for ridding one’s house from flies,” Scot Hodges, vice president of professional development and technical services at Arrow Exterminators in Georgia, told Fox News Digital.
“I have visited properties that have had the penny-filled bags and flies, so my observation is that this is not something that can be relied on,” said Hodges, who is based in Atlanta and has earned an Associate Certified Entomologist certification from the Entomological Society of America (ESA) – a national organization made up of insect experts.
Some people reportedly believe that pennies in water will help get rid of flies. The theory is that the trick could potentially work by messing with a fly’s vision, according to the Tennessee Farm Bureau. (iStock)
Entomology is a branch of zoology that focuses on the study of insects and insect behavior. Studiers of entomology – entomologists – are scientists who examine insect growth, conduct, nutrition and habitat interaction, according to the ESA.
“The root cause and solution to all fly problems is sanitation,” Hodges explained. “Most flies feed on dead or decaying organic matter, which is what typically causes the flies to…