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Curious aluminum foil trick to repel mosquitoes and flies! What the expert says

Swarm of mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can be kept away with a simple trick Photo: Getty Images

October 10, 2024, 10:35 am | Read time: 3 minutes

There are numerous tips and tricks on the internet that are supposed to make life easier. These include a method for getting rid of annoying mosquitoes and flies. myHOMEBOOK asked a professional what he thinks.

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Especially in the warm summer months – and after extensive rainfall – the mosquito and fly population can increase rapidly. Although the insects are not harmful, they are annoying, for example, when you are relaxing on the patio in the evening. Some plants can help ward off the pests with their fragrances. However, a trick involving aluminum foil and water can also repel insects. Specifically, this involves flies and mosquitoes. myHOMEBOOK reveals how the trick works and what an insect expert thinks of it.

How the aluminum foil trick against insects works

As some websites explain, you only need a few materials for the trick. Basically, all you need is aluminum foil, water, and a transparent plastic bag. Many households already have these utensils at home – although aluminum foil and plastic bags are not particularly sustainable. In any case, you take the aluminum foil, form three balls, and put them in the plastic bag. This is then filled with water, tied in a knot, and hung on an entrance gate for insects, for example, on the patio door.

How can you keep mosquitoes and flies away?

Optical effects and light reflections should now ensure that annoying insects don’t find their way inside and buzz off. The aluminum foil should refract the sun’s rays, and the water should reflect them. That’s why the bag has to be transparent. However, why there should really be three aluminum foil balls is not explained in detail. There have also been no comparative studies to prove the effectiveness of the trick.

However, users on social media report successful insect defense – both indoors and outdoors. They use the “defense system” in places where flies and mosquitoes often circle, including windows and doors.

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What the expert says

Can this really work? myHOMEBOOK asked an expert who is particularly familiar with insects. Cornelis Hemmer from the Foundation for People and the Environment in Berlin has no direct experience with this trick. “The good thing is that this method does not use insecticides, but the additional waste produced is not really good either,” says the head of the foundation.

Hemmer also has other concerns. For example, the question of how many aluminum foil and water freezer bags need to be hung at what height, how often, and for how long they need to be effective still needs to be clarified. And does the method work specifically against annoying insects such as mosquitoes and flies, but not against beneficial ones such as bees or bumblebees? “Perhaps mosquitoes can be deterred, but not flies,” says Hemmer.

And then there is another problem with the supposed trick. “In the end, I might not be able to get through the patio door myself because there are too many aluminum foil water freezer bags, and it becomes a water fight because I accidentally run into a hanging bag,” fears the expert. “I think the window nets make more sense,” he concludes.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of MYHOMEBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@petbook.de.

Topics Pests Summer
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