How to Keep Flies Out of a Turtle Tank

Turtles have a peculiar smell that can attract flies and other bugs. Fortunately, there is an assortment of tricks to get rid of the flies in your home, as well as preventing them from getting in to begin with. Use the flies' keen appetite for powerful smells to your advantage by luring them into various death traps. You also can use Mother Nature's creation: the Venus fly trap.

Keep your turtle tank clean. You want to clean it once every two weeks to keep the smell to a minimum. Flies are attracted to the smell, so it is important to limit odors.

Put a screen on the tank. This will likely collect flies on the screen and provide you with ample opportunity to set up a trap near the tank.

Put your tank into an area away from open windows and doors; this way the flies won't be attracted to the turtle's smell.

Shut all the doors and windows around your home. Screen up the doors and windows if it is too hot to keep them closed.

Clean out anything in your home that might attract the flies, such as food. Keep food stored in the fridge or cupboards.

Kill the flies that already have penetrated your home by swatting them with a rolled up newspaper or magazine. You also can use a fly swatter. Try spraying them with bug spray, though this can be harmful to humans and pets. Make sure pets and animals don't breathe in the fumes and be cautious yourself when spraying the bugs.

Hang sticky fly strips at the outside of doors and widows to prevent the flies from coming in the home. Put a Venus fly trap in various areas around your home. These plants will eat the bugs.

Pour enough water into a nearly empty jam jar to fill it one-quarter of the way full. Swoosh the water around and screw the lid on tightly. Poke a hole in the top of the lid with a screwdriver or other sharp object, making it big enough so a fly can enter it. The fly will become trapped and it will drown.