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How to Keep Flies Out of Your Trash Bins: The Best Product
March 28, 2025

How to Keep Flies Out of Your Trash Bins: The Best Product

Garbage bin, trash can, rubbish bin, compost bin… whatever you call them in your area, flies love ‘em. Is there a way to keep flies and other bugs out of your outdoor bins? 

We polled our audience for product recommendations, and the overwhelming favorite was Original Pine-Sol®. (USA) (Canada). Sarah tried it out, and it worked really well!

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Here’s how we used the Pine-Sol®:

  1. Empty and rinse out your bins. Use a hose or a pressure washer (USA) (Canada), but watch for splash-back! Ew. 🤢
  2. (Optional) If you have dried gunk on the bottom that the hose won’t touch, pour in some Mr.Clean® Summer Citrus (USA) (Canada) for 30 minutes to soften it, then rinse well again. 
  3. Allow the bin to dry out. Tip it upside down or on its side to let gravity do the work.
  4. Grab your Pine-Sol® Original and pour it into a spray bottle, then spray the inside of your bin covering every surface, even the underside of the lid. Allow it to dry. 

That’s it! 

There’s a few other steps you can take to prevent flies and other insects from making your trash can their home. Flies lay their eggs in liquid and love the smell of decomposing trash, so we’re trying to eliminate those 2 things.

  • No loose trash in the bin. Always use and seal your garbage bags.
  • Pour about a cup of salt in the bottom of your bin (although we don’t recommend doing this and the Pine-Sol®. One or the other).
  • Rinse out your bin whenever you notice leaky garbage. 
  • Allow your bin to dry out whenever possible. 
  • Leave your bins in a shady (not sunny) spot.

With a little bit of TLC, your trash cans will be pest-free and smelling as fresh as a… pine forest. 

For more outdoor tips, see here. 

Becky @GoCleanCo

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