The warm weather is starting to settle in ready for summer, and that's good news for most of us who love nothing more than soaking up the sun and opening our windows for some fresh air.
However, having your windows open also means allowing the outdoors to come inside your home, and this can be particularly annoying when it comes to insects such as flies.
Thankfully though, it turns out there is an easy way you can stop flies from buzzing around the food in your kitchen or flying in front of your face while you're trying to watch TV - and you don't need expensive chemicals to get rid of them either.
One hack which can deter flies from your home quickly is keeping a basic mint plant on your windowsill, as it's one of the smells flies hate, and can be purchased from Asda for as little as 90p.
Alternatively, you could use peppermint oil to deter them, although that will cost slightly more.
According to pest expert Jordan Foster from Fantastic Pest Control, all you need to keep flies at bay is some cotton balls, which can cost as little as £1.50 at Wilko, and a scent that the insects really don't like.
Flies aren't keen on many essential oils including peppermint and lavender, while citronella is also a scent that's known to repel them, and you can even use the trusty natural cleaning product of white vinegar if you don't have any oils to hand.
Peppermint oil costs £5.99 at Holland and Barrett, while lavender oil costs £6.50 from the same place.
Speaking to The Express, Jordan said: "The strong scent of essential oils such as peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, and citronella repels flies. Using these oils in diffusers, sprays, or soaking cotton balls and placing them in areas where flies are a nuisance will help eliminate them.
"Using vinegar as a repellent for flies can be effective. Spraying a mixture of water and white vinegar around the house or using it to clean surfaces will discourage flies from lingering.
"Some herbs and spices, including basil, mint, rosemary, and cloves, repel flies with their strong aromas."
Peppermint oil and lavender oil can be bought for as little as £2.25 on Amazon, while eucalyptus oil is a little more expensive at £2.78 on Amazon, although there is a variety on eBay priced at £1.79.
Citronella is a known bug-repellant and can be bought in sprays, scented candles, or as an oil, and ranges from £1.45 for a 10ml bottle of oil from the Online Pound Shop, to £11.79 for a large spray bottle from Amazon.
And if you want a more permanent solution that can also bring colour to your garden, Jordan also said you can plant lavender in your garden instead of using oils, as the plant itself will also deter flies.
You can also plant marigolds as well as a variety of strongly-scented herbs that you can either keep as plants or harvest for use in cooking.
Jordan added: "Certain plants can deter flies with their natural fragrances. Flies are repelled by the sweet scent of lavender. By planting lavender bushes or placing dried lavender sachets near windows and doors, flies can be discouraged from entering.
"Flies tend to avoid mint because of its strong scent, particularly spearmint and peppermint. Marigolds have a characteristic smell that makes flies avoid them. Marigolds can be planted in garden beds and used in pots near entrances to deter flies.
"A rosemary plant's aromatic scent can repel flies. In pots or as part of your landscaping, rosemary plants can serve as natural insect deterrents."
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