How do I get rid of those hovering flies on my patio?

try spearmint plants or maybe spraying fly spray on the door itself

www.wikihow.com/Make-Natural-Outdoor-Fly-Repellant-with-Essential-oils

Spray the area with permethrin, the residual should control for a fairly long time.

For a DIY fly spray that smells great too....Mix 2 cups raw apple cider vinegar with 10 drops of rosemary essential oil and 10 drops of peppermint essential oil. Mix well and keep in a spray bottle. Store the fly spray in the refrigerator when you are not using it.

Thanks everyone,I'll try these ideas.

Kathi, I don't have any advice to offer, but I sure learned a lot from your question! We have been inundated with dang flies on our screened in porch for three years. Same thing as you, no pets, no reason at all to have them. I'm going to try spraying all the screens and door with the permethrin that Harold suggested! Thank you for asking the question. Please let us know which works for you, I'll be curious!

Farmers remedy, 1 or 2 quate size clear plastic bag, fill bag 1/3 full of water, put 5 very shinny new pennies in bottom of bag. Hang or tape near where the flies are! Can use more then 1 bag.

This really works!

Ceiling fan with a strip of fly paper hanging from it or a bug zapper.

Plant pots of basil and set them around your patio. Flies do not like the sent of that plant! You get a bonus of having a wonderful herb to use in the kitchen. When I have company and we want to set out on the patio on a hot summer evening, I cut basil and set it out in vases. We do not eat outside much like we once did but that is when I found out the flies do not stay around when you have cut basil on the tables. There are many varieties of basil, some grow larger than others, some have different flavors/scents but all are good to use for cooking and keeping away flies.

Mae,thank you so much for that tip,I'll certainly give it a try.

Meme,I already tried the bags of water with pennies and foil,it hasn't done anything at all,except make guests ask questions.

Sharon,I have bug zappers on my home depot list of things to buy.Thanks.

So the reason they are there is because it means you have a healthy garden and outdoor space :) but yes we have the same problem every year and they hate wind so we keep a fan out. Otherwise yeah we gotta try those other ideas

Karly Bradbury: I LOVE YOU!!! I've been going crazy trying to figure out what is the species of fly that hovers near our doors, and you NAILED IT!!! I'm so relieved to better understand this annoying, little male Fania flies. THANK YOU!

Don't spray them. They are harmless to humans but they feed on aphids and are great pest controllers. When the hover face high they are just saying hello.

Hover flies that are very good for your garden. They eat aphids.

We have had them for all the years I have been in CA and I call them Shade Flies. I think they bothered me for a couple years and now they’re just there. They never actually bother anything and once I realized they just wanted shade I was fine with them. We are cool now.

I recently put in a room AC and they moved inside during the heat of the day and not I am sure how I feel about that but they’re gone at dusk.

I am now out on the patio sewing masks and they’re just hovering around just as they have for the 20 years I have lived here. They move out of my way and respect my cup of coffee and now I think I like them. I took a break and decided to look them up to find out more about them.

The easiest way to eliminate hoverflies indoors is by treating them like regular flies. Use pest control methods like flypaper, flytraps, and natural methods to catch the pests and stop them from zooming around your head.

Hoverflies are beneficial and totally harmless. However, their striking resemblance with their harmful cousins, wasps, puts them at a disadvantage as most people can hardly differentiate between them. As such people need to know how to get rid of hoverflies to position themselves on the safe side.

Read More: https://hometoolsavvy.com/how-to-get-rid-of-hoverflies/

Once all your gimmicks fail like they did with me, I found the real solution. You need to apply sealant on all stone, brick, and concrete. Flys love to suck the moisture from them in cool places. Especially when it is hot. This will eliminate 75% of the flies. I got rid of the rest by installing a ceiling fan. The air turbulence confuses the fly's defense system and makes them uncomfortable to be in the area. I also noticed that wasps, and yellow jackets qiut building nests also.

Water bags with pennies not foil!!!!! 🍒

Here's a post that might help https://chascrazycreations.com/irish-spring-soap-and-flies/

Rescue makes a hanging fly trap that is zero mess (almost). You can get these are Home Depot and many other places. Since they hang easy to put them in the area where you see the most flies.

Here's a link to hanging fly traps, with the pros and cons of each:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/g40837700/best-fly-traps/

Use a fly spray or maybe fill a vase with Lavender and Rosemary and other strong smelling herbs etc.

Hi kathi, hope this helps you out

Basil – Flies hate the smell of basil. Place a few basil plants on your patio and watch them disappear. Plus, the basil doubles as a great on hand garnish,

Cloves – Flies detest the smell of cloves. Hang a mesh bag full of dried cloves outside your patio doors and watch them vanish!

Mint, lavender and marigold – plant these in your garden and have pots on your patio to deter them from entering your property before they even make it to the front door!

Cinnamon – use cinnamon as an air freshener, as flies hate the smell! Boil pot of cinnamon stick and retain the water, put in a spray bottle and spray around the patio doors

Lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint and lemongrass essential oils – Not only will spraying these oils around the house & patio create a beautiful aroma, but they will also deter those pesky flies too.

Apple cider vinegar – Flies love the smell of apples and vinegar. Create a homemade trap by mixing some apple cider vinegar with a natural liquid soap in a bowl. The flies will be attracted to the aroma, but will become trapped by the surface tension created by the soap in the liquid solution.