Keeping bins tidy and free of any off putting odours is a challenge many homeowners face, but it can be particularly tricky to keep on top of during the warmer months. It’s not just nasty smells that can be a problem though, and the heat can often lead to more unwanted pests finding their way into your home and bin.

While there’s plenty of tips for keeping fruit flies out of your kitchen and away from food, you might find that they’re still lingering by your bin. Even if you’re keeping on top of your rubbish and making sure to chuck it out regularly, the scent left behind from decomposing waste is often a welcome invite for flies, but there’s a low-fuss and affordable way of getting rid of them. In a video posted on Instagram, content creator Julia Hunt, who shares tips for keeping your home spick and span, revealed a simple trick you can do to keep flies and other pests away, including mice.

Opening her wheelie bin, she showed herself sprinkling some cinnamon powder in here and wrote in the caption: “Cinnamon naturally keeps flies, mice & even raccoons away. Just a sprinkle at the bottom — or a few drops of essential oil — does the trick.”

Cinnamon is an effective fly repellent as they hate the smell of it, and its strong scent also disrupts them from being able to locate food and rotting waste. This is thanks to the presence of eugenol in the spice, a chemical compound known for its spicy and clove-like scent.

While Julia adds it to her outdoor wheelie bin, you can also sprinkle cinnamon to your kitchen bin, especially if you often leave windows and doors open during the summer which can make it easy for flies to get inside.

One of Julia’s followers commented on the video and said: “Oh I have never heard this! Definitely need to try it out!”. Another follower asked if the trick works to stop bad odours during the heat, but Julia cautioned that this won’t substitute for cleaning your bins of nasty smells.

While it will work to keep flies away, which can be particularly unsightly in the home, you should still be sure to rinse your bins regularly in the summer.

Cinnamon is readily available in UK supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s where it’s on sale for 85p, or £1 in Tesco. Alternatively, you can use cinnamon oil if you already have this to hand or simply prefer it.