Safe but proven fly control

I need suggestions for how to rid my back yard and deck of flies. They are driving me crazy. I have dogs in the area. The flies are drawn to uneaten dogfood in bowls. So I've started removing uneaten food from the area. I even dispose of the dogs' "droppings". I also store my trash bin out off the deck, at back corner of the house. This, too, probably draws the flies. But I have nowhere else to store this large bin. It must be out of view from the street in front of our house. The ground is just plain dirt, no plantings as of yet. Maybe some society garlic would ward them off?

In the area in the photo, I'm getting ready to put in an evergreen groundcover and some blueberry bushes and dwarf peach trees in large containers out there, to make it dog-friendly. Reason: My male dog's leg-hiking and hole-digging has killed off my first attempts at growing shrubs and flowers along the retaining wall!! But that's another problem for another post!

DG'ers: What else can I do about the flies? I am open for suggestions of what you have done that works, but will not harm beneficial insects, small critters, birds, or my dogs. I want to reclaim my back yard to enjoy!! Thanks for any suggestions you offer.

GinnyLu in Texas

I've never tried this so can't attest to its effectiveness, but you can put water in plastic bags, tie them off and hang them around your deck.

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=1849

I've never tried this, either, but you might try leaving the lid off of your trash can just a little crack, then putting those big yellow sticky fly strips on the inside somewhere. (inside top of lid, maybe, so it didn't get in the way of getting the garbage in and out?) I don't think beneficials are drawn to garbage, it would be out of the way of your dog, and hopefully you'd catch alot of the flies to cut down the population. Well, I'd try it if I were desperate- we solved a problem by putting those strips in our garage beside our trash can.

I bought two fly traps, one works, one doesn't. The first one I purchased based on reviews on Amazon smells like carrion and doesn't work one bit. Truly it was vile!

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-4032698-6240663?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fly+trap&x=0&y=0

The second one looks just like this but I picked it up at the hardware store and works well. It took about a week for it to start working but only smells if you get up close to it. It's refillable although I can't say that I'm looking forward to disposing of the contents and refrshing it. Ugh!

http://www.amazon.com/Rescue-Reuseable-Trap-Attractant-FTR-SF4/dp/B00004TBKG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1211942775&sr=8-2

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I'm gonna try several of them!

My husband's family in south texas and Mexico always did the waterbag thing. I don't know how well it did for them,but it just isn't a North Carolina solution.. We keep trying,but it has never worked. I hope you have better luck.
Lynda

Hello,
I have horses across the road from me, so flies are everywhere. I'd get up in the morning and start swatting flies. At Lowes and WalMart there's a $5 or $6 trap that's worked wonders for me. I believe it was mentioned above. You fill the bag w/ water and hang it several hundred feet from the house. It does smell, but attracts many many flies. The package is green, don't know the name. It eased alot of fly aggravation around my house.
toni