How To Make A Homemade Mexican Bug Repellent

I first noticed plastic bags full of water hanging from the ceiling in a restaurant in Nuevo Laredo Mexico when I was a child.

I have since seen them in almost every Mexican resort city that I have ever travelled to, from Acapulco to Cabo San Lucas.

At first I guessed that they were connected to some kind of superstition or religious belief, but when my Spanish became good enough to converse with the locals, I asked a shop owner what the purpose of these water filled bags was.

He told me they were, in his words, a "Mexican fly scaring device" and that they are placed in restaurants and homes to scare flies and mosquitoes away.

Supposedly the fly can see his own reflection in the water, and perceives that a very large rival or predator has come into his territory and therefore leaves.

That's the story that a man named Miguel gave me in the cafe that he owns on the island of Cozumel. He has several of these homemade bug repellent devices hanging around the restaurant, bar and lobby of his establishment and swears by their effectiveness.

I have since been to Vietnam, Costa Rica and Panama and have seen them hanging in restaurants and bars there as well..

Whether these strange things really work and keep flies and mosquitoes away, or are just an inside joke to make us American tourists ask silly questions, is up for debate. You won't loose much money however making one yourself, and you can have a unique conversation piece for your next backyard cookout.

How To Make A Homemade Mexican Fly Repelling Water Bag

Take a good sized clear plastic bag and fill it 3/4 full with tap water, then tie the end off very tightly with nylon string and hang it from your patio arbor or ceiling.

I have several around my place in Texas and these free bug repellent devices do seem to be effective in keeping flies away.