How to get rids of flies and ants after you put cooked meals on the table?

Question

From my understanding, I tried using vinegar and draw a loop around my meals to prevent attracting the ants. As to prevent the flies, I use another plate to cover my meals. This can be a hard time for cleaning because of the need to clean the plates (that is used to cover the meals) and also the table with the vinegar.

Are there better ways?

Answer

Another option for covering plates to keep flies away is a mesh net: here's one example I found by using Google to search for flycover food. This won't come into contact with the food, unlike the plate you currently use or the newspaper @AnishaKaul suggests.

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