7 DIY Fly Trap Ideas for fruit flies
Do you have a fly infestation problem? Well, you are not alone. Flies have a way of finding their way into your farmers market haul even before you can get the chance to enjoy your produce properly. With a single fruit fly being an indication that an infestation is near, there are compelling and straightforward ways of getting rid of the flies using simple DIY fly traps ideas. These homemade traps are very simple to make as long as you have the right equipment.
First of all, what are the causes of fruit flies?
Before getting rid of the flies, you have to wonder how they came to be in the first place. According to professionals fruits, flies are mainly attracted to rotting, ripe or rotten produce and fermented goods such as wine, beer and liquor. A female fruit fly has the ability to lay around 500 eggs at a go, with the eggs hatching within 24 hours. This certainly makes the critters almost impractical to control.
With many flies flying around, do not just assume that they will disappear. With fruits flies, fungus grants and drain flies being the three most common offenders, you have to ensure you eliminate them completely. Fruits flies are mainly brown in color with red eyes. Drain flies, on the other hand, have a fuzzy mouth like wings while fungus gnats have long legs and are black in color.
Fruit flies are commonly found in the kitchen, and while there are different approaches to eliminating them, having a clean kitchen are key. This is always the first line of defence. However, a better option is to cut off their food source. This can be achieved by taking these preventive measures.
- Throw out your overripe produce
- Store your veggies and fruits inside your fridge
- Wash the produce immediately you reach home to kill all the potential larvae and eggs
- Take out your garbage regularly
- Clean up any fruit or alcohol spill immediately
Drain flies nonetheless have a more extensive meal choice including sewage, bacteria and other junks in your drain and garbage. Using environmentally friendly products helps in eliminating these flies. Drain infestation can also signal a leak, which calls for immediate action from a plumber.
For fungus gnats, they love moisture and humidity, to counter their infestation easing up on watering surfaces such as repotting house plants within a new soil helps. This is great for the plant and also in reducing the gnats.
Can I apply bleach in eliminating fruit flies?
Well, this might be an option, especially when it comes to killing the larvae. However, the bleach will not terminate enough larvae or eggs and eliminate the problem completely. This is simply because bleach usually passes down the drain very quickly leaving other eggs to survive.
While preventative measures might be helpful, laying a trap will stop the flies completely. This is where handmade fly trap ideas come in. Placing the traps helps in making sure that minimal to no escape is guaranteed while eliminating the flies.
How to eliminate fruit flies using DIY homemade traps
- Trap the fruits flies with a paper cone, old fruits and vinegar
- Create a trap with plastic wraps and apple cider vinegar
- Place an almost empty bottle of beer or wine.
- Trap the fruits flies with dish soap and vinegar
- Make use of a sticky paper with a mixture of sugar, water and corn syrup.
- Old is gold, using a glass of milk, sugar and paper make the ultimate trap.
- Tappify fruit flies sticker your better choice, available in Amazon.
Make sure you double-check if insect in questions is fruits flies. This is because some of the handmade ideas might not apply to fungus and gnats. This is because these type of insects prefer overwatered houseplants. For such critters ensure you apply the right approach. However, if your sure that the identified critter are fruit flies, then tying one of the many homemade traps that works will undoubtedly bring out effective results.
Paper Cone, Old Fruit and VinegarPut a little amount of vinegar and the chunks of a ripe fruit in a jar. After which carefully roll a paper into a cone shape and stick the cone-shaped paper into the jar with the narrowing opening facing down. The rotting produce smell will assist in enticing the fruit flies into the jar. The cone part of the trap will make it difficult for the flies to get out. While this is a simple DIY, you need to ensure that the cone is perfectly shaped to reduce the possibility of the flies escaping.
- Plastic wrap and apple cider vinegar
For this homemade trap, you need to pour a little amount of cider vinegar in a glass. You can also choose to remove the cap from the bottle. Cover the bottle’s opening with a plastic wrap and secures it using a rubber band. Then, create small holes for the flies to enter. They cannot defy the vinegar scent, and once they enter, they will not be able to exist the bottle or glass.
For better result, make at least several traps and place them within your kitchen.
- Old beer or wine
Just like vinegar, fruits flies cannot resent the smell of old wine. With this try and leave an open bottle consisting of little leftover wine. The skinny bottles neck will keep all the flies inside the container trapped. Stale beer is also recommended in a DIY trap in attracting fruit flies. You can add a couple of dishwater drops for a surer success. This way, your trap will be able to capture as many flies as possible without any possibility of escaping.
- Dish soap and vinegar
If you notice that your fruit flies are impervious to your plastic wraps as well as paper cone traps. Try adding at least three to four drops of your soap to a bowl consisting of vinegar and then leave it open. The soaps help in cutting the surface of vinegar, meaning the flies will sink and finally drown. You can choose to place several bowls in a different location if the infestation is high.
- Homemade sticky paper
This is an easy homemade trap that delivers a perfect result. It involves combing equal parts corn syrup, water and sugar in a saucepan. After which the mixture is stirred continuously until the sugar dissolves. You then cut a brown paper bag into many strips and submerge the paper strips into the mix until they become saturated. Let the strips dry up properly after removing them from the mixture and hang them within your home. The sweet taste of sugar will attract the flies, which will end up sticking on the striped paper due to its stickiness.
- A trap for ages
Well, this homemade fruit fly trap came to be in the 1800s. It Is simple to make and requires a glass of milk, a half cup of pepper and a cup of sugar boiled together. After which the mixture is placed in a bowl and placed on a countertop. The fruits flies will definitely sense the fermentation taking place between the sugar and the milk. The pepper, on the other hand, works as an active ingredient for suffocating the flies. This is made possible by clogging the flies’ mouthparts with thick granules.
- Trappify sticky fruits fly stickers.
These stickers are simple to use and assemble. Adding honey on the sticker makes them even more effective when it comes to catching fruit flies. All you need to do is peel off the trap and place the sticker in your kitchen, garden or houseplant. It will naturally remove the flies without any harsh insecticides chemicals. You can check out the trappify sticker in Amazon through this link. https://www.amazon.com/Trappify-Sticky-Yellow-Indoor-Outdoor/dp/B07B68136R.
Homemade Fruit flies bottom line
Fruit flies being unpleasant can really be irritating and dangerous, especially when they infest your home. Flies are hazardous to both humans and pets. Their feces contaminate food, meaning that consuming contaminated food can lead to different intestinal illness. Touching the infested food also triggers allergenic reactions for humans and pets. However, they can be easily swayed from your produce and home by using the right homemade trap. Giving them a piece of nature’s candy helps in making sure they fall into your trap with ease.
Nevertheless, you have to keep in mind that fruit flies are smart, but you are more intelligent. Once you put up a handmade trap that works using simple household items, they will be powerless in resisting the trap. Therefore you can use these DIY ideas in coming up with a fruit fly trap that suits your best.
Some of the traps can also be found on different websites, including Amazon, where they go for reasonable prices. However, if you notice that the fruit flies are infesting your home in huge numbers, then seeking professional help becomes the right approach.