×

How to make a fruit fly trap

How to make a fruit fly trap

How to make a fruit fly trap

How to make a fruit fly trap Faith is the Editor-in-Chief of Kitchn, and the writer of 3 cookbooks, together with the James Beard Award-triumphing The Kitchn Cookbook. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, together along with her husband and daughters.

We independently pick those products—in case you purchase from one in all our links, we can also additionally earn a commission. All fees have been correct on the time of publishing.
Post Image

Credit: Faith Durand / Kitchn

Idon`t recognise approximately you, however there`s one aspect I can continuously depend upon this time of year: fruit flies in my kitchen. In my ever-gift preference to devour extra culmination and vegetables, I pile up massive bowls complete of tomatoes and peppers, bananas and apples.

There are such a lot of piles of summer-ripe produce in my kitchen. And meaning fruit flies — floating up in unexpected, traumatic clouds every time I attain for a tomato or a peach.

My beyond efforts at trapping and killing fruit flies were half-hearted, as I didn`t clearly recognise which approach labored best. So I determined to run a semi-clinical check. Out of the homemade, DIY fruit fly lure techniques, which became best

I installation 4 exceptional tests, and to my marvel one approach stood out very absolutely because the winner.

How to Make a Homemade Fruit Fly Trap

I used 4 conventional DIY techniques to lure (and kill!) fruit flies. Three contain Mason jars, and one is the clearly low-raise approach of leaving the dregs of wine in a wine bottle out and available. The idea of every approach is to depart an attractive, candy-smelling bait out for the fruit flies close to my fruit bowl, in a vessel that then traps and drowns them.

The Bait

To maintain this check even and fair, I used the equal bait in every lure. I used approximately 1/four cup of apple cider vinegar crowned off with some drops of liquid dish soap. The principle is that the vinegar smells irresistibly candy to the flies, they fly into the traps, after which get their wings weighed down with the dish soap.

Related: The First Thing You Should Do with a New Bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar

I installation every of those techniques on a Monday morning then positioned them aspect through aspect withinside the equal vicinity in my kitchen. I positioned them on a windowsill subsequent to a few ripening bananas and some chunks of watermelon to clearly up the ante.

I checked returned in with every approach on Friday afternoon to assess what number of fruit flies that they’d every dispatched to its everlasting rest.

1. The Easiest (and Least Effective) Method:

The Wine BottleLet`s begin with the bottom raise: truely leaving the dregs of one`s wine out in a bottl@e with a touch little bit of dish soap. This has the benefit of actually no enhance preparation; only a little sacrifice of that ultimate sector glass of wine. I introduced some squirts of dish soap.

Overall, this became now no longer a totally powerful approach. The wine bottle stuck some fruit flies, however it became 4 or 5 at maximum. I additionally didn`t like leaving a massive, tall wine bottle out at the counter; it felt evident and prefer it can be without problems knocked over.

2. The Most Complicated Method: The Paper Cone in a Jar

The 2d approach I attempted used a conventional Mason jar because the lure. (Three of those techniques use a jar; you may use a Mason jar or a cleaned-out spaghetti sauce or peanut butter jar. Any jar, clearly!)

To lure the flies you roll a bit of parchment or simple paper right into a cone and insert it into the pinnacle of the jar, with the bait (apple cider vinegar and a chunk of dish soap) below.

The principle (I think) is that the cone amplifies the heady fragrance of the vinegar after which makes it difficult for the flies to escape.

Well, it became difficult for me — perhaps I`m simply wonderful uncoordinated and non-crafty, however rolling the cone became weirdly hard? And then it didn`t even work; there have been only a few flies stuck on this jar. I became difficult-pressed to locate even some.

3. The Ugliest (and Weirdly Ineffective) Method: The Plastic Wrap-Topped Jar

The 1/3 approach caught with the jar however as opposed to topping with a weirdly hard cone, you pinnacle the jar and bait with a cowl of plastic wrap. I rubber-banded the plastic wrap on, then poked some holes with a fork for the flies to get in and out.

To my marvel, there weren`t many flies on this lure after I went to test. Maybe 8 to ten swirling around. It`s feasible that the holes I made have been too massive and that they have been capable of get out, or that the plastic wrap interfered with the smell.

4. The Most Classic (and Our Winner) Method: The Jar with Holes withinside the Lid

To be honest, our very last approach (and our hands-down winner) became the only I became additionally maximum doubtful approximately. In this approach, you’re taking a Mason jar and punch some tiny holes withinside the lid with a hammer and nail. My husband did this for me and the holes regarded clearly small — manner too small for flies to get in.

But I wager fruit flies are clearly tiny, due to whendidrelease the fact after I went to test this lure on the cease of the week, it became FULL of lifeless flies. Seriously at How to make a fruit fly trap

Post Comment