Homemade Traps For Fruit Flies

Step 1: APPLE CIDER VINEGAR TRAP: Heat up vinegar and pour into mason jar, add a drop or two of dish soap. For extra temptation, drop in a piece of ripe fruit. The dish soap breaks the surface tension of the water so the flies can't just sit on top and fly away when they're done.

Step 2: Recipe calls for making a funnel out of paper and taping it to the mouth of the jar, so that's what I did. Then I read the reviews on the everydayroots site and they said this step isn't needed.

Step 3: My results: I forgot to heat the vinegar, but this one worked immediately. I put a few pieces of over-ripe honeydew melon in it. I've got all 3 traps lined up, and the flies are swarmed on this one. I've already got half a dozen trapped in just a few minutes. I tried the same thing exactly in a shallow dish, and didn't catch near so many, so definitely sticking with the mason jar.

Step 4: JAR-TYPE TRAP WITH FRUIT: Place fruit in bottom of mason jar, cover with plastic wrap, secure with a rubber band, then poke holes in wrap with a toothpick. I poked about 24 holes. The flies will be drawn into the trap but won't know how to get out. When jar is full, submerge in a bucket of warm soapy water and let sit for 10 minutes.

Step 5: My Results: Not much activity day 1, but by day 2 the flies were all over this one rather than the others. Day 3 now, and this one is still the most popular. And I only have about 2 fruit flies flying around, yea! The rest are busy working their way into this trap.

Step 6: MERRY FLY TRAP: Evidently fruit flies like red wine and can become intoxicated, just as we can. Recipe says to leave a little bit of red wine at the bottom of the bottle and let it sit out. "The fruit flies will flock to it and die a very merry death." If they don't drown, you can either put the jar in freezer for 20 minutes or submerge it in warm soapy water for 10 minutes.

Step 7: This is the one I haven't tried yet, but next time we finish a bottle of wine I'll give it a go.

Step 8: TRIED AND TRUE TRAP: This recipe comes from the Old Farmer's Almanac, and has been used since 1850 in New England. Combine ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into shallow bowls and place around kitchen. If flies seem to be landing and flying away, add a drop or two of dish soap to dish.

Step 9: (After measuring out the milk and raw sugar, I found I only had 1/2 ounce of pepper. Hopefully it will work anyway.)

Step 10: My results: It's day 4 and nothing yet. I don't know if I just didn't have enough pepper, or the milk has to get really sour for this one to work. Or maybe the other traps are just too enticing. Anyway, with the price of pepper being so high, I won't be trying this one again.