A homemade fruit fly trap is definitely an effective way to get rid of pesky fruit flies in your home. Kitchen flies are not only a burden, but their presence is also a sign that your area is not clean.
Creating your own homemade fly trap is a lot easier than you think, and we've listed down the steps on how to get rid of garden flies once and for all.
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Make a Homemade Fruit Fly Trap With These Easy Steps!
But First, What Causes Fruit Flies to Appear?
Before we get to the steps on how to make your homemade fruit fly trap, let us first determine the causes of them appearing.
Generally, kitchen flies are attracted to, as their name suggests, food in the kitchen. Fruits and produce, whether ripe or rotten, are huge attractors for fruit flies.
So when you have fruit flies in your home or kitchen, that probably means that you have some produce or fruit that's not stored properly. Thus, you have to clean your place up and throw away any food remnants that are not properly stored.
It is quite challenging to eliminate fruit flies once they hatch, because they reproduce extremely quickly, in just a matter of 24 hours. Given this, you need to get rid of their food source as soon as possible.
Aside from throwing out food products that are not properly stored or are rotten, you have to also regularly take out your garbage and not let it sit long enough to attract flies. You also need to clean up every time you use your space, which includes wiping off spills from alcohol or fruit juices.
If you're at your wits' end and just cannot get rid of your fruit flies at home, then follow the steps below to make a homemade fruit fly trap!
What You Will Need:
-
- Small plastic container with lid
- Pen with a small tip
- Lighter
- Apple cider vinegar
- Dishwashing soap
Step 1: Poke Some Holes
Use your lighter and heat up the tip of your pen enough for it to be able to penetrate the lid of your container. Then, poke a few holes using this method.
The number of holes depends on the size of your lid and container, you can put as many holes as you want, just make sure not to place them too closely together.
If you can't find a container with a lid, you can grab a piece of plastic and poke some holes on them using a pen. You can use this as a lid for your container and just tie it down with a rubber band to secure it on top of your container.
Step 2: Place Solution in Container
Once you've punched a few holes on your lid, put it aside and grab your apple cider vinegar. Your homemade fruit fly trap depends on this solution so make sure to follow the instructions properly!
Fill your container with your apple cider vinegar two-thirds of the way full. The strong smell of the apple cider vinegar is a great way to attract fruit flies to your trap.
Apple Cider Vinegar Health Facts!
In case you didn't know, apple cider vinegar is known to be beneficial to a lot of things. It promotes one's health with its natural properties.
- Some of the many things that apple cider vinegar is known for is it improves digestion by leveling the natural pH of your stomach.
- It also helps in lowering your cholesterol and blood sugar.
- Not only does apple cider vinegar enhance your system inside your body, but it helps on the outside, too! It is great for your skin because of its antibacterial properties and is also great for strengthening hair–talk about an all in one product!
Now that you know some of the other benefits of apple cider vinegar, it is definitely time for you to make it a staple in your kitchen. You can use it for getting rid of fruit flies, and taking care of your health, too!
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Step 3: Add Your “Secret Sauce”
Now let's get back to your homemade fruit fly trap. As mentioned above, apple cider vinegar is great in attracting fruit flies to your trap.
However, kitchen flies can still fly out whenever they want to, so you would need something to trap them and eventually kill them.
Here comes the dishwashing soap. The dishwashing soap acts as a barrier on top of your apple cider vinegar. Because of its viscosity, fruit flies will not be able to fly out as soon as they touch the surface, making them trapped.
You would want to pour a few drops of your dishwashing soap on top of your apple cider vinegar. Don't worry about it going all way to the bottom when you initially drop it, because it will eventually rise to the top and create a film that will be your “trap” for the fruit flies.
Make sure you don't add a lot of dishwashing soap. Adding too much might overpower the smell of the apple cider vinegar, causing the fruit flies to not go in your trap in the first place.
Step 4: Place Lid on Top!
Once done with your apple cider vinegar and dishwashing soap, cover your container with the lid that you punctured with holes where the fruit flies can enter.
And that's your homemade fruit fly trap! You can place it anywhere in your kitchen or in areas that fruit flies frequent. Discard and create a new trap after a few days as needed.
Check out Laura Hoyda's full video on how to make your homemade fruit fly trap:
Fruit flies are indeed pesky and are an indication that your place isn't at its cleanest. With our how-to, we hope you finally get rid of them and have a clean place for you and your family!
What do you think about our homemade fruit fly trap how-to? Tell us in the comment section below!
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