Want to get rid of fruit flies? How to make a homemade (DIY) fly trap with step by step pictures.

Posted by Jean-Simon Plouffe on Oct 26 2010 under   

Do you have fruit flies? In your kitchen maybe? Well I had a few... Although they are harmless they are a pest and they give the impression that your home upkeep isn't up to par. Good news, we're not alone, from what I can read on the Web, they can be problematic during the whole year but are especially common during late summer and fall because they are attracted to ripened or fermenting fruits and vegetables. That said, I'm not going to get into the science of it because I'm not an expert but if this is of interest to you the following link will bring you to an interesting article from University of Kentucky College of Agriculture:

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef621.asp

Now let's get down to business and get rid of these flies! I looked at a few options in regards to traps and tried two:

- A bowl with saran or plastic wrap on it with a hole in the center;

- A Glass with a cone taped to it.

For both I used red wine as bait which worked very well. The article above talks about using cider vinegar or a slice of banana and oranges work as well. Use what you want it's your call. For me the glass and cone was best DIY fly trap. The flies go in but seem unable to come out because of the lack of air circulation.

Here are step by step instructions to build your own fruit fly trap:

1) What you need:

• Heavy paper (cardstock), glossy magazine cover will do and last longer
• Bait: wine, banana or orange;
• Tape;
• Scissors;
• Glass or mason jar.
  

 

 

2) Cut the cardstock into a perfect square (till one is about 8"x8")

 

3) Fold the cardstock twice and use the scissors to cut a rounded corner

 

4) Apply a piece of tape to secure the opening

 

5) You can now open your cone

 

6) Again using the scissors cut a small opening at the tip of the cone

 

7) Add the bait, here I'm using red wine

 

8) Put 4 pieces tapes vertically at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock

 

9) Insert the cone, secure the tape and add 4 other pieces of tape horizontally between the original 4

 

10) You're ready to go! Below is a picture of my trap with about 10 fruit flies in it

 

11) Now you're wondering "how do I take them out"? Well once there is a sufficient amount of flies in the trap, I put it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Then I take it out (picture below) and the flies are all dead in the wine. You can add wine with a straw when required and clean the trap once a week or 10 days.

GOOD LUCK! Love to hear from you so if you have any questions or comments please feel free to post a comment.

Later! :)  jeansimon

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posted by Jean-Simon Plouffe
Jean-Simon is one of the editors of BetterHomePortal.com and can be described as an obsessive-compulsive-home-improvement-jack-of-all-trade type of guy.

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