5 Easy Homemade Fly Traps Using Everyday Kitchen Items

Flies are an unpleasant sight, whether seen inside the home or in the outdoor area. The buzzing sound of these flies is extremely irritating. Flies create a nuisance in the outdoor area around the plants and during barbecue sessions. Whereas in the indoor space, fruit flies hover around the bowl of fruits and vegetables. These flies get attracted to ripe fruits and vegetables. Therefore, it’s important to explore ways to trap them. In this blog, we discuss several homemade fly traps to stop them from intruding the house.

Homemade Fly Trap Ideas

Homemade fly traps are an easy and affordable way to keep a check on flies. Most of the items used in preparing the trap are readily available at home. Here are some of the effective ideas:

1. Mason Jar

This is a simple homemade fly trap method that works best for fruit flies and gnats and requires everyday household items available at home.

Material Needed:

• Mason jar with a lid

• A hammer and a nail (to make a hole in the lid to trap flies)

• Apple cider vinegar(works as a bait as it mimics the scent of ripe fruits)/honey or ripe fruits

• Dish soap

Steps

1.  Pour apple cider vinegar or any other ripe fruit or honey into the mason jar to serve as bait. To help flies drown, add a few drops of dish soap.

2. Gently puncture small holes in the lid of the mason jar using a nail and hammer. Be gentle when tapping the nail in the lid, or else the lid may get damaged.

3. Tighten the lid to the mason jar and place it near the fruit bowl where fruit flies often invade.

2. Wine Bottle

A wine bottle is one of the simplest ideas to keep flies at bay because not much preparation is needed, except for adding a few drops of dish soap in some cases.

Material Needed:

• Wine bottle with a bit of wine.

Steps

1. Place the wine bottle near the fruit bowl. Make sure the bottle has enough wine to attract flies. It was observed that the bottle could attract only a few fruit flies.

3. Soda Bottle

After using the soda bottle, don't throw it away. Rather, wash it properly to use as a DIY fly trap. All you have to do is cut it and follow the process given below.

Material Needed:

• Washed and clean soda bottle (2 litres)

• Scissor

• Vinegar

• Dish soap (Fruit or sweet-scented soap)

• Sugar

Steps

1. Cut the top half of the bottle to create a funnel. Make sure to remove the cap.

2. Pour one cup of vinegar and a few drops of dish soap into the bottle. Then, mix a few drops of dish soap. The scented soap attracts flies towards the bottle.

3. Now, add one cup of water and 2 tsp of sugar and mix them well in the bottle.

4. Flip the cut-off end of the bottle upside down to fit in the bottle opening.

5. Sprinkle honey on the funnel.

6. Finally, keep the bottle near the fly-infected area and let flies fall into the trap. Once all the flies are trapped, throw the bottle away from home.

4. Plastic Wrap

Though this DIY fly trap works for many flies, it is best suited for gnats and fruit flies. Here is the list of materials needed and the staples involved.

Material Needed:

• Apple cider vinegar

• A mason jar

• Plastic wrap

• Toothpick or fork to make holes in the plastic wrap

• Scrap of rotting fruits, honey and sugar to act as bait

Steps

1. Put apple cider vinegar or any other bait (scraps) of rotting fruits, honey or sugar) to attract more and more flies.

2. Cover the opening of the mason jar with plastic wrap, tighten it with a rubber band or twist the jar’s screw around the glass.

3. Then, make small holes to trap flies in the jar. Make sure the holes are not too small, or else flies won’t be able to enter the mason jar.

5. Paper Cone

Just like the other DIY fly traps, this is another simple way to trap flies. All you have to do is gather all the materials and follow the simple steps.

Material Needed:

• A mason jar

• Piece of paper

• Bait (apple cider vinegar or overripe fruits)

• Dish soap

Steps

1. Add apple cider vinegar, a few drops of dish soap and ripe fruits into the mason jar.

2. Take a printer paper and roll it into a cone. Keep the narrow opening down and stick the paper into the jar.

Conclusion

Homemade fly traps are an easy and affordable DIY method to keep flies away from home. There are different methods to trap them, which are discussed in this blog. All you need to do is grab readily available items from the kitchen and follow simple steps.