I understand that *most* people don't want to set fruit fly traps up around their house and then count every single fruit fly to see which one is the best. But I do.
Tuesday night is garbage night round these parts. I have a regular garbage bin, a compost pile, a compost bin, a recycling box for metals and a recycling box for papers.
When I was a kid getting rid of your garbage just involved rolling down the car window.
That means I have compostable things like fruit and vegetables under my sink for a week. When I pull the compost bin from under my sink, a planet of fruit flies has been known to rise up out of it. They then disperse with military precision around my kitchen.
Like you, I have stretched cling film over a bowl of vinegar and punched holes in it with a fork. CAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU HAVE FRUIT FLIES.
I thought so too until I set a glass of milk on the counter during fruit fly season.
In the time it took to pour the milk and walk to the other end of the kitchen there was a fruit fly in it.
And so it began.
Table of Contents
The Methods
🪰 Vinegar in a bowl
The go-to, vinegar in a bowl with plastic film and fork holes was already on the counter.
🪰 Milk
I figured they must love milk so I set an open glass of milk on the counter.
🪰 Vinegar Bottle
Then I remembered that whenever I have fruit flies in the summer they always get into my vinegar bottle so I set that on the counter too.
🪰 Best DIY Fly Trap
THEN I remembered about my DIY bottle fly trap & made a miniature version of it with vinegar as a bait in the bottom instead of rotting shrimp.
RESULTS
I left the traps out for 3 days, which is how long it took to eliminate the fruit flies.
I then emptied the contents of each trap into a fine sieve, catching all the dead fruit flies, dried them on a piece of paper and started counting.
And here are the shocking results in order from least to most effective.
#4. MILK FRUIT FLY TRAP
Pour milk in a glass and leave it on the counter.
#3. VINEGAR IN A BOWL FRUIT FLY TRAP
Set a bowl of vinegar out and stretch plastic wrap across the top tightly. Punch holes in the plastic wrap with a fork or toothpick.
#2. BOTTLE OF VINEGAR FRUIT FLY TRAP
Leave your vinegar bottle out on the counter. Don't plan on using the fly filled vinegar in the near future unless you're training to go on Survivor or something.
#1. MASON JAR WITH A PAPER CONE FRUIT FLY TRAP
Roll a stiff piece of paper into a cone and fit it into a mason jar with vinegar in it. The cone should be quite close to the surface of the vinegar.
Yes. I know. Close your mouth, you'll get fruit flies in it. I had the very same reaction when I saw how many flies this method caught. Once I counted them I WAS GIDDY AND NAUSEOUS.
Seriously.
How to Make a Fruit Fly Trap
that works
Materials
Instructions
- Mason Jar
- Sheet of paper
- Stapler
- Vinegar
- Make a cone out of paper leaving a small opening at the bottom of the cone for fruit flies to get through.
- Staple the cone together and cut off excess paper at the top.
- Pour vinegar into a mason jar.
- Place the cone in the jar making sure the bottom of it isn't touching the vinegar.
Using a paper cone and mason jar worked THAT much better than all other DIY fruit fly trap methods. I sifted, dried and counted them.
Fruit Fly Trap Video
This method for catching fruit flies blew the other methods out of the water and I suspect it would do the same to any store bought fruit fly traps.
Had you told 16 year old Karen that she would make a pretty good living one day from drying and counting fruit flies she would have responded with a resounding "Yeah that sounds about right".
If you aren't sure how to do it or what it looks like here's my full tutorial on how to make one of these traps for bottle flies. The bait is more sickening: raw, rotting shrimp.
Any kind of vinegar makes a good bait for fruit flies and as anyone who drinks knows ... so does wine.
Next I'll be experimenting with which vinegar works the best. That will happen at the same time the years's first fruit fly infestation happens so we're all on standby until then.
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We will have to try this trap because we get a lot of fruit flies. We always try wine with soap in it. It works ok. Just wondering, how do you like your beautiful countertops after having them for a few years? Are you glad you went with butcher block?
Wine would work too. And I LOVEEEE my butcher block counters and yes I'm still incredibly happy I have them. :) ~ karen!
Freakin shocking and awesome too
I know, it's all those things and more, lol! ~ karen!
“Once I counted them I WAS GIDDY AND NAUSEOUS“
🤣🤣🤣 OMG I seriously know what you mean. I was contemplating the work that it took and I was getting nauseated just thinking about it!!
Way to persevere for your loyal fans. Thank you from the bottom of my heart (and fruit fly-free home.)
I also add a little dish soap to my apple cider vinegar, but have never bothered shaking it. I just put it in one of those small shallow rectangular dishes meant to put condiments in and leave it on the kitchen counter. In a day or so it's ready to rinse down the drain and refill if there are any still floating around. For some reason I am sickly compelled to count how many fruit flies are in there every time I walk by. Works like a charm!
I use clean wine corks to repel fruit flies. toss them in a bowl with your fruit or in a bowl near your scraps ....I have not seen a fruit fly for over 2 years now.
Hej, I would be very interested to know how that works?
I left you five stars in the recipe rating for this one. Yummm.
Seriously, I don't hate much, but I hate those bugs. On the flip, I love your cone idea because I have a daughter who sometimes loves to store half eaten apples in her room. Ugh.
My husband also loves artfully arranging platters of fresh fruit and veggies on our counter after we visit the farmers' market. It's very charming until there is a cloud of bugs hovering over and on it.
I both CAN and CAN'T wait to try your Olympic Fruit Fly Catcher. 🥇 🥇 🥇 for Canada!
I set my kitchen one up a couple of weeks ago and it's working well again! I can't say it's caught hundreds of flies, but that time was a very special circumstance, lol. I hope I never have to catch hundreds of them again! ~ karen
I have great luck with the stuff that’s Supposed to attract wasps. At least my wasp traps are always full of flys, lol.
Now, if you can come up with an effective cricket bait and trap, I personally, would worship you as a goddess and nominate you for the Nobel prize.
Tomato harvest is nearly upon us (me) and you can betcha I'll use the cone method!
Thanks for a great recipe - and a good laugh!
Lee Valley sells lovely fruit fly trap lids for mason jars. I got them last summer and they worked perfectly. I always seem to mess up the paper cone and have the hole too big or too small.
Karen, I use the YukChuk under my sink for compostables, seals tight, and I’ve never had issues with fruit flies or odors. And ya gotta love the product name! Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/3ayAImy
I use the Yuck Chuck too! Never ever a fruit fly! It is so easy to use and effective I bought one for my sister. I used to have a fruit fly problem.
I’ve figured out how to keep fruit flies out of the compost bin - line with newspaper and keep a lid on it. But still get fruit flies elsewhere in the kitchen, so will try the vinegar & mason jar cone.
Where the hell do they come from? I DO NOT HAVE FRUIT in the house, yet, I must have trapped over a thousand in the past 3 weeks. I've tried wine (works great) but I don't want to pay to get those little bugger dead drunk! Plus it gets expensive. I've found a cheap method: white vinegar with some brown sugar mixed in. Works great. Only $2 total at the dollar store. Ok, can anyone answer how I got fruit flies when I don't have fruit in the house? :(
Potatoes or Tomatoes?
I once found the source of my fruit flies on the potato bin that I keep in the pantry. One potato was rotten.... could it be anything like that?
Good Lord, woman, have you no SHAME?! To glory in the death of so many small creatures, completely ignoring the fact that they have feelings too, each with his/her own hopes and dreams! Don't you have any conscience at all? I'm going to report you to PETA immediately!
A plastic bottle with a few holes in the lid (the cone is a better idea) with vinegar and a piece of banana in it cleaned up an infestation I had really quickly.
... and guess who happens to have raspberry wine vinegar?! No idea why let alone when I even bought it, but I 'coned it' . Hard to see if I'll catch anything as the liquid is so dark. My bedroom is cooler so I keep my ripe tomatoes in there but the kitchen is like the devil's armpit, so I placed another coned jar with white wine vinegar in there, just in case. I heard bananas were the worst to attract these bugs so I carefully wash them as soon as I bring them home. The bananas I wash, not the bugs.
ManOMan but that was some piddly counting. You must have needed a loup and long tweezers!
your timing is implacable, ma'am. as i'm reading your article, i'm constantly waiving my arms around me, shooing fruit flys away. lil buggers!!!
i set up your contraption right away and cannot wait to count their dead bodies in the morrow.
thanks again.
karin
My experiment has begun. However I seem to be challenged making a cone with a wide top and narrow bottom. And I always thought of myself as crafty.
Just two weeks ago I was swatting at fruit flies and the thought flitted across my mind- I should read up on the most efficient way to get rid of them....... Thanks for reading my mind!!
Yay! Thanks So much! Any magic potion to use on regular yucky-why-do-you-even-exist flies? ( we have ducks, so we have flies...lots of flies)
I was just about to look for ideas when this popped up in my news feed! A friend of ours suggested leaving out a fuzzy navel wine cooler. Might try both in jars with funnels, though I don't get paid to count them, ha! Thanks for the info and humor!
Yup!..I believe you cause that's the method I use..Hey!..that means..for once I could have taught you something...wow...I'm proud of me..and my pretty pretty hair..lol..