Easy Fruit Fly Trap

I used to make the inverted cone type traps but one day I didn't have any tape so I tried this. Much to my surprise it worked just as well, but was way easier to make.

Fruit flies can be a pain in the kitchen, but with a good trap it's surprising how quickly you can get rid of them.

The steps are:
1. Put bait in the bottom of the container
2. Cover top with plastic wrap
3. Secure with rubber band
4. Poke holes so flies can get in

Step 1: Materials

Materials:
1. A container
2. Plastic wrap
3. Rubber band
4. Bait

Tools:
1. Something pointy

Step 2: Choose a Container

You want something small, and hard to knock over (especially if you're baiting it with red wine). I have found the bottom half of a water/pop bottle or a little yogourt container to be ideal.

Disposable?
I like to use disposable plastic containers because the thought of cleaning out a fruit fly hotel does not appeal to me and I'd rather just toss the whole thing at the end.

Step 3: Bait the Trap

Bait the trap by putting a little bit of something yummy in the bottom of the container.

Generally this is whatever the fruit flies are hanging around. Some good standbys are wine, old fruit, bananas/banana peels, and orange juice. It's usually desirable to have some liquid in the bottom so they drown instead of setting up families.

Edit: I've been told cider vinegar is also a good bait. Also, adding a little bit of dish detergent* will encourage drowning.

*Be careful with adding detergent, the green apple detergent I have right now scared all the flies away. A second trap with the same bait and no detergent worked great.

Step 4: Cover With Plastic Wrap and Secure

Cover the container with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band.

Step 5: Poke Holes

Poke one to four entrance holes in the plastic wrap. Try to imagine how big a fruit fly is and make the hole a little bit bigger than that (say 2 mm). This doesn't have to be precise or clean. Pulling the plastic wrap tight will make this easier.

Step 6: Remove Hiding Spots (op)

Now to really eradicate the little bugs you need to remove their hiding spots. This means removing their access to anything tasty except your trap. Put fruit in the fridge, seal it in plastic bags or cover it tightly. Throw out any fruit thats starting to spoil and take the garbage/compost out. You'll only have to do this for the first couple of days. The more disciplined you are at this the better and faster the trap will work.

In the summer when there's a lot of fruit coming and going I tend to forgo this and just leave a trap out all the time.

Step 7: Freeze 'em (op)

Fruit flies will start breeding really quickly so if you want to keep the trap for more than a few days and not have a fruit fly farm on your counter (trust me you do not) it's a good idea to kill the flies off periodically. The best way I've found of doing this is to put the whole thing in the freezer overnight.

Comments

[RichardJ113]

Hello, someone try to use this trap http://stoppestinfo.com/144-review-of-the-best-fruit-fly-traps.html
, if yes tell me is it effective or not, so and now i want to ask a
question about the fruit! What kind of them i need to use, and which one
is better, or maybe they all have same effect, i realy new in this
topic so want to know all aspects about that interesting trap! Thanks!

[LorraineC3]

If you use small holes they rarely get back out. I also have made a paper cone and put it in a empty water bottle, they cannot seem to fly back up out of that. If you use the 100% apple cider vinegar they cannot get gassed r burned to death.

Spray your fruit with water or wipe it down before you bring it in the house as well.

[oululife]

Can I be the first?.....
"Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana"....
OK, OK, I'll get my coat.

[michele.mccraw.1]

cute !

[donnamaskew]

I left a half a cup of sweet coffee on the counter while I went out of town for the weekend. ..came home and my pet fruit flies were floating face down ;/ so I'm guessing one could say sweet coffee would work as a trap.

[tmv22]

i dont understand. if the flies can get in a hole. why cant they get out the same hole?

[ArtS1]

To get out, they would have to fly out through the hole, which they can't do even if they could see the hole.. They don't have sticky feet that would let them walk upside down on the inside of the plastic wrap.

[joe.dolan.507]

I physically watched them escape from the same holes. Get your facts straight...

[sehrgut]

This sort of trap is not escape-proof, but it slows their escape enough that you should see a large number of flies every day. You then freeze them and re-use the trap.

[MonkeyB]

I physically watched them escape, what hell does that mean?

[Moscuba]

He tossed a floating fastball and you hit it out of the park!

Phones ringing, I need to orally speak to someone on the phone.

[MelissaC8]

Oh yes they CAN get out of the hole, it's very unlikely but I've watched them do it afew times. The fewer holes the better the chances they won't get out.

[dgateley]

The scent draws them to the holes to get in but from inside nothing about the hole attracts them. A few will exit via one by accident and escape but statistically they'll end up in the trap.

[FredE1]

They smell their way in but have no smell to guide them out......

[neopolitan]

omg I find them cute... ever see them under a microscope?

[sehrgut]

Me too! I used to work with Drosophila in grad school. I'm using these traps (with sponge soaked in apple cider vinegar as the bait, to prevent drowning) to catch wild breeding stock to use as feeder insects.

[DanH64]

I have used very successfully apple cider vinegar in the bottom of almost any open top container with no dish soap, or plastic over the top. In fact, I feel you'll get far more in the container without the plastic. They drown, dish soap and plastic is unnecessary.

[DickVanMeter]

To get rid of fruit flies, pour 1/2 cup of bleach in all of your drains. Sink, shower, bathtub, bathroom sink too. Fruit flies lay their eggs in you drain traps. We had a terrible infestation and got rid of them with ordinary bleach. Buy cheap bleach from the dollar store. You have to do it every day after you have used the sink or bathtub. It works believe me.

[somewhiteguy]

Doing the same thing with just apple cider vinegar and a drop of dish soap makes them drown and you don't have to freeze the little buggers. Just rinse and repeat.

[ashleyjlong]

Yes! We use the vinegar/soap trick at home with decent success.