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Home » Recipes » Fall

Where Fruit Flies go to Die

Published: Aug 27, 2014 · Modified: Nov 19, 2020 by Coley · This post may contain affiliate links.

This tutorial for a homemade fruit fly trap uses everyday kitchen ingredients to get rid of the bugs naturally! Easy, effective, all-natural and inexpensive.

We interrupt this stream of tomato chatter to bring you an ingenious solution to a problem that seems unavoidable this time of year. Well, only if you keep boatloads of sweet summer produce on your counters.

You may currently be suffering from fruit flies. Symptoms include: seeing tiny specks in front of your eyes, feelings of severe irritation and annoyance, excessive cleaning of the kitchen, and the absolute worst: finding larvae crawling on your precious hand picked fruits.

Shudder. Even the word larvae gives me the heebie jeebies. When it gets to this point, you know you have a problem.

HOMEMADE FRUIT FLY TRAP | All natural fruit fly trap made using common kitchen ingredients. Effective, easy and inexpensive! . #easy #fruitflies #allnatural #DIY | ColeyCooks.com

Every August these little pests start buzzing around, and if left to their own devices, start making themselves at home real quick. In just a few days, hotel fruit fly can be booked to capacity. They start overstaying their welcome almost immediately.

As I mentioned in this post, it's best to keep your tomatoes out at room temperature in order to to achieve optimal flavor and texture. But the problem with that, is their inherent sweetness attracts these little buggers like nobody's business. That's why I owe it to you guys to share my method for eliminating fruit flies once and for all.

Chaser and I have been searching for the ultimate fruit fly trap for years, and this one has by far been the best. We've tried using rotting fruit, different vinegars, dish soap, inverted soda bottles... you name it, we've tried it.

This guy trumps all others, and you probably have everything to make it right now. This is all you need:

A jar of apple cider vinegar next to an empty glass.

A clear glass, some apple cider vinegar, and plastic wrap. Your plastic wrap doesn't need to be professional and your ACV doesn't need to be organic. Your glass however, does need to be clear.

I assume you have plastic wrap and a clear glass on hand, but if you don't have the ACV you should absolutely go out and buy a bottle. It's cheap, hosts a slew of health benefits, and makes an awesome vinaigrette for fall salads (hint: it goes great with APPLES!).

Apple cider vinegar being poured into a rocks glass.

Making this thing will only take you a few minutes, and it's so worth it. Pour the ACV into a clear glass that's not too tall.  A shorter glass will help the scent of the ACV more easily entice the fruit flies, and a clear glass will make it more difficult for them to find their way out. You want to pour in a few tablespoons or so, about this much:

A finger of apple cider vinegar in a rocks glass.

Then, top it with clear plastic wrap, making sure it's tight and flush to the glass.  So flush, you can see the reflection of the camera you're using to take the picture.

Plastic wrap overtop of a glass with apple cider vinegar.

Then, secure the wrap to the sides of the glass. I only had a massive sized roll of plastic wrap at my house, so I used scissors to cut off some of the excess first.

I know, this is difficult stuff. Are you still following along?

IMG_3150

Use a toothpick or a fork to poke a few holes into the plastic. This is where it can be a little tricky. You want to make the holes big enough so the flies can get in, but not so big that they can find their way out. About 10-15 holes should do.

IMG_3154

Put your nifty little fly trap right next to your fruit bowl, and give it a day or so to work it's magic. Just look at the results!

IMG_3136

I get such a kick out of watching them crawl around in there, trying to find their way out. But they can't!

Ok, maybe that sounded mildly sadistic. It's not that I get pleasure out of seeing living things suffer and die...

It's just that anyone who puts their paws on my precious tomatoes without permission is asking for it.

Consider yourself warned.

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  1. AllieBeau

    August 27, 2014 at 3:51 pm

    My fiancé has been doing this trick for the past few summers and I remember thinking he was insane the first-- but it totally works!! Excellent tutorial for a very complicated and involved process 😉

    Now I need to go read your tomato enthusiasm post!!!

    Reply
    • chefnicoleg

      September 04, 2014 at 12:25 pm

      awesome! haha, thanks. Its magic!

      Reply
  2. joyflurybrown

    August 27, 2014 at 4:05 pm

    Hehehe!! My mom used to say (about ANY insects in the house), “all unwelcome guests will be killed on the spot!” as she took a fly swatter to the picture window. I pretty much concur! We’ve been fortunate so far with fruit flies (or lack thereof), but in previous years, if the infestation (I really dislike that word) got out of hand, I’d take the vacuum hose to the kitchen area. I like the ACV idea as a preventative, though. Thanks, Coley!

    Reply
    • chefnicoleg

      September 04, 2014 at 12:24 pm

      I got close to the vacuum this week as my cherry tomatoes were going bad quicker than I could use them! The fruit flies were out of control. But the ACV totally works. Give it a shot!! See you soon!

      Reply
  3. Acadia Einstein

    September 06, 2014 at 1:24 am

    The only way I will believe that is if you video yourself drinking it. *waits*

    Reply
  4. April Lee

    September 03, 2019 at 5:29 pm

    Yup, I do this too. If you mix a little dishwashing liquid to the ACV, the fruit flies won't fly out because it sticks to their wings, making it difficult to fly.back up. They can crawl out, but few have ever done that.

    Reply
  5. Karen

    September 04, 2019 at 10:23 pm

    one thing we do is add a few drops of dishwashing liquid, it coats their wings.

    Reply

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I'm Nicole Gaffney, but my friends all call me Coley. You should, too! I'm a chef and recipe developer specializing in coastal Italian cooking. Welcome to Coley Cooks! About Nicole Gaffney

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