How To Get Rid of Fruit Flies



Fruit Fly

This is the time of year when for some reason Fruit Flies become a real nuisance, I was thinking about how to get rid of them and came up with a simple but amazingly effective trap.  It uses a recycled beverage container and four pebbles or something similar to lift it a quarter inch or so off of the counter. For bait, a little bit of red wine or cider vinegar works well.

 Here is what you need: An empty, plastic water bottle, juice or soda container with a bottom that has a raised center.



Fruit Fly Trap bottom



Drill a small, 1/8” hole in center of this raised bottom. I used a 3/32” drill to start a pilot hole and then widened it to 1/8”.

Use hot glue to add something to the bottom corners to raise the trap a little bit so that the flies will be able to crawl or fly up into the center hole.



Fruit Fly Trap raised



Put a small amount of red wine, cider vinegar or similar aromatic liquid in the container so that it is just below the hole in the raised center of the bottom and your trap is set.



Fruit Fly Trap set

To release your captured flies, just step out side and take off the top. They will happily fly away unharmed. For the more blood thirsty, just do nothing. They will soon land in the liquid and be unable to escape.

Fruit Fly Trap working

In principal the trap works exactly the same way as an East Coast lobster trap, just turned on its end. The creatures are funneled through a small opening into a larger space and can’t find the way back out.

I can’t get over how well this rig works. It took about two days to completely clear our kitchen of those pesky little flies. I’ve kept it set and sitting on the windowsill above the sink to pick off any newcomers looking for a place to settle.

A fundraiser for your Brownie or Cub pack?:



fruit fly trap in place


 Because this idea works so well and is easy to make using recycled materials that would otherwise be thrown into a landfill, it might make a great project for kids looking for a fund raising idea.


These traps could be decorated or customized to be either pretty or even more inconspicuous.





To illustrate this article I’ve used a large juice container just to make everything clear. The trap doesn’t have to be that big. It can be any size.



The key is the indentation at the bottom of most plastic containers. A flat bottom won’t work!

Check your recyclables bin, I’m sure you’ll find the perfect thing just waiting to be re-used.