4 Homemade Traps To Get Rid of Flies.
Flies: nothing worse to disturb your peace at home!
Flies are particularly well suited to thrive in damp areas of your home: garbage cans, sinks, and food.
Fortunately, there are some simple, eco-friendly and economical solutions to put an end to this problem.
So how do you catch flies?
Here are 4 homemade traps to permanently get rid of flies at home:
1. The vinegar trap
Invasion of flies at home? Don't panic, here is a simple homemade natural apple cider vinegar trap.
Flies cannot resist the smell of fermentation.
However, this vinegar is a product made from fermented apples. Therefore, flies cannot resist it.
This trap is even more effective if you heat the vinegar a little beforehand. Why ? Because the heat gives off the aroma of vinegar.
Equipment
To make this trap, you will need:
- 1 jar (or similar container)
- 1 piece of paper rolled into a funnel
- apple cider vinegar (about 12 cl)
- 1 or 2 drop (s) of dishwashing liquid
- 1 piece of ripe or overripe fruit (optional)
The preparation
1. Heat the apple cider vinegar and pour it into the jar (there must be enough vinegar for a fly to drown in).
2. Then add 1 to 2 drop (s) of dishwashing liquid.
This step is important! Indeed, the washing-up liquid will reduce the surface tension of the vinegar.
If you don't use dish soap, the flies can land on the vinegar and fly away!
3. Then roll a piece of paper into a funnel shape (see photo).
4. Finally, insert your funnel into the jar. Leave a small hole at the bottom of the funnel for flies to enter.
Attracted by the smell of vinegar, the flies will enter the jar, but they will not be able to get out and they will drown.
To make the trap even more effective, add a piece of fruit to act as bait. Over time, it will break down and make the trap even more attractive.
If the flies are trapped in the jar but do not drown, you can put the jar in the freezer for 20 min.
One more thing: in theory, you can reuse the mixture from this trap. But in practice, you will probably prefer to change it quite frequently.
Indeed, this trap is effective, but the sight of the drowned flies is not very pleasant.
2. The fruit trap
How to make a fly trap? Flies love fruit. So, nothing better than a fruit to catch them!
Equipment
To make this trap, you will need:
- 1 jar
- stretch film
- 1 toothpick
- ripe fruits (even overripe)
- soapy water
The preparation
1. Place several pieces of ripe fruit at the bottom of the jar.
2. Then close the jar with stretch wrap.
If you have trouble getting it to hold, use a rubber band - it's easier and works well.
3. Then poke a few holes in the stretch film using the toothpick.
4. Finally, choose a strategic place to place the jar.
A little advice: it is better to prepare several jars.
Place jars where flies enter your home (for example, outside, not far from the front door).
Then place more jars where the flies seem to congregate.
The flies will be able to enter this trap through the small holes, but they will no longer be able to get out.
Once there are enough flies inside the jar, immerse it in a container of hot soapy water for 10 min.
Finally, rinse the jar and prepare another trap.
Another benefit of this natural fly trap is that it's a good way to get rid of fruit that has been inadvertently left to rot.
3. The red wine trap
A drunken fly? It may sound strange.
But, just like humans, flies also get drunk if they drink alcohol.
Are you wondering how to attract flies? Note that flies are particularly attracted to red wine.
If there is a small amount left in your bottle, flies will quickly congregate there.
Afterwards, they will probably drown in the wine.
Otherwise, you can use the techniques of the previous traps: either put the bottle in the freezer or immerse the bottle in soapy water.
Equipment
This trap requires little material: all you need is a bottom of a bottle of red wine.
You can also replace red wine with red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar.
The preparation
Just put the open bottle with the bottom of red wine where the flies are.
The flies will naturally congregate in the bottle.
Then, it is in full state of intoxication that they will drown at the bottom of the bottle!
Another method is to place the wine in a container. Then cover the jar with stretch wrap and punch holes.
4. The trap used by our grandmothers
Here is a recipe that comes from an almanac dating from 1850.
It is not known who invented it - but the bottom line is that it is particularly effective! It is for this reason that our grandmothers used it.
Equipment
- 50 cl of milk
- 100 g of cane sugar (brown sugar type)
- 50 g of ground black pepper
The preparation
1. Pour the milk, cane sugar and ground pepper into a saucepan.
2. Simmer for 10 min.
3. Pour this mixture into deep plates.
4. Distribute the plates throughout your accommodation.
Flies love this grandmother's recipe. They are attracted to this mixture and quickly drown in it.
In case the flies manage to extricate themselves from the surface, add 1 to 2 drop (s) of dish soap to the mixture.
Bonus: lemongrass fly spray
Here is a trick that doesn't kill flies, but will help you repel them: lemongrass essential oil.
In addition, this formula repels several other species of insects.
Equipment
- 10 drops of lemongrass essential oil,
- a clean spray bottle
- 6 cl of hot water.
The preparation
1. Add the water and lemongrass essential oil to the spray bottle.
2. Then shake the bottle vigorously.
3. Finally, apply this solution on the edges of your windows, doors or directly on flies.
It will repel flies, plus the smell is pleasant and refreshing.
Lemongrass essential oil is easily found in organic stores.
To buy it now, we recommend this organic lemongrass oil.
As you can see, it is easy and economical to prepare your own traps.
It is true that it is unattractive to have to clean some of these traps.
But these homemade traps are much more natural than using fly bombs which contain harmful chemicals.
3 tips to stop attracting flies
Here are 3 tips you can do to stop attracting flies (also called fruit flies) to your home:
1. Did you know that flies breed in pipes?
To solve this problem, it must be attacked at the source.
Try pouring a mixture of white vinegar and hot water into your sink daily.
Also, keep the area around your sink as dry as possible.
2. Keep all your food products away from flies (flies are particularly attracted to fruit).
3. Choose trash cans that have a lid so that the smell does not attract them.
Your turn...
Do you know any other tips for getting rid of flies? Share them with us in the comments. We can't wait to hear from you!
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Also to discover:
6 Effective Tips To Control Flies.
Our Natural and Effective Tips to Avoid Mosquitoes.
