How to catch fruit flies

Flies are also known as gnats especially in the United States and they can be a massive nuisance. But that is not the end of the world. You don’t have to be a victim of fruit flies which love finding a meal on moist organic matter. They will lay eggs on top of the material and in fact, it is advisable to always wash any fruits and vegetables you buy from the produce market. But if you already have a fruit fly infestation the following fruit traps should be helpful in mitigating the situation.

Red wine trap

The fermenting scent of wine is attractive to fruit flies. Fruit flies will flock to the wine bottle so just leave a little wine in the bottle and leave the bottle open. The bottle itself will work as trap because of the slender bottle neck through which they can enter but can’t figure their way out of.

Red wine is preferable to white wine because it has a higher level of fermentation. The higher the level of fermentation the better a trap it becomes. If you don’t have a bottle of wine you can use a bottle of beer which also has a higher fermentation level.

Banana trap

Take a piece of banana and put it into a jar. Cover the top part nicely with some clear wrap and poke holes into the wrap. You can use the tip of a knife or a fork to make the holes. Don’t worry about the holes being small because fruit flies are generally small insects which can make it into such sized holes. However, they you also need to ensure that the holes are not too tiny either. Find the right balance.

Leave the banana in there for some time and the fruit flies will be attracted by its scent. You will notice them swarming into the jar after a few minutes but unfortunately for them, they will not be able to come out of the jar because of the wrap. Plus the wrap eliminates the amount of oxygen in the jar so they die off because of suffocation.

Vinegar trap

This is the most famous home trap for fruit flies. The scent of vinegar is quite attractive to fruit flies and they can’t help themselves but swarm to it. Just like the banana trap you need to place the vinegar diluted with water (don’t worry this doesn’t affect the potent smell of the vinegar) in a jar and cover the top with plastic wrap. Put some holes into the plastic jar and watch these flies get trapped within.