Every summer, it seems like no matter how hard you try, your yard (or worse, house) becomes infested with pesky flies. These winged creatures are called pests for a reason: they feast on leftovers, crawl on outdoor furniture, and buzz all. day. long. While repelling flies is the recommended first course of action, sometimes it’s too little, too late. When all else fails, attract and kill them with a fly trap. While there are store-bought options that’ll get the job done, sometimes it’s easiest to take the more natural approach by making a homemade fly trap with common household items.
As soon as you see or better yet, hear, them, DIY a few of these fly traps and distribute them throughout your house and yard. That way, you’ll up your chances of getting rid of as many flies as possible.
The Country Chic Cottage
Luring flies to a trap is the hardest part. Luckily, they’re attracted to anything sweet — simple syrup, honey, and fruit — so you shouldn’t have to look too far to find something sugar-y enough to entice them. The Country Chic Cottage uses honey as bait in their fly trap pictured above, but old fruit (apple chunks, for example), syrup, and simple syrup works too. Add a splash of vinegar to keep bees out of the trap. The goal: Flies will smell the bait and fly into the bottle to get to it. Once inside, they won’t be able to fly up the narrow opening, eventually trapping and killing them.
Here, follow this easy step-by-step to make a homemade fly trap:
- Cut a water or soda bottle, making the bottom half slightly taller than the top. Remove the bottle cap.
- Fill the bottom with water. Add a splash of vinegar to ward off bees. The Country Chic Cottage also recommends adding a few drops of dish soap to the water because it breaks the surface tension of the liquid, making it easier for flies to fall in and drown.
- Stick the top half upside down in the bottom, so that it looks like a funnel. Spread honey, syrup, or sugar water around the mouth of the bottle, or fill with decomposing fruit.
- To hang your trap, punch two holes at the top of the bottle. Then thread a piece of wire or sturdy string through the holes, attach the ends, and hang it wherever you please.
- As long as the problem persists, empty out dead flies and add fresh bait regularly.
Best of all, this trap also works to lure and kill wasps. Most wasps are also attracted to sweets, so honey, syrup, and sugar water will work for them. But as a last resort, you can always swap sweet bait for rotting meat or animal droppings (rabbit pellets or chicken litter) to complete the job.
6 Ways to Keep Wasps Away From You
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