Fruit flies can multiply quickly and threaten to take over your kitchen. This is our family’s favorite remedy for these invaders.
- Simply fill a bowl or cup with apple cider vinegar.
- Then mix in a few drops of dish soap.
- Leave the trap out overnight in an area close to the attraction (usually bananas, at our home).
The flies are quite attracted to the vinegar, but when they try to land on the edge to take a sip they slip into the drink. That’s because the soap reduces the surface tension of the vinegar. When we use this we are always surprised the next morning at just how many flies there actually were buzzing around.
Photo courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University.
Natural & Thrifty in 365 is a year-long series of 365 tips for living more green, natural and healthy while saving money. Do you have a natural and thrifty tip that you would like to share with The Thrifty Mama readers? Submit your awesome idea here. You just might get featured as one of the 365 tips!
Print This Post
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks! Gonna give this a try…I can never buy bananas in the summer because within a day I end up with those little buggers.
I always do the ACV and then a few squirts of dish soap THEN warm water directly into the bowl to make it bubbly, then the little buggers get stuck in the bubbles
during the warm months i keep a cup on the counter with a little vinegar in it and cover the cup with plastic wrap held on place with a rubber band. Poke a few very small holes in it and they find there way into those hole going for the vinegar and they cant het out. Works like a charm.
When we lived near the orchards, theonly thing that worked best for us was red wine-if they still didn’t dive in, we added a teaspoon or 2 of sugar, that did it!
I always open a banana, put it in a glass with some ACV with plastic wrap with a few tiny holes on the top and between the ripe banana and the vinegar, they can’t stay away.
Never tried the vinegar, but we always use fruit juice!
I HATE them! Its always my life mission to kill them in the summer…
Do you have a solution for fleas?
Read this at the perfect time….trapping them as we speak….thank you!!!
{ 1 trackback }