Using apple cider vinegar to trap the tiny terrors
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Maddison Pace
You got fruit because, well, you need fruit, but after a few days you see one. Then another, and another. Then you walk over to the fruit bowl one day and move a banana, and five take flight. Just like that you have a fruit fly infestation.
They get into your home on the fruit you buy, and hatch from tiny, imperceptible eggs to feast on over-ripe food, and once inside, each female can lay 500 eggs. Those eggs can be mature adults in as little as 10 days, so it’s a good idea to get on top of the issue early.
Two simple apple cider vinegar contraptions – one using a champagne flute and one a bowl and cellophane – can make quick work of your fruit fly problem.
The Traps
For contraption one, simply pour a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar into the bottom of a wide bowl and cover tightly with cellophane.
In the center of the cellophane, use a sharp pencil to poke a single hole, large enough for a fruit fly to crawl into. That’s it, you’re done.
If you’d like to go even simpler, pour a little of the apple cider vinegar into the bottom of a champagne flute or wine glass and – well, that’s it.
Drawn by the irresistible allure of the vinegar the flies get as close to the liquid as they can, and the steep sides of the glass mean they inevitably fall in and — unable to climb to safety — drown.
Observations
To be most effective, your trap shouldn’t have to compete with other attractions, so move fruit to the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Also make sure not to place the trap directly under an hvac register, which can stir up the air and make it harder for your quarry to find the bait.
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