Sunday, September 12, 2010

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

My apartment here is fantastic, but unfortunately, I have developed a small problem-- fruit flies.  While not particularly dangerous, especially with winter approaching, they are annoying and kind of gross, so I decided to get rid of them.  Thankfully, this is something I've handled before, so today you get advice on what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation.  You will need:

 
1- Juice or some type of fruit (chopped) as bait
2- An empty can
3- Plastic wrap
4- Rubber bands
5- A knife

First, put a small amount of juice or chopped fruit into the can.  Then, cover the top with plastic wrap.  Use the rubber band to hold the plastic wrap on the can, making sure it is pulled taut.  Lastly, use the tip of the knife to poke a number of small holes, about fruit fly sized, into the plastic wrap.  I usually make 5-10 holes.

All you need to do then is leave the contraption, pictured below, out for a few days.  I have no idea why this is the case, but fruit flies generally can get into the can, to get at the bait, but are unable to get back out again.  You can kind of see them in the last picture here as small black dots.  After a few days, once you stop seeing flies in the house, toss the whole contraption and you should be all set!
Even better, if anyone comes over during this process and asks you what the heck the can is, you can respond with one of the best movie lines of all time-- "It's a trap!"

2 comments:

  1. I accidentally discovered a fruit fly trap when I left an empty bottle of wine (or two) sitting out (go figure). Especially with sweeter wines--they love it! They have a hard time getting out of the neck of the bottle though, so I sneakily stuck a cork back in while they drunkenly buzzed about with no clue of their impending recyclage.

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  2. Haha, nice job Rachel. Good thing you'll have plenty of wine in France in case this happens again!

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