Homemade Fly Trap

It rained last night.

This morning, while I was peeling apples in the kitchen, the kids opened the door so they could play outside.

And they left it open.

Next thing you know, I’m standing there at the cupboard peeling apples with flies buzzing around my head. A couple of bees too.

So after I got the door shut, and finally got done with my apples, I decided that making a fly trap with the kids would be a perfect pre-lunch project.

We got it done, sat it in a place where we thought the flies would see it, and walked away.

Next thing ya know, Garrett has his school scissors out and he’s cutting the paper to shreds. Not that that really has any pertinence to making your own fly trap, but it’s how things work around here.

The thing is, I don’t like fly paper, you know, that sticky stuff you buy in a tube that looks like a C battery and hang from the ceiling?

Yuck. That stuff’s nasty.

So I started making my own fly traps with just a mason jar, construction paper, and a bit of fruit or juice.

They’re super easy to make, easy to clean up, and they work. Especially for fruit flies. Man I hate fruit flies!

Homemade Fly Trap

Materials needed:

• 1 jar
• 1 piece of paper – any kind of paper will work.
• A piece or fruit of a few tablespoons of juice (water kefir also works really well.)
• Scotch tape (optional)

Instructions:

It’s easy!

Just place the fruit, or the juice into the jar, roll up the paper,

stick it into the mouth of your jar, and pull the top open, narrowing the bottom.

Tape in place if necessary.

This funnel shape will let the flies in when they get a whiff of your fruit or juice, but they won’t be able to find their way back out.

You’ll have to trust me that it works; I’m not taking pictures of dead fruit flies. 😉