Life hack: Here's a simple but effective way to get rid of fruit flies

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Originally published at: Life hack: Here's a simple but effective way to get rid of fruit flies | Boing Boing

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Use a banana as bait. Fruit flies like a banana.

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I make these traps every year during canning season, except I don’t microwave them. I don’t know what benefit that would add.

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I assume a little bit of heat will help disperse the vinegar, making it work a bit faster?

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Does it? :grin:

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well, sure – if you throw them right!

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We use a wine bottle with a little left in the bottom.

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But who doesn’t want people clapping at random?

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Rotten banana’s especially.

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I do something similar by pouring about a quarter inch of whiskey in the bottom of a tumbler. I hate to waste the whiskey, but it draws/kills the flies and serves as a handy way of judging whether my drinking becomes problematic. If I find myself tempted by the fly glass, I know I’m in a bad way!

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never in my life have i used a microwave for this…

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maybe heating it spreads the odor more thoroughly? I just water, vinegar, and some soap and leave it out overnight. (though I’ve lived in not-large houses all my life, so more time could easily be required)

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This is truly the no effort solution. All you need to do is fail to dispose of the bottles after the party.

We’ve gone one step up from that though. Leave a little red wine in the bottom of the glass, cover the top of the glass with cling-film, and poke one small fly-sized hole in the middle of it.

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No, no. The quote is more along the lines of, “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.” - Groucho Marx

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Fruit flies like fruit.
Horse flies like horses.
Time flies like an arrow.

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I’ve stuck with apple cider vinegar and soap, but can also vouch for years of covering containers (and leaving just a small hole) definitely working better than open-top. If no cling wrap; a downward-pointing paper cone with a small hole at the tip works too. Fruit flies aren’t the brightest critters and seem unable to find their way out once they’ve entered.

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Not sure why microwaving would help. I do this with a splash of wine. Never fails to attract flies.

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Since it suggested cooling down the room I figured the contrast of heating the liquid made it more attractive?

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