I love keeping fresh fruits on hand in my hanging baskets so I can grab a quick healthy snack when I am hungry instead of reaching for junk food. Although lately, I have not wanted too bring any fresh fruit into the house because I have a mad case of fruit fleas.
However, once I get rid of them I will fill my hanging baskets back up with some of the freshest fruit possible that is not overly ripened. Ripe fruit is what fruit flies tend to go after.
On a more positive note I do make fantastic little fruit fly traps that capture the little pesky buggers effectively so I can get rid of them fast so I can go back to eating healthy foods again.
Materials I find Useful for Making the Fruit Fly Traps
The materials I find useful for making the fruit fly traps are pint sized mason jars, packing tape, a needle and Mason jar lid rings. These materials, I find work the best for making fruit fly traps and trapping the fruit flies. If you do not have these ingredients on hand, you can easily find them at hardware stores, grocery stores and kitchen shops in your local area. I typically always have these materials on hand because I do canning
Ingredients Needed
The ingredients I use in the fruit fly traps to attract the fruit flies are cheap wines, fruit juices, apple ciders, or apple cider vinegar. You do not need all the ingredients just mentioned. All you need is one of the ingredients, but all work excellent for attracting fruit flies wonderfully. My favorite to use is apple cider vinegar or banana juice because they seem drawn to these ingredients a bit more. These ingredients most everyone has on hand, but if you do not, the grocery store in your local area will definitely have the ingredients available for purchasing.
Making the Fruit Fly Traps
To begin making the fruit fly traps, I find it is easiest to lay six jars out in a row on my counter top. Then, I fill each jar up with a half cup of fruity liquid such as the ones just mentioned in the above paragraph. Again, my favorite fruity liquids too use to attract the fruit flies are apple cider vinegar and banana juice.
Next, I take my clear packing tape and seal the top of the Mason jars shut with it so the sticky size is facing inside the jars. This will help keep the fruit flies from crawling back up out of the jars.
After, I place the Mason jar rings onto the jars over the tape to make sure the tape is secured on tightly.
The next step of making the fruit fly traps is simple. All I do is take a sharp needle and poke four to five holes into the taped off part of the fruit fly traps so they can smell the fruity liquid, crawl into the jars and stay trapped.
Best Placed to Put the Fruit Fly Traps
My favorite places to put the fruit fly traps are near my kitchen sink, on top of my kitchen counter tops and any place the fruit fleas seem to be drawn to and hanging out the most. Each fruit fly trap should be effective for at least two days. After the two days is up, it is best to refresh the fruity liquid in the fruit fly traps to keep them working effectively at trapping those fruit flies until they are completely gone.
Tips
Once you get rid of the fruit flies, do not bring fruit back into the house for at least a week to in sure they are truly gone for good. Then, when you do bring some fresh fruit into your home, make sure you wash it down good and place it into a fruit basket or bowl with some freshly dried herbs that repel the flies away naturally such as lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus or dried cloves.
Although, I must say I find placing aromatherapy citronella or lavender diffusers in my kitchen goes a long ways to repelling those flies away naturally. However, you use whatever you find works best in your home for repelling the fruit flies.
