You don’t have to worry anymore about the fruit flies that drift around your kitchen and food. Apple cider vinegar traps for fruit flies as a homemade remedy are at your service.
Apple cider vinegar trap is pretty easy to make and effective to a large extent if used properly. Join us as we are here to help you make an effective apple cider vinegar fruit fly trap in the easiest possible way.
Catching fruit flies using an apple cider vinegar trap is a simple task to achieve, if you get all the necessary materials by your side.
To make an effective apple cider vinegar trap, you will need the below-mentioned essentials:
Once you’ve gathered the essential materials, you can begin to prepare the apple cider vinegar trap by choosing a suitable container. It has been suggested to pick a medium-sized mason jar or bowl.
People are also seen using a transparent glass jar to keep a record of their trap that allows you to look through and act accordingly.
After choosing the container, you then need to grab a bottle of apple cider vinegar and pour about half an inch of vinegar such that it completely covers the bottom of the container.
Keep in mind not to add excess vinegar to the jar, or else there won’t be any space for the fruit flies to get inside the trap. The acetic acid of vinegar is found to attract fruit flies toward the container.
After that, you need to add water to the jar containing apple cider vinegar just enough to dilute the solution. Keep in mind to avoid adding excess water or else it will weaken the intensity of vinegar.
The addition of water has been found to allow the scent of vinegar to linger more time in the air, increasing the effectiveness by trapping more fruit flies in the increased volume of solution.
Another element that goes into the diluted solution is the dish soap. Dish soap is the one that actually works as the trap. Mixing soap in the solution will help to sink the flies once they land on the solution.
Mixing a few drops of liquid soap in the diluted solution has been found to break the surface tension of the vinegar solution increasing the effectiveness of your fly trap.
After the proper addition of essentials into the jar in the right proportion, you have to stir the solution so that all the elements are dissolved evenly.
Keep in mind not to stir too much creating bubbles in the solution, you have to cease stirring if the bubble starts to appear. After the mild stir, allow the mixture to settle for a few minutes.
Once the mixture has been prepared, the jar containing the mixture should be tightly wrapped from all sides. You can use plastic wrap to cover the jar on which tiny holes are to be made.
Make sure to create holes that are just enough for the fruit flies to get inside the jar, not allowing the flies to escape. The plastic wrap also works as a shield to trap the vinegar scent so that it lasts longer.
Instead of using plastic wrap, you can also go for a paper funnel to catch the fruit flies. This alternative method is environmentally friendly helping to reduce the plastic usage at your home.
You simply need to grab one end of the paper and make a cone such that a small opening at the tip of the cone is created for the flies to pass into the vinegar solution. But keep in mind they shouldn’t be allowed to fly out.
Once you have placed the funnel into the container with its tip facing inside of the container, you may need to secure it so that it stays adjoined with the container. You can take help of the glue or tape.
Keep in mind that the larger opening of the funnel should face outside allowing the flies some space for movement. Place the paper funnel carefully without allowing it to touch the vinegar solution, or else your funnel will get wet.
Once the jar has been surrounded with the plastic warp, you need to make sure it is tightly secured. For this, you can make use of a rubber band which will firmly hold the plastic.
Make sure to choose a rubber band that has more elasticity and properly apply it around the container above the plastic wrap. Check for the tightness and any potential route for the fruit flies to escape.
Now that everything has been done, you can place the apple cider vinegar trap at the preferred location. Make sure to go for spots such as the kitchen, fruit bowls, around flowers and fruits, or near a trash bin where fruit flies are most active.
The effectiveness of your fly trap largely depends upon your choice of location where you place your trap. If necessary you can set multiple traps but make sure to place them at the most anticipated location.
After you set the traps at the preferred location, you need to periodically check for them and assess if they have been able to catch any flies. You may need to change the location or make any adjustments if it fails at one attempt.
Your trap needs to be replaced if it catches the flies as the unpleasant trap may repel the flies instead of attracting them. Besides that, over time your fruit fly trap will lose the necessary attractive scent of apple cider vinegar.
One of the few important things to look out for is the odor of apple cider vinegar while making an apple cider vinegar trap. Yes, you must check for its aroma and potency regularly once set and replenish it whenever the odor seems to fade out.
You should know that the main element of your fruit fly trap is the odor of apple cider vinegar which is found to evaporate pretty quickly and the lost scent of vinegar will not work effectively.
In some cases, primarily when there is a larger infestation of fruit flies in your house or any setting, you may need to place multiple traps at the anticipated locations.
To get rid of fewer fruit flies, one or two traps may prove to be effective but for the larger numbers, you need to set multiple traps at different locations, covering more radius.
The smell of ripened fruits and vegetables in your kitchen is what attracts the fruit flies most in your house. Sometimes the odor these fruits and vegetables possess might weaken the intensity of apple cider vinegar.
For this, you need to make sure your ripened fruits and vegetables are kept away from the location where the trap is set. In addition to that, avoiding ripened elements in your kitchen for some period might help to speed up the elimination of existing fruit flies.
Another tip while making apple cider vinegar traps for fruit flies is to maintain your house and business setting clean and tidy, making sure the once-gone fruit flies do not come back again.
Yes, only if you give the proper time to maintaining your place neat and clean, you will be able to eliminate all the possible harboring spots and things for the fruit flies. This will assist in increasing the effectiveness of your fly trap.
Once you achieve success in catching fruit flies using your apple cider vinegar trap, you have to incline your effort toward properly disposing of the captured fruit flies.
Remember to keep an eye on your trap and once it tends to be full of captured flies, you need to dispose of them either by flushing them down or packing them in sealed bags to dump in the garbage truck.
