4 Effective DIY Fruit Fly Traps You Can Make at Home

Getting rid of fruit flies is easier than you might think, and you can speed up the process by making one of these simple homemade traps. 

DIY traps are often even more effective than other commercial fruit fly traps because the ingredients are the same items that attract the fruit flies to your home in the first place, like fruit scraps or sweet beverages. 

Here’s how to make simple and effective fruit fly traps.

Fruit Flies Baits

Fruit flies are attracted to rotting fruits and vegetables and moist environments like drains, garbage disposals, and empty bottles and cans to lay their eggs. Good baits for traps use the things these pests are attracted to in order to draw them in. These include:

• Apple cider vinegar (other vinegar will work, although the sugars in this vinegar work well to attract more fruit flies)
• Overripe fruit, skins, and rinds (pineapple, bananas, melons, apples)
• Rotting vegetables (potatoes, onions)
• Alcoholic beverages

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Method #1: Apple Cider Vinegar and Liquid Soap

Some apple cider vinegar with a few drops of liquid soap goes a lot further than one might expect; this is the best way to get rid of fruit flies because they are attracted to the vinegar, and the dish soap keeps them from flying back out, eventually drowning them.

“Fruit flies are attracted to the odor of rotting fruit most of all, and since vinegar is very associated with the process of decay and fermentation in fruit, it’s a very compelling odor for them,” says Bennett.

• Add a small amount of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of liquid soap (optional) to a mason jar. Mix well.
• Cover the jar with foil or plastic wrap and poke small holes just big enough for a fruit fly to fit through.
• Secure the cover with the lid ring, but don’t screw it on all the way.
• Fasten another piece of foil or plastic wrap over the lid ring with a rubber band, leaving a small space between the two layers.
• Poke holes in the top layer. Avoid creating holes that line up with holes on the bottom layer; otherwise, the fruit flies can escape.

Why This Method Is Effective

Apple cider vinegar is one of fruit flies’ favorite fermented smells. The vinegar draws the flies into the trap, and the layers of foil make it very difficult for them to escape. Adding liquid soap will speed up the process, but either way, the flies will eventually die in the trap.

Method #2: Plastic Bottle

Another method is creating a fruit fly trap out of a plastic bottle.

• Poke or drill small holes in the lid of a soda or water bottle and then screw it back on the bottle.
• Cut the bottle’s top third off and set aside.
• Pour an attractant, such as apple cider vinegar, fruit juice, wine, or beer, into the bottom of the bottle.
• Flip the top of the bottle upside down and place it in its bottom half with the cap, forming a funnel down into it.
• Tape the bottles together.
• Place your bottle trap near the fruit flies.

Why This Method Is Effective

The attractant in the bottom draws the fruit flies in, while the funnel shape of the trap makes it difficult for them to get out. The trap is entirely disposable, so toss it when it needs to be changed and create a new one.

Method #3: Paper Cone and Jar

You can also create a fruit fly trap with a paper cone and a jar.

• Place some fruit scraps (like banana peels) in the bottom of a jar.
• Take a piece of paper and form a paper cone with a small hole in the bottom.
• Tape the paper cone together, put it in the jar without it touching the bottom, and seal it with tape around the rim.

Why This Method Is Effective

The fruit in this trap makes it irresistible to fruit flies, especially if you use scraps of sweet and juicy fruit like pineapple, which is especially enticing to fruit flies.

The tiny trap entrance and the shape the paper cone creates inside the trap make it challenging for fruit flies to find their way out. Just ensure the hole in your paper cone is small enough that the flies can’t come and go.

Method #4: Wine Bottle

An old bottle of regular or soured wine is an excellent option for a wine trap.

• Keep a few inches of wine remaining in the bottle.
• Add a piece of fruit as another enticing lure.
• Add a few drops of dish soap to reduce the wine’s surface tension and drag the fly down into the liquid.
• Like Method #3, create a paper funnel at the bottle opening. (Make a paper cone with a small hole in the bottom. To keep it in place, tape the cone where it meets the rim.)
• Once the bottle fills with flies, close it with a stopper and dispose of it.

Why This Method Is Effective

The fermented liquid and ripened fruit attract any fruit flies in the area, while the soap coats their wings and makes it impossible for them to fly back out. For any flies that haven’t touched the soap, the cone is a difficult shape to navigate flying through and keeps them trapped inside.

Other Fruit Fly Trap Methods

If you’re having trouble attracting flies, use only apple cider vinegar and skip the liquid soap. Try placing fruit fly traps near your produce, kitchen sink, or other areas where you’ve seen the pests. You can always purchase a commercial fruit fly trap in stores as a last resort.

How to Prevent Fruit Flies

Here are the best fruit fly solutions to use along with your DIY fruit fly traps:

• Wash and refrigerate your produce as soon as you bring it home; fruit flies and their eggs are often carried inside on produce. Produce that sits at room temperature is also more appealing.
• Don’t leave glasses for juice, wine, beer, or kombucha in the open, and rinse beverage containers before recycling.
• Avoid leaving food and produce scraps on your counters, sink, or compost overnight. If you have a kitchen compost bin, ensure it has a good seal and is emptied regularly.
• Regularly change your garbage and recycle bins; rinse them out occasionally to avoid attracting fruit flies.
• Clean your sink drains and garbage disposal so rotting food scum isn’t building up and attracting fruit flies.

If your fruit fly control efforts have little to no effect, there’s either a fruit fly source that has gone undetected or the flies you see might not be fruit flies. Both drain flies and fungus gnats are easily confused for fruit flies, so don’t rule those pests out if you’re still struggling to manage this issue.