If your kitchen fruit bowl is often brimming with apples, oranges, bananas and other room-temperature safe fruits, you’ve likely encountered a pesky fruit fly or two. These tiny nuisances are most prevalent during the summer months, but can linger well into autumn if they have a steady food source.
There’s no shortage of tips and tricks to banish fruit flies, but traditional traps may not be as effective when dealing with a larger infestation. These traps also fall short if the flies seek refuge in your bin or breed in your kitchen sink drain.
If you’re tired of waiting for conventional traps to do their job, an Instagram user has shared a “game-changing” hack that claims to trap fruit flies in seconds – all you need is a plate and some oil.
In her video, the woman is seen brandishing a china dinner plate in the air in an attempt to catch fruit flies. She then presents the plate to the camera, revealing several small flies stuck to its surface.
The woman managed to trap and kill the flies by simply smearing a thin layer of oil over the plate. As she waved it through the air, the flies became ensnared in the oil and perished.
She stated: “Did you know that you can catch fruit flies and other flying insects with a plate with some oil on it?”.
In the caption of her video, she noted that whilst it was “kind of gross,” it worked brilliantly for eliminating the flies buzzing about her kitchen.
The method isn’t particularly practical if you’ve got loads of flies in your home, as you’ll need to stand there waving a plate about for ages before you catch them all. However, for the odd fly, it could be a brilliant trick to have up your sleeve.
As one commenter suggested, it could also be useful for any flies lurking in your bin that refuse to take notice of traps you’ve set out. They said: “Oh my God, thank you! I do the apple cider vinegar in a jar thing, but it’s the ones that jump out of the bin at you that I’m after!”
Another person added: “Erm, I’m sorry?!? How on God’s green Earth have I never known this?!? This is the top life hack of the century!! Sharing IMMEDIATELY!!”
A third also posted: “This is actually genius.”
How to create a fruit fly trap
If you’re battling numerous fruit flies and the plate method isn’t proving sufficient, you can construct a fruit fly trap that will attract the insects before eliminating them. You’ll only need a handful of common kitchen essentials.
You will need:
- A small jar, cup, or glass
- Cling film
- An elastic band
- Apple cider vinegar (or ripe fruit, or wine)
- A toothpick or fork
Instructions:
- Add Attractant: Pour about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar into the jar. If you don’t have vinegar, you can use a piece of ripe fruit or a bit of wine or beer.
- Cover: Stretch a piece of cling film over the mouth of the jar.
- Secure: Use an elastic band to hold the plastic wrap tightly in place.
- Poke Holes: Use a toothpick or fork to poke several small holes in the plastic wrap. The holes should be big enough for fruit flies to enter, but not so large that they can easily escape.
- Set Trap: Place the trap near where you’ve seen fruit flies (like near fruit bowls, trash cans, or sinks).
