I Tried 4 Homemade Fly Traps — Here’s What Worked

Whether it's fruit flies lingering in the kitchen or houseflies buzzing in your ears, there's nothing worse than pesky insects inside your home. Flies and tiny gnats can also be a nuisance outdoors — hovering over plants and landing on food during a barbecue. Get rid of flies by placing a homemade trap where they tend to congregate: near a fruit bowl, around houseplants or in the garden.

I tried four different methods to lure and trap flies — and they were all so easy, especially since I already had the supplies on hand. For bait, I used apple cider vinegar mixed with dish soap (it helps drown the flies), but you can use whatever you have available. Flies are attracted to anything sweet — think old wine, sugar water, rotting fruit, honey or syrup.

This simple method — best for fruit flies and gnats — requires a mason jar with a lid, plus a hammer and a nail to puncture small holes that are big enough to trap flies. Apple cider vinegar, which mimics the scent of ripening fruit, is the best bait.

1. Fill a mason jar with bait — apple cider vinegar works best, but you can also add ripening fruit or honey. Add a few drops of dish soap to help drown the flies.
2. Use a nail and hammer to gently poke holes into the flat part of the mason jar lid. I recommend putting a piece of scrap wood or cardboard onto your work station to avoid any damage. You should only need to gently tap the nails to create the holes (I made six).
3. Secure the lid onto the mason jar and place it near your fruit fly problem.

My thoughts: You'll need a hammer for this one, but it's still really fast and a breeze to make. Plus, the mason jar lid is easy to remove and screw back on, so you can replace the bait as needed. It doesn't look ugly, so I didn't mind it sitting near my houseplants or adjacent to my fruit bowl.

Once you finish a soda, turn the bottle into an effective fly trap. The goal: Flies smell the bait and fly into the bottle to get to it. Once inside, they won't be able to fly up the narrow opening and will eventually die off.

1. Remove the bottle cap and label from a water or soda bottle, preferably one with a narrow opening. Use scissors to cut the bottle in half.
2. Fill the bottom with apple cider vinegar, leaving a gap between the "funnel" and liquid. Tip: If you don't have apple cider vinegar, try honey, ripe fruit or sugar water.
3. Add a few drops of dish soap.
4. Position the top half upside down inside the bottom, so it looks like a funnel.
5. As long as the problem persists, empty the dead flies and add fresh bait regularly.

My thoughts: This method might have been the fastest and easiest to make. I love that it repurposes a bottle that would ordinarily be recycled.

With a few household items, you can recreate this discrete fly trap – which is best for gnats and fruit flies. You'll need to poke small holes into the plastic wrap (I used a toothpick), but make sure the holes aren't too small for the kind of flies you're trying to trap.

1. Pour apple cider vinegar — and add other bait — into a mason jar. Flies are also drawn to scraps of rotting fruit, sugar and honey, which can help make your trap more appealing.
2. Cover the opening with plastic wrap. Secure it with a rubber band or twist the mason jar's screw band around the glass.
3. Poke a few small holes using a fork, toothpick or nail in the plastic wrap, which will allow flies to enter.

My thoughts: While this method was incredibly easy to make, I worry it won't be as effective as the others. It was challenging to make concise and even holes in the plastic wrap, so it may be difficult for flies to enter.

For this simple fly trap, you should have everything you need lying around the house. Gather a large mason jar or glass, a piece of paper and bait, then follow these steps:

1. Pour apple cider vinegar into a large mason jar. Add a chunk of very ripe fruit (apples, peaches and bananas work well) and a few drops of dish soap.
2. Roll a piece of printer paper into a cone and stick it into the jar, placing the narrow opening down.

My thoughts: It was a little difficult to roll the paper into a cone shape so that it hovered above the bait, but it only took me a few tries to nail it. I didn't love the look of leaving this fly trap on display in my kitchen or near my houseplants.

The best homemade fly trap is one that can attract both house flies and fruit flies. To lure both outdoors, mix scraps of rotting meat, like fish or chicken, with sugar or honey. When indoors, the best bait is old fruit or honey. Liquid dish soap is exactly what you need to drown the flies. Sugar and vinegar attract them, while the soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid to trap the flies instead of keeping them sitting on the surface.

According to Ehrlich Pest Control, flies are attracted to the heat in our homes. They also love light, garbage and damaged food. Warm and cluttered spots are their preferred breeding areas, so it's recommended to remove garbage at least twice a week. Other helpful solutions include cleaning out drains and not allowing trash bins to overflow.

Flies also hate the smell of cinnamon and essential oils, such as lavender and lemongrass. Light candles with these scents in places you want to keep flies away.

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Alyssa Gautieri

Associate Lifestyle Editor

Alyssa Gautieri (she/her) is the associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers all things home and interior design. Prior to joining GH in 2022, she wrote for publications including ELLE Decor, Chairish, BobVila.com, Unique Homes Magazine and LODGING Magazine, in addition to crafting product copy for home brands like BrylaneHome and VIGO Industries.