DYI Fly Trap

Summer is a time full of water fights, watermelon, popcycles, running through the sprinkler....and those dreadful flies all over the house!!!  Aarrrgh!

   It is such a battle when kids are running in and out the door all day (which is not a bad thing) but it's a full time job keeping up with all the flies venturing in.  And I am clumsy...I may nail a few flies with a swatter, but the path of destruction simply is not worth it!  Unfortunately, homeowner's insurance doesn't cover my lack of coordination, even if the flies are an act of nature.

  Additionally, those curly little fly strips...my husband thinks it looks like prom night at Monster High.

   All summer I have looked for ideas on Pinterest to trap the flies and it has been fail after fail.  I have experimented with various solutions of the following:

•raw meat in water 👎🏻

•apple vinegar 👎🏻

• dish soap 👎🏻

• sugar 👎🏻

   I don't know if flies are attracted to different stimuli in different environments, but I sure was batting zero!  I was on the verge of buying a pet frog and a few Venus Fly Trap plants, when I came across this recipe for Fly Destruction:

https://www.backroadsliving.com/fly-bait/

   The recipe calls for white vinegar and pancake syrup or honey.  I used the syrup & white vinegar and put it in an inverted water bottle as all of these Pins have recommended.  I trapped a few (which is a few more than I caught before: 300 - 400% increase!  YES!)  However, I wanted to see what would happen if I moved the solution to an open plastic cup.  And wa-lah!  Another collection of germy pests meet their demise! (As pictured, one floater, but many sinkers at the bottom...)

   I put the bottle by the door used most frequently so the flies are trapped before they get a chance to take a tour of the house.

Conclusion: Mission Accomplished!  Thank you so much, https://www.backroadsliving.com/!  You have greatly improved the quality of my summer!