• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Happy Money Saver

A thrifty blog with freezer meals and DIY recipes.

  • Recipes
    • Cookbook
    • Freezer Meals
    • Vintage
    • Family Favorites
  • Money Savin’
    • Gift Ideas
    • Best Deals On…
    • Thrifty Tips
    • Happy Thoughts
    • Black Friday
  • Farm Life
    • Chickens
    • Gardening
    • Survival
  • DIY & Homemade
    • Around My Home
    • Health & Oils
    • Cleaning Recipes
    • Beauty Recipes
    • Get Some Essential Oils
Recipe Index
Home » Homesteading » Gardening

The Best Natural Fruit Fly Trap using Vinegar

By Karrie on July 18, 2017 | Updated September 9, 2020 | 42 Comments

2.7K shares
  • FACEBOOK
  • YUMMLY
  • EMAIL THIS!

Thrifty and all natural Fruit Fly trap using vinegar and dish soap. happymoneysaver.com

Got a fruit fly problem? Have no fear – today I am sharing the best natural fruit fly trap using vinegar! It will save you, promise.

Last week when I canned peaches using my no-refined sugar recipe I noticed a fruit fly. Well overnight that one fruit fly turned into 20. And then 40. Seriously…what is up with how fast these little fetchers breed?  Before I knew it I was doing the icky dance, batting fruit flies away every time I opened my pantry. I knew that the breeding needed to stop and these fruit flies needed to destroyed.

My parents always used vinegar and dish soap to kill them little buggers.  Unfortunately at that moment they were traveling and I couldn’t get a hold of them for their recipe. Luckily on that same day I got an email from a reader named Stephanie who shared her recipe for a fruit fly trap using vinegar and dish soap.

How to make a Natural Fruit Fly Trap Using Vinegar

Fruit Fly Trap using vinegar - natural, safe, non-tox and it WORKS! happymoneysaver.com

Take a jar and fill it 1/2 or 1/3 full of apple cider vinegar. Next,  gently mix in a few squirts dish soap (maybe a teaspoon amount) so there are no bubbles. Then, leave it on your counter overnight near where you see them. In the morning there will be drowned fruit flies in the bottom of it! If the first night doesn’t catch them all make a fresh batch the next day to catch the stragglers.

How this works is the apple cider vinegar smells like rotten fruit to the fruit flies and attracts them. The liquid dish soap breaks the surface of the vinegar and sucks them in when they try to land, which drowns them.

DIY Fruit Fly Trap using Vinegar and dish soap - it works great!

Now I am a lover of most creatures besides spiders, grasshoppers and flies of all kinds. So it still saddens me a little that I am having to kill these little fruit flies, but if I don’t they will breed and infest quickly. This method is natural and non-toxic so if my kids come by and happen to grab the jar off the counter it shouldn’t hurt them.

So it’s bye bye, fruit flies! Hope this recipe helps you out.

2.7K shares
  • FACEBOOK
  • YUMMLY
  • EMAIL THIS!

posted in: Gardening, Homesteading, Money Savin', Survival, Thrifty Tips

Previous
Easy Make Ahead Orange Chicken Freezer Meal
Next
10 Easy and Cheap Camping Meals

Reader Interactions

Psssst…

Make sure to follow along with @HappyMoneySaver on Instagram, connect with me on Facebook and pin along with me on Pinterest!.

    Leave A Reply! Cancel reply

    Share your thoughts!
    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Comments & Reviews

  1. Nick says

    July 28, 2021

    Boy am I relieved to hear the stories I just accumulated a couple of hundred fruit flies in the last 48 hours I have no idea how I left a half a lemon on the table I think that was it maybe it was a line thanks for your Insight it was very helpful

    Reply
  2. allan Joseph nugent says

    September 8, 2020

    I’ve been using this method for some time but I find that the liquid evaporates in a week or so. How come when you do it, it lasts 6 months ? Maybe I have the Mix Ratio wrong. I am using the traps tied up in my Fruit Trees. If you can Please Help.

    Thank you so much.

    Reply
    • Karrie says

      September 9, 2020

      Hi, it definitely doesn’t last 6 months, it usually only lasts about a week and then I make a fresh batch.

      Reply
    • Rebekah says

      January 12, 2021

      I’ve done this too with my Fruit Trees. The solution evaporates quicker because its outside effected by the sun, heat, the elements. I have to make fresh traps weekly.

      Reply
  3. Kieran says

    August 10, 2020

    Very little of the vinegar and soap are actually required, and you don’t need to refresh it daily.

    I use a small herb jar (maybe four or five ounces in volume) and put half an inch deep of cider vinegar mixed with one or two drops of dish soap. Cover it with plastic wrap and poke a hole in it for the flies to get in.

    Highly efficient for about three months, and still pretty effective for another three months after that. I refresh it about every six months, but I’ve had one that lasted almost a full year. The one I cleaned out today had well over a hundred fly corpses in it.

    Reply
    • Susan says

      August 5, 2022

      Do you just put everything down the drain when refreshing?

      Reply
      • Shari says

        August 21, 2022

        I am curious to find out the answer to that question what do you do with the old vinegar solution do you dump it down the drain or outside or flush it down the toilet please respond I’m curious to find out how to get rid of these things

« Older Comments

Primary

Karrie standing in kitchen with freezer meals.

Welcome, I'm Karrie!

Come join me on my money savin' adventures

You may find yourself wanting backyard chickens, making freezer meals and dancing along with me to 80’s music. More about me

Newsletter

Subscribe For Updates + Recipes!

Subscribe for new recipes, freezer meals, DIY tips and more straight to your inbox.

Thank you for subscribing!
Gardening: Growing potatoes in a Garbage Can

Featured Recipes

  • 15 Actually Easy Freezer Meals (Seriously!)
  • Oh-so-Easy Mini Naan Pizzas
  • Tex Mex Dip Recipe
  • Teriyaki Beef and Broccoli
  • Awesome School Lunch Ideas (Kids Will Love!)
  • Freezer Friendly Mini Cheesecakes (No Bake!)
Happy Money Saver Logo

About

  • About Karrie
  • Get in touch
  • Read the blog
  • Farm Life
  • Best Ever Freezer Meals

Homemade

  • Homesteading
  • Around My Home
  • Beauty Recipes
  • Cleaning Recipes
  • Health & Oils

Recipes

  • Recipe Index
  • Freezer Meals
  • From Scratch
  • Family Favorites
  • Frugal Recipes
©2023, Happy Money Saver. Privacy Policy Terms
Design by Pixel Me Designs
×

Subscribe For Updates + Recipes!

Subscribe for new recipes, freezer meals, DIY tips and more straight to your inbox.

Thank you for subscribing!