Arm Yourself With The Best Natural Fly Baits
Are the house flies buzzing around in your home and neighborhood spoiling your mood? Has it become such a nuisance that you are desperately looking for some way to trap it? Then, you have landed at the right place at the right time! Read on below to know how to make a house fly trap and that too by natural methods without the use of any harmful constituents.
Getting To Know About House Flies
It is estimated that there are about 1.2 million fly species in this world. House fly is just one among them. House flies have a gray thorax which has 4 dark stripes on it. Thorax is the name of the portion where the wings and the head are connected to each other. The posterior part of the body is the abdomen which is mottled. House flies are considered to be dirty and hence called ‘filth flies.’ The house flies feed on carcasses, excrement, secretions of humans from the mucous membranes or wounds and garbage. They feed on all these and sit on top of uncovered food with the waste particles sticking to their body. If you happen to consume the larvae of these flies through any contaminated food, it won’t die and will survive inside the intestine.
Carriers Of Diseases
Since the house flies always feed on filthy substances, it is said to be a carrier of many diseases. It is said that even a single fly can carry about one million bacteria on them. The bacteria stick on the small hairs on the body of the fly. Such tiny hairs which carry bacteria are called tarsi. They get these disease-causing bacteria from every contaminated substance they rest on and feed on. Hence, they never need to sting you or bite you to make you sick. They simply sit on the open food lying on your kitchen slabs, dining tables or picnic spots. When you eat that food, the bacteria automatically get transmitted to you. This causes diseases like typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea, and dysentery to name a few.
Natural Traps To The Rescue!
Why use harmful chemicals or insecticides when you can get rid of houseflies easily using natural methods? Take a look:
Flypapers
Fly ribbons or fly papers can be easily used to control pests like house flies. Flypapers are nothing but a piece of paper which is coated with a poisonous, sticky and fragrant substance that lures and traps insects like flies. You can easily make this at home. Here are the steps to make it:
- Get a card or paper and cut strips of two-inch width.
- Make one or two holes on the top portion of each strip and slid a thread through these holes. Now, you get a loop of strips that can be easily hung at places where flies visit often.
- Get some sugar and mix it with corn syrup.
- Coat the strip’s one side with the corn syrup and sugar mix you made.
- If the syrup is dripping from the papers, keep a bowl beneath the hanging strips.
- Use these strips in places you see flies the most. You can hang it there. The flies will be lured by the syrup and will get stuck on the paper. Thus, they will get killed.
Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar works wonders in helping to lure the house flies. It is made by the fermentation of fresh apples, and the aroma will immediately lure insects. If you heat this, the aroma becomes stronger. So, here is how you can use house fly trap vinegar:
- Use your microwave oven or place a pan on the gas stove to heat the apple cider vinegar.
- Take a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Poke some holes on the lid. The holes should be big enough for the flies to enter the jar.
- Take a paper and make a funnel with it. You can staple the edges to make it secure. Ensure that you leave a small hole at the narrow bottom end of the funnel.
- Now, fill up the jar with the heated apple cider vinegar.
- Cover the jar with the lid you had made holes in.
- Place the jar in spots where flies frequent the most.
- Leave the jar there for one whole day. The flies will be lured by the aroma of heated cider vinegar and enter the jar through the holes. It won’t be able to find the way out and will get stuck inside the jar. They don’t have the intelligence to figure out that they can go out through the same hole they used to enter the jar.
Trap Them With Wine!
The house flies have a special liking towards fermented stuff. Hence, wine makes a great bait for the trap. You can make use of either white wine or red wine, whichever is available at your home.
- Take a glass and fill half of it with wine.
- Now, place this glass in a place where flies come often.
- The flies will be lured by wine and will drown in it. You can find them floating over the wine.
- To be double sure, you can use dish wash liquid also along with wine.
- You can also pour wine into a bottle and place it with the cap open in a place where flies visit often.
- In case the bottle mouth is wider, seal it with a plastic wrap and poke some holes in it. The hole should be enough for the flies to enter the bottle.
- The flies get lured by wine and fly into the bottle.
- They will get stuck inside the bottle unable to find a way out. Thus, they will get killed inside the bottle.
Make Use Of Natural House Fly Trap Bait To Get Rid Of The Flies
Natural traps and baits are extremely useful in getting rid of house flies. These are substances you will have handy at your home, and you need not even go outside to buy a trap. Take a look:
Sugary Milk Trap!
This method has been in use since ages and is still one of the best ways to trap house flies. Anything sugary will always lure flies. Here is the recipe:
- Take a saucepan and pour milk into it.
- Add some pepper and sugar into the milk
- Simmer the milk for about ten to fifteen minutes.
- Take some shallow plates like soup dishes and pour the prepared solution of milk in all of them.
- Place the plates in all the areas where flies frequent.
- The flies will be lured by the solution and will get suffocated and drown in it once they land on the milk.
Use Honey!
Honey trap is another sweet way to get rid of the flies. The sweet aroma of honey lures the flies, and the stickiness of honey traps them! Alternatively, you can also make use of any fruit jam. The smell of jam lures the flies, and they get trapped by the stickiness of the jam.
- Take a bottle or a soda can and cut it into two parts. Ensure that the bottom part is bigger than the top part.
- Fill half of the bottom part with water.
- Add one or two drops of dish wash soap inside the water.
- Remove the cap and take the top part. Place it in inverted style over the water. Make sure that the mouth of the bottle or can is inserted into the water.
- Smear honey or jam around and near the mouth of the bottle or can.
- Place this trap near the areas infested with flies.
- The flies will be lured by the jam or honey and will fall into the water below.
- They won’t know how to exit from the trap and will die inside it.
Trap With Pet Food
You can also use pet food to trap the flies. If you have dogs or cats as pets, you can use their food.
- Take some dry cat or dog food and soak it in water.
- Soak it until the water turns light pink.
- Pour the pink water into a small container.
- Place the cat food as bait
- The liquid will lure the flies and make them drown in the water.
Use Green Apple Scented Soap
The flies cannot resist the aroma of green apple soaps. Hence, you can use it to trap the flies:
- Take a jar and add 2 tablespoons of liquid soap with green apple scent.
- Now, add about two to three inches of water into the jar.
- The flies will be lured by the smell and will fall into the water. They will drown and die in the water.
Use UV Trap
Ultraviolet light can be used to trap the house flies. Flies always get lured by UV light rays. Hence, get a trap with a UV light. The flies will either get killed by the UV light’s heat or get sucked into a holder which acts like a vacuum. You can opt for this method if you are a bit sensitive to smells. Those who have small kids can also use this trap.
Use Tin Can Trap
Any empty tin can will work well as an effective trap to get rid of the flies. You can use any soup can or a dog food can. Remove the labels and the lid of the can. Wash the can thoroughly with warm and clean water.
- Take a duct tape and cut it into pieces. The pieces should be long enough to wrap the can with it. Ensure that you don’t touch the ends of the tape or make the ends dirty. The trap won’t work in that case.
- Wrap the duct tape around the can and secure it tightly with your hands. Make sure that it sticks properly.
- Now, remove the tape from the can. The stickiness of the tape will be transferred to the can. This will make the can sticky.
- Touch the outer sides of the can and see if it is sticky enough. If it is not sticky, repeat the process with more duct tapes.
- Get a flashlight, or if you can get a UV light, it is better. Place it at the bottom of the can and tape it there. Place the lid on the base portion of the light.
- Place the can outside your home at night. Place it in an upright position so that the sticky sides are exposed.
- Now, switch on the UV light. The flies will get lured by the light.
- The flies will stick to the sides of the can. If you were able to catch the flies successfully, it is better to throw away the can.
- Make sure that you touch the can only after wearing gloves. Hence, you can ensure that you don’t touch the flies with your bare hands. Have a plastic bag ready near you so that you can throw the can into the cover and dispose it off in a trash can.
Use Egg Trap
- Take one egg and mix it with two cups of water. Leave it like that for one day. The egg will start to stink. Flies are lured by stinking smells.
- This is one of the easiest ways to catch flies. A two-liter bottle of egg trap can be filled with flies within a week.
Use Butter Tub
- Get an old and empty butter tub. Poke some holes on the lid using an ice pick.
- Add some vinegar to the bottom of the butter tub.
- You can now leave it on your kitchen counter.
- Remove it after two or three days.
- This is very effective in killing flies and does not cause any spillages. There is no need to use dish wash soaps too.
Use Little Tea Cups
- In case you don’t have any jars handy, you can use small tea cups.
- For better results use disinfectant sprays along with the baits
Use Mango Wine Bottle
- Flies get easily lured by the aroma of wine.
- Use a wine bottle and place strips of any fruits like mangoes inside it.
- The flies will be lured by the sight of the fruit and aroma of the wine.
- They will get trapped inside the bottle and die off.
Use Compost Bowl
Rotten substances always help in luring the house flies. Hence, set up a trap using some rotten compost as the bait. The same method is also useful for your large scale compost.
Insect-Eating Plants
There are certain plants which eat insects. One of them is the Venus fly trap. It won’t grow too much. You can plant it in your yard and let nature take its course. They will eat any insect that comes near it. Similarly, pitcher plant is also useful in trapping and killing insects.
Some Useful Tips While Using DIY House Fly Traps
Here are some tips that can come handy while you use the homemade fly traps:
Use Light
Flies are always lured by light. Hence, you can paint the bottom portion of a trap with black color paint and the top portion with a bright color paint. A black cover can be placed on the trap with a gap of two to three centimeters. You can make use of sticks or dowels to do it. When the flies enter the trap, they will only look for brighter spots. Hence, they won’t move to the entrance and will move to the bright paint. This trick helps in trapping more flies.
Maintain Your Trap
Once you set a trap, don’t leave it there. Ensure that you empty it on a regular basis. Place a fresh bait and use again. If you are using animal droppings or meat as bait, make sure you clean the larvae inside the trap. You can use hot water to clean the trap.
Use A Handle
If you are using a hanging fly trap, make two holes in the top part of the bottle. Pass a thread through the holes and use it as a handle to hang the bottle and use it easily.
Placement Of The Trap
The traps will only be effective if you place it near a fly-infested place. If you have flies in your home, then the probable places will be near dishwashers, sinks, cabinets, under the bars, near the food preparation units, and areas where you store exposed fruits and decaying things. The trap should always be emptied at a place far away from your home. Place a new bait and then place it again at places where flies visit often.
Identify Areas Where Larvae Breeds
If you plan to get rid of flies as a whole, then you will have to identify the areas where larvae of flies will breed. Trash cans, rotten fruits, drains of sinks and moist areas filled with organic matter are the most probable breeding grounds. Also, when you place a trap, clean the surroundings and ensure there are no scrapings or rotten things lying around it. This will ensure that the flies will focus on the trap only. Continue emptying and replenishing the traps until you get rid of all the flies in your area.
Use More Number Of Traps
Instead of using just one trap, place five or six traps in and around your home. This will ensure that a number of flies are caught easily.
Large Infestations
In case of a large group of fly infestation, small traps won’t be effective. In that case, you can use vacuums available in shops. Take some cotton balls and dip them in alcohol. Place these cotton balls in the vacuum. Now, vacuum the flies. Continue doing it for a few days until you get rid of all the flies. The fumes of alcohol help in killing them.
If Houseflies Refuse To Go Inside Near The Bait
If you happen to observe that the flies do not go near the bait and keep circling it, try placing sticky tapes on the container and make the surfaces sticky. The flies will get stuck over the container.
Decide The Bait According To The Season
The usage of sweets and meats will also lure wasps into your trap. If you want to get rid of the house flies only, then use vinegar and sweets during early spring seasons and fall seasons. During summers, you can use vinegar and meat.
Get Rid Of House Flies And Get Rid Of Diseases!
House flies are carriers of various types of harmful diseases. Hence, getting rid of them should be one of your top priorities. All the above home remedies are tried and tested methods from various researchers. You can also try using various methods together for getting better results. Some methods might work well for some species of flies while others might work well for other species. Hence, to be on the safer side, you can use more than one method. A clean and hygienic environment will ensure that the flies will keep away from your place. Hence, make sure that your surroundings are properly cleaned, and wastes are properly disposed off.