Home » Home Remedy Fact or Myth: Do Homemade Vinegar Fly Traps Work?

Home Remedy Fact or Myth: Do Homemade Vinegar Fly Traps Work?

You’ve seen the adhesive fly traps swinging from patio beams, displaying many insects caught in flight. However, these traps are unsightly and must be replaced periodically. A homemade option is naturally a better selection, but its effectiveness is often questioned. Catching flies with vinegar is a widespread story across the Internet. Clegg’s Termite & Pest Control wants you to know if this trap is effective or not.

Its Attraction

Most vinegar fly traps use a mixture of vinegar and dish soap to attract flies, but it doesn’t bring in every fly species. There are dozens of fly species in nature, even in North Carolina. They are all attracted to different scents. The fruit fly, in particular, senses sugar and sweet tastes wafting from fruits. When you use the correct vinegar fly trap recipe, you’ll trap fruit flies, but not other types.

Choosing The Right Vinegar

The Saint Louis Science Center performed this fly trap experiment with two different vinegars: white and apple cider. The white vinegar is too pungent, and lacks sweetness, to attract fruit flies. However, apple cider vinegar brings in fruit flies by the dozens. It’s crucial to have a sweet temptation to make the fly trap work. Otherwise, the flies flock to nearby fruit bowls and other kitchen treats.

Adding Dish Soap

Fruit flies are extremely small, allowing them to balance their bodies on the vinegar’s surface tension. The fly trap is often a cup filled with vinegar and dish soap with plastic wrap covering the top. Small holes are created in the plastic to allow flies into the mixture. If you forget the dish soap, flies will enter the cup and drink the vinegar as they perch on the surface. The soap forces the flies to fall into the liquid, trapping them perpetually.

An Interesting Alternative

If you don’t have apple cider vinegar in the house, you can try adding a piece of apple to a cup filled with water and dish soap. You create the same sweet temptation and reduced surface tension to trap the flies. However, the decaying fruit may be unsightly and produces a foul smell over time. Choosing apple cider for the trap is a smart choice.

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Clegg's Locations

Asheville
276-B Haywood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28806
Charlotte
1520 Industrial Center Cir.
Charlotte, NC 28213
Clinton
205 Wall St.
Clinton, NC 28328
Durham
2401 Reichard St.
Durham, NC 27705
Fayetteville
500 S. Eastern Blvd.
Fayetteville, NC 28301
Greenville
864 Rivit St.
Greenville, NC 27834
Kernersville
740 Indeneer Dr.
Kernersville, NC 27284
Morehead City
2700 Bridges St.
Morehead City, NC 28557
New Bern
218 Kale Rd.
New Bern, NC 28562
Raleigh
3751 Bastion Ln.
Raleigh, NC 27604
Smithfield
1520 S. Brightleaf Blvd.
Smithfield, NC 27577
Southport
4075 Old Bridge Rd. SE
Southport, NC 28461
Wilmington
3417 Enterprise Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28405

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Clegg's Military Discount

Are you a current or former member of our nation’s military? We would like to show our thanks and appreciation for your service in the form of a special discount on Clegg’s Pest Control services. Some restrictions may apply. Limit one per household.

$100 OFF

Initial Moisture Control Services

Some restrictions may apply and cannot be combined with any other offers. Limit one per household. Applies to initial moisture services only. No Cash Value. Must be 18 or older to redeem.

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Click on a location below to learn more about services, solutions, and pests in your area.

276-B Haywood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28806
1520 Industrial Center Cir.
Charlotte, NC 28213
205 Wall St.
Clinton, NC 28328
2401 Reichard St.
Durham, NC 27705
500 S. Eastern Blvd.
Fayetteville, NC 28301
864 Rivit St.
Greenville, NC 27834
740 Indeneer Dr.
Kernersville, NC 27284
2700 Bridges St.
Morehead City, NC 28557
218 Kale Rd.
New Bern, NC 28562
3751 Bastion Ln.
Raleigh, NC 27604
1520 S. Brightleaf Blvd.
Smithfield, NC 27577
4075 Old Bridge Rd. SE
Southport, NC 28461
3417 Enterprise Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28405

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