Here is my favorite fruit fly trap. Why do we need a trap? Well this is a story. Griffin, our dog, has started getting into the trash in his old age. All the trash, even the small containers by chairs that usually only collect tissues and orange peels. So we replaced the open bin with a trash can with an attached lid. The dog can’t get in, but the orange peels and closed environment make a lovely breeding ground for fruit flies. I found some lovely large golden nugget mandarins at the farmer’s market, which came with extra passengers. The extra passengers loved the orange peel offerings and the safe breeding environment. We started noticing a few pesky fliers, which is unusual because our house spiders usually do a good job keeping the gnat population down. I put out this trap, which is a mason jar with apple cider vinegar in the bottom, and a cone made of card stock attached with washi tape on the top. It is easy for the flies to crawl down into the cone and through the small hole, but it is very difficult for them to fly out.

I’ll leave this trap out until all the flies inside have died. We did take care of the fly nursery by cleaning it out and lining the can. Funny how one factor can tip the scales out of balance. My house spiders are probably stuffed.