There are different fly traps that you can use to deal with a fly infestation in your home. Yes, it isn’t easy to deal with this kind of infestation. However, with patience and extra efforts, it is possible to attain complete control over your fly problem.
Creating a Homemade Fly Trap
If you are one of those DIYers who tend to use whatever is available in their homes, there are various options you can try. The following are steps in creating a bottle fly trap:
This is a simple yet effective DIY trap that you can do at home. All you need is a soda bottle, sugar, water, scissors, and staples. Follow the steps below:
1. Wash the bottle thoroughly and cut the top off using a pair of scissors.
Start cutting at the middle part of the bottle to create two parts: a funnel and a shaft. Flip the top piece and stick it into the lower part of the bottle.
2. Using staples, join the edges of the bottles together.
You can also use regular glue, but it may take some time until it dries and before you can use it.
3. Prepare the melted sugar mixture.
With this mixture, the bottle traps will attract the flies easily and prevent them from flying away.
To make this mixture, put five tablespoons of any sugar you have in a pot. Slowly melt it at medium to high heat. You want to create a syrup out of it and not just sweet water so don’t add water to the mixture.
4. Spoon the mixture inside the funnel and the edges of the bottle.
Try to drip some on the edges so it can attract and catch flies as they land on the mixture.
5. Try other baits.
Other baits you can use are slices of apples, vinegar, or a simple mixture of water and honey or sugar.
6. Make sure that you place it near a sunny spot.
This will increase the chance of the flies smelling whatever bait you put in it.
7. You can breathe into the trap every now and then.
Since flies are attracted to carbon dioxide and heat, this will make the trap more effective. Rubbing the bottle in between your hands can also help in creating more heat.
8. Once you see that the trap you created caught lots of flies, throw it away and create a new one.
It is better that you throw it away instead of trying to clean it up to avoid handling dead flies.
This is the most common yet easiest trap that you can use for trapping and controlling fly infestation in your home.
Learning How to Take Advantage of the Right Baits and Traps to Capture and Kill Flies
For you to know the right type of baits that you should be using, you should identify first the types of flies infesting your home. It might seem like all flies are the same, but there are various kinds that may have accessed your property.
This is the main reason why you should start experimenting with various options to find out which will work for you best.
For trapping blow or bluebottle flies and house flies, your bait should be a combination of meat and something sweet. If you have old scraps of meat, mix it with anything sweet. You can also consider using rotten shrimp or fish, as they smell so much unlike meat.
If you’re dealing with fruit flies, you can use:
- fully ripe fruit
- fruit juice
- apple cider vinegar
- syrup
- beer
- wine
Aside from using any of these alone, you can combine any of these to make your trap more enticing to flies.
It is important that you consider looking for other effective baits. This is true especially when trying to control flies horse flies, stable flies, and other types infesting your home.
Tips When Using DIY or Disposable Fly Trap
For your baits to work, some of the important things that you should consider doing are the following:
- These traps are made to capture flies in the liquid. So, regardless of the type of bait you choose, it is important that it is floating in enough amount of liquid. This is one way to drown them.
- A splash of vinegar will keep beneficial insects away from the trap and prevent them from getting stuck along with the flies.
- Add a few drops of dish soap just to break the tension on the surface. This will make sure that the flies will drown upon entering the trap.
With these tips in mind, you can guarantee that you will have an easier time trying to get rid of the flies in your house.
When to Call an Exterminator
Though it may seem simple to handle an infestation, there are times when you would prefer asking experts to do the job for you. As mentioned, it would help if you try various products prior to calling an expert.