Creating a Homemade Fly Trap

As the weather warms up and you find yourself spending more time outdoors, you'll probably consider purchasing some fly traps to battle the hordes of flies looking to ruin your outdoor fun. However, store bought fly traps and insect repellents raise a good amount of health concerns with pesticides and other harsh chemicals used. For just a little bit of money and a minimal amount of effort, you can create your own homemade fly trap that will work as well as, if not better than, something you'd find at the store.

The design outlined below is a simple but effective one. If that's all that you're looking for, you'll be on your way to killing bugs in minutes. However, if you want your homemade insect trap be more than functional addition to your yard and be decorative as well, you can feel free to use additional materials to make the trap more aesthetically pleasing. As long as your decorative additions don't interfere with the steps below and their functions, everything should work just fine.

Step 1 - Preparing the Bottle

You'll want to start with a 2 liter soda bottle for your trap. Make sure to clean the bottle thoroughly before use.

NOTE: If you don't have a soda bottle, you can use almost any empty plastic bottle as a substitute.

Step 2 - Cutting the Bottle

Measure a line around the bottle about 1 inch below the point at which it begins to curve in to the neck. This will ensure that the top of the bottle is able to be wedged in place when inverted and put back in its base. Cut the top of the bottle off using a knife or scissors following the line that you have measured.

Step 3 - Installing the Hanging Wire or String

Using the knife or tip of the scissors, poke two holes opposite from one another close to the top edge of the bottle's base. Tie either end of the wire or string into the holes so that the bottle base can hang by it.

Step 4 - Baiting the Trap

Whoever said that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar never actually tried to catch flies. The truth is that it is the stinkier the better when it comes to baiting a fly trap. A small piece of spoiled meat or other rotting food is a good choice. Add the bait to the bottom of the bottle base and fill a few inches of the bottom with water.

NOTE: Commercial fly baits are available at your local hardware store, but be sure to check what ingredients are used to avoid pesticides.

Step 5 - Installing the Bottle Top

For this step, you simply put the bottle top back on upside down. In other words, the neck of the bottle top should be pointing down. Push it into the bottle's base until it is wedged tightly. Make sure that the water in the base is below the tip of the bottle neck. If it isn’t, dump a little water out.

Step 6 - Hanging the Trap

This part is easy. Just find a place where flies are a problem and hang the trap out of people’s way. When the flies go into the bottle to investigate the bait, they will not be able to find their way out and will end up drowning in the water.

NOTE: Be sure to place the trap in an area that is affected by flies but not directly in a hang out spot, as your bait will likely have an unpleasant odor.

For just the cost of an old bottle and some spoiled food you have a safe, environmentally friendly way to control a nasty pest.