I Battle Fruit Flies All Summer — But This “Game-Changing” Trick Changed Everything (It’s Hiding in Your Pantry!)

Fresh fruit rarely sits around my kitchen long enough to attract those pesky little fruit flies. But when it does, it’s thanks to the summer’s ongoing tomato harvest from the backyard garden. They often ripen faster than we can eat them (or gift them to the neighbors), and the ones that linger longer than a week or so are fruit fly magnets. So, I set out to figure out what to do about it — other than eat the tomatoes more quickly.

If there’s anything more susceptible to attracting fruit flies fast, I’d put my money on bananas. And as it happened, I had just bought a bunch of newly ripened ones when I read about this brilliant DIY fruit fly trap. There the bananas sat, right next to the tomatoes — an ideal fruit combo to invite fermentation and the fruit fly feast sure to follow!

All I needed to test out the winner of this DIY fruit fly trap showdown was a Mason jar, apple cider vinegar, and a little time. As with most kitchen hacks, I approached the method with equal parts curiosity and skepticism. At the end of the experiment, would I have anything to show for my efforts, other than an infestation of fruit flies I had quite literally invited into my kitchen? 

When the writer tested four different DIY methods, the winning method involved taking a jar and punching a few tiny holes in the lid with a hammer and nail. Then, filling the jar with 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of liquid dish soap. You leave it out and watch the fruit flies come flocking.

Dubious as I was at first, I have to say that by the time I tossed the fruit and poured the apple cider vinegar down the drain, I was pleasantly surprised. It really worked! And with that, I give you a love letter of sorts, dedicated to the simple mason jar trick that set my kitchen right again (and also helped convince my husband that we weren’t going to need professional pest control after all).

This is never going to work, I say, 
as I carefully and precisely tap, tap, tap away
Hammering teensy little holes into the top of a long-forgotten Mason jar
Wondering if this fruit fly research has gone too far.
I saw 20 of them this morning, he remarks, none too pleased.
Yes, but that aggravation today turns to wonder tomorrow, you’ll see! I teased. 
Oh, what have I done? I wonder, as I pour in the vinegar and tighten the lid.
The darn things are both everywhere and nowhere. Will this really rid?
Hard as they are to spot, when I saw a few, I took delight
I’d watch them, willing them to take a headfirst flight
Directly into the fruit fly sized holes I’d hammered into the top
Another one swims to its demise! The experiment wasn’t a flop!
Best of all, it took hardly any time,
And using on-hand goods at home, I spent not a dime
The real proof came after, with fresh produce in the same spot
None came out of hiding as this hack did its job in one shot.

Okay, so clearly I’m no poet laureate. But suffice it to say, the strikingly simple hack of using apple cider vinegar in an everyday household object like a lidded glass jar worked wonders. I left the jar on the counter for five days, and managed to rid the kitchen of a considerable fruit fly population rather quickly. But don’t just take my word for it — see for yourself!

Have you tried this brilliant DIY fruit fly trap? How did it go? Let us know in the comments below!