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Swarms of insects can be quite the nuisance. Luckily, homemade fly traps can solve your problem. Whether it’s just one or two flies buzzing around or a swarm, you can likely handle them without outside help. Once you’ve successfully dealt with the problem, you should also focus on breaking bad habits to prevent them from returning to your living space. “Many pests can be managed on your own, and professional help isn’t always necessary,” says Megan Weed, a pest control specialist with Done Right Pest Solutions in Minnesota. Luckily, flies often fall into this category. Below, we’ll detail three of the best homemade fly traps you can use year-round, as well as how to get rid of flies once and for all.
This plastic trap is incredibly simple: Take an existing container, fill it with attractant (a substance that attracts insects), wrap the trap in plastic wrap, and secure it with a rubber band. It’s Wehde’s method, and a favorite of Andre Kazimierski, co-founder of Sophia’s Cleaning Service and a cleaning professional with 20 years of experience.
The fact that it looks better than many other options is an advantage in itself. “I didn’t want any weird traps in my house,” explains Kazimierz. “I used colored glass jars that match the style of our house.”
This clever trick is a simple DIY fruit fly trap that turns an ordinary soda bottle into a container that fruit flies can’t escape from. Cut the bottle in half, turn the top half upside down to create a funnel, and you have a bottle trap that doesn’t require messing with any containers you already have around the house.
For less frequently used areas of the house, like the kitchen, Kazimierz has found success using sticky tape. Sticky tape can be purchased at stores or on Amazon, but if you prefer to do it yourself, you can make your own with a few simple household items. Sticky tape can be used in garages, near trash cans, and anywhere else where flies are common.
To combat flies, Kazimierz and Wade use a mixture of apple cider vinegar and dish soap in their fly traps. Wade uses only this mixture because it has never failed her. “Apple cider vinegar has a very strong smell, so it’s a strong attractant,” she explains. House flies are attracted to the fermented aroma of apple cider vinegar, which is similar to the smell of overripe fruit. However, some use apple cider vinegar directly, such as by throwing rotten apple cores or other rotting fruit into the traps to quickly catch flies. Adding a little sugar to the mixture can also help.
Once you have eliminated flies from your home, don’t let them come back. Our experts recommend the following steps to prevent re-infestation:
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Post time: Aug-25-2025