How to Kill Fruit Flies with Science! Quick & Simple Two Ingredient Fruit Fly Trap

I rounded the corner into the dining room this morning to find three dozen or so fruit flies perched on my daughters sippy cup, which was left not-quite-empty sitting on the table over night. On the one hand I’m thinking I should have taken a picture before they dispersed, on the other hand, um… Ewww. Gross.

So this morning I laid out fruit fly traps everywhere, and hopefully by tomorrow they shall be drowned and gone. I thought I would share my ever-so-simple fruit fly trap method with you. Apple Cider Vinegar + Dish Soap. That’s it. White vinegar also works, but I think the fruity smell of cider vinegar does a better job of attracting them.

How to make a fruit fly trap in two simple steps:

Take a small bowl or empty plastic bottle and pour cider vinegar into it, about an inch deep. Add a drop of dish soap, and give it a stir or a shake. Place out where you’re finding the flies. The smell of the cider vinegar will attract them, and when they attempt to land they will drown.

What’s the science behind this?
Fruit flies are so small and light that normally they can land right on top of liquids, but here the drop of dish soap breaks up the surface tension of the vinegar and instead of sitting on top the bugs fall in and drown.

There are all kinds of suggestions out there on the web involving plastic wrap or paper cones. This is so much simpler and it works. You can do this in any sort of small bowl or container, but I find that it works best in empty plastic bottles, for example single serve pop or water bottles. (Also if you’re feeling really squirmish about dead bugs, this has the added bonus that you don’t have to clean it out later — you can just toss it.)

What do you think guys? Have you tried this soltuion? Or do you have a better way to get rid of those pesky fruit flies? Let me know in the comments below.