I love Summer but I hate Fruit Fly season. Seems that once they get in the house, there is no getting away from the little critters flying around the kitchen and getting into everything food related.
With less than a week left before a pile of company is due to arrive, I thought I'd try to get rid of the fruit flies. So I did a little research. After reading up on it, I found two methods that others swore by. So I decided to do a little experiment and try both.
The first was the Martha Stewart method. Just take a jar, stick a few pieces of over-ripe fruit in the bottom, and then top it with a paper cone with a small cut in the bottom so the flies could get in but not back out. To make a quick paper cone, I cut a corner off an envelope and snipped the point, opened it up and fit it into the top of the mason jar. A little tape to hold it in place and I then screwed on the lid. If you want to pass on the paper cone, just use a piece of clear plastic wrap on top held into place with an elastic band and poke a few holes in the plastic wrap.
The second method was passed down from someones grandmother. This was easier since all you had to do was take a small container (I chose another canning jar) and place 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and 3 drops of dish soap inside. No lid, no bother, no nothing. Just sit it on the counter and wait.
Guess which worked best? I had my money on Martha Stewart but Granny's method worked like a charm. Not only did it work better, it looked a heck of a lot more appealing sitting on the counter than a dish of rotting fruit. And if you don't have a glass canning jar, you could use a pretty china teacup or even a small crystal vase.
If you take a close look at the bottom of the cider jar, you can see fruit flies along the bottom. I'm guessing it trapped more than 100 in less than 24 hours (I didn't realize there were that many in my house..ewwwwww!) Martha's method trapped around 10.
So if fruit flies are taking over your kitchen, give Granny's method a try and let me know what you think.
