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How to: Fruit Fly Carnage
At this time of year I encounter many fruit flies that I would like to send to meet their Maker. Call me heartless or bloodthirsty, but I'd rather not allow them to desecrate my fruit or buzz bomb my day. here's how to get rid of them...
You will need: a small glass jar, a piece of heavy weight paper, scissors, tape, apple cider vinegar and liquid dishwashing soap.
First draw a circle on your paper and cut it out.
Then, cut one straight line into the center of the circle.
Pull the straight edges of the paper toward each other to make a shallow cone shape
and tape the paper to hold it in place.
Cut (or poke with a pen or pencil) a small hole at the point of the cone
that is just big enough for a fruit fly to crawl through.
Set the cone, point down onto the top of your glass jar.
Holding it in place with one hand, push the outer edge of the cone down...
to invert it over the lip of the jar while still keeping the original point projecting down into the jar.
Cut off the extra paper lip so that approximately 1/2 inch is left overhanging the edge of the jar.
Remove the cone, for now. Pour 1-2 inches of apple cider vinegar into the jar. This is like crack for fruit flies.
Now, DRIZZLE about 1/2 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid into the bottom of the jar. Do not shake it, stir it, or make it foam. Adding the soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid (vinegar) and allows the fruit fly to be sucked down into the abyss quickly.
Place the paper cone back on top of the jar and press down the edges so that the fruit flies can't escape from under the lip of the cone. If you'd like, you can add a rubber band, just to be sure.
Voila!! a fruit fly graveyard. This group was collected in one 24 hour stretch.
Thank God for your help on this one.
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