This $13 Amazon Find Has Solved My Fruit Fly Problem Two Summers In a Row

When I was able to get through the entire month of June without seeing a single fruit fly in my home, I assumed I’d dodged the common summer problem this year. But then in early July, I noticed a couple of them fluttering around my bananas. Of course, that meant that there were many more on the way. Sure enough, in a matter of days, every room of the apartment was crawling with at least four fruit flies. I found myself running late to appointments because I’d get so caught up trying to kill them with body spray!

Then, I remembered that I had a few fly traps in the storage closet left over from last year — certainly a more convenient way of killing the flies than trying to gas them individually with Bath & Body Works spray. I knew the traps would work because I’d used them in my previous apartment last summer, and they’d gotten the job done. Now, whenever someone complains about their own fruit fly infestation, I don’t hesitate to share the Amazon link to the Terro fruit fly traps. They’re simply the best.

The first thing you’ll notice about these traps is that they’re shaped like little red apples, so they’re fairly inconspicuous. In other words, no one visiting your apartment will guess you have a fly problem just by looking at them. What’s more, the traps are easy to put together: Just empty the included fly-luring liquid into the apple and set it down. The substance inside is non-toxic to humans, yet both irresistible and deadly to fruit flies. The bugs make their way into the top of the trap and never get out.

Each trap lasts 45 days, at which point you throw it away. That’s right — there’s no chance you’ll ever touch the dead bugs or spill the liquid. In that way, these traps feel more sanitary than others. They also don’t plug into the wall, so they won’t increase your power bill or take up valuable outlet space. You can use all four traps at once and place them in different rooms of your home, but in my small three-bedroom apartment, two in the kitchen have worked just fine. 

After I set out two of the traps, I’d say about 95% of the fruit flies in my apartment were dead in under a week. Even though I placed both traps in the kitchen, I was no longer seeing the pests in my bedroom or bathroom, and my roommates said the same thing. I still see a fly zipping around every once in a while, but I no longer run to get my body spray because I know it’ll find its way to a trap soon. By far my favorite thing about the traps is that each one has a little window at the bottom, so you can look in and see all the dead flies. It’s only a little gross but very satisfying; I love being able to see the trap working in real time. The moment I see one of those crawly suckers hovering over an opening in the top, I know he’s a goner.

Contributor Amy is also a huge fan of the Terro traps. In fact, it was her initial review that put them on my radar. “Personally, I’m stocking up so that I have new ones ready to go when my current ones hit their expiration date,” she says. “If you’re battling fruit flies like I was, I can’t recommend these easy-peasy traps highly enough.” I obviously second her opinion, and for $13 a pack, the traps are totally affordable, too. Grab your own bundle, and say goodbye to fruit flies for the entire year.

Buy: Terro Fruit Fly Trap, 4-Pack, $13.29 (normally $15.99)