This DIY Hack for Getting Rid of Fruit Flies “Works Like Magic!”

The telltale signs of summer can often be found in the kitchen, for better or for worse. Sunlight shoots through the windows, and the air hangs heavily around ripe fruit. Produce and indoor plants are thriving … and so are fruit flies. The annual battle against fruit flies is a storied one — but luckily, there’s a new (and totally intense) DIY-trick to once again reclaim your home, and you likely already have all of the supplies.

Content creator Pia Cuerquis (@sophiacuerquis) breaks down her homemade fruit fly contraption in an Instagram Reel, and while it utilizes tips from classic fruit fly traps, it combines them in a way that makes the trap totally lethal to the kitchen pest. 

First, Cuerquis takes a small vase and fills it about halfway with apple cider vinegar, a fruit fly favorite. (They love the sweet, fermented smell.) Sophia then adds in a drizzle of dish soap to submerge the flies underwater and a dash of sugar for extra appeal, another classic fruit fly trap.

She lightly tops off the mixture with warm water and stirs the concoction with a spoon. 

But crucially, as the final step, Sophia inserts “the star of the show,” sticky fly traps, whose bright yellow color naturally attracts insects. “It works like magic,” she says just as a fly meets its fate. The end of the video reveals two jars with a total of five fly-covered sticky traps.

Depending on the severity of your fruit fly situation, you can choose from a couple removal tactics. I’d say Sophia’s double-trap setup with liquid and adhesive is best for more severe invasions. Before you assemble any trap, though, it’s a good idea to give your kitchen a thorough clean (especially inside of drains!) to eliminate food landing spots and lingering eggs. 

For lighter fruit fly problems, an old-fashioned apple cider vinegar trap is a low-effort yet effective solution. All you need to do is fill a bottle with half a cup of apple cider vinegar and a drop of dish soap. Then, securely cover the lid with plastic wrap and use a toothpick or something pointy to create a few holes. Let it sit for a few days, emptying and refilling the container as needed. 

You can also opt to just use a sticky fly trap, which can be propped in a plant pot or a narrow jar. Amazon has a highly rated pack of 36 traps on sale for $6. 

So there you have it: three simple tricks to get rid of fruit flies. You can take elements from each approach (or make the ultimate trap like Sophia), and prepare as many traps as necessary. Whichever approach you choose will leave you buzzing and needing to worry about one less thing.