# Goddamn flies! How do you deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2012, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-flies-how-do-you-deal/639117 "2012-10-28T07:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-flies-how-do-you-deal/639117/21 "2012-10-28T21:22:13Z")
I made a fruit fly trap out of a small Tupperware bowl with some Saran Wrap rubber banded across the top. I put some vinegar, beer, and a little dish soap in the bowl and cut a few slits in the plastic wrap. I had a few flies in it the first day, wasn’t too impressed. Then I looked after a few days and thought the “soup” had gone moldy or something, it looked gross. Then I realized it wasn’t mold but hundreds of dead fruit flies, best trap I ever made. Fruit flies vary year to year around here, I haven’t seen many the last couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-flies-how-do-you-deal/639117/22 "2012-10-28T21:35:25Z")
I had an exterminator tell me to fill the garbage disposal with ice and a bit of bleach. Then Cover with a plate or something and turn on the disposal as you trickle some water, too. It scrapes the gross stuff off the sides of the drain and underneath the rubber thing, and kills the fruit flies. I also see a lot of them drowned in the standing water of my dish drainer. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-flies-how-do-you-deal/639117/23 "2012-10-28T23:02:24Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I like good old fashioned flypaper when we’re camping. It’s ugly as sin, but effective. > > But I’m digging the paper towel tube DIY. **Crazyhorse** , any suggestion for a specific stays-sticky adhesive? > > ETA: I wonder…if you put the “sticky” and the bait on the inside of a paper towel tube, would they fly \*inside \*and get stuck? That would be far more aesthetically pleasing… A lot of adhesives will dry out pretty fast. Something like rubber cement might be good and if it dries out just apply a little bit more. It could also be somewhat re-humidified by hanging it up on the shower wall for a short time to get some steam. (but this could make the paper towel tube droopy if it’s left in for too long.) By the way when I say a little bit of old meat I’m talking about a tiny piece of very old, stinky meat. You want the odor to be strong enough to attract the flies that are already inside the house quickly while the tube is still sticky, but not so much that it draws new flies from outside. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-flies-how-do-you-deal/639117/24 "2012-10-29T01:15:37Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I had an exterminator tell me to fill the garbage disposal with ice and a bit of bleach. Then Cover with a plate or something and turn on the disposal as you trickle some water, too. It scrapes the gross stuff off the sides of the drain and underneath the rubber thing, and kills the fruit flies. block drain fill sink with hot water (soap optional) unblock drain run disposal until sink is empty. Will tend to clear out most of the crap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-flies-how-do-you-deal/639117.md?page=1)