It starts with a piece of paper.
© Doris Lin 2009, licensed to About.com, Inc.
In my home, it happens at least once every summer. I throw something into the trash or the compost bucket, and a cloud of fruit flies rises up. Years ago, the sight would fill me with despair. Since I wasn't going to kill them, I usually found myself miserably tolerating fruit flies in my kitchen for the rest of the summer, until the weather turned cold and they disappeared.
Now, I just make this humane, homemade fruit fly trap, and I'm usually fruit fly-free within 2 days.
And yes, flies are animals.
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Comments
Thank you! I’ve recently had fruit fly issues and was wondering how to handle it without resorting to killing the flies.
Thank gawd a simple humane solution,I have pet rats and I feed them fruit and veggies everyday plus they’er rat nuggets and by the end of the day when I go to freshen their food I put my hand in their cages to retrieve their bowls and fruit flies swarm me,thankye so much for this,ye are a hero to my rats :O)
Are you kidding me? “Humane” flytraps? Flies spread disease! They breed in GARBAGE! They are filthy! Who cares if the little bastards DIE because they invaded MY HOME?!!??!?!?!?
This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Get a life, humans rule the earth. Kill the germ infested, child biting, and disease contracting mites. (Edited to conform with About.com User Agreement)
Fruit flies are harmless to humans and do NOT spread disease. Compassion for others, no matter who they are or how small, is the highest form of intelligence. Albert Schweitzer said, “I am life which wills to live amidst live which wills to live.” It is always deeply disturbing to see compassion denigrated for no other reason than sheer meanness. Those who promote compassion lessen the suffering in the world; those who scorn compassion add to the misery in the world.
Heidi, you realize that the diseases are caused by tiny, microscopic animals called “Bacteria” right? So how human is it to use Antibiotics when you’re sick? Depending on who you ask, viruses (like smallpox) are “alive,” so should we not be working toward eradicating them?
I agree – you are absolutely crazy. You probably don’t want to kill any rats on the street either. Lets put you on a deserted island and see if you kill any to survive or you starve yourself instead.
you’ve gotta be kidding me…HUMANE FRUITFLY TRAPS …??… wow…don’t have more important things to concern yourself with? if you’re such an advocate for fruitflies, i sure hope you put your 2 cents in for starving & mistreated ACTUAL pets, unwanted babies, abused children and women, & starving, oppressed people all over the world…but i sure hope your wonderful humane fruitfly trap ensures that those poor little things don’t “suffer”, that would just be a shame.
absolutely ridiculous!
Just kill the fruit flies any way possible.
That goes for flies and mosquitos too. Is there any knucklehead out there that wants to protect mosquitos?
I spare spiders at my house at times as they eat other insects.
Great! I am not a fan of flies, mice or spiders, but I do like the idea of getting rid of them without having to kill, or making a mess with vinegar. For everybody that says “kill- kill”.
haha I would not want to be stuck in an elevator with them for more than a few hours. They will probably do me in and then use my body for food, before they even realize there is a red emergency button that works just fine.
Wow! If you don’t want a humane fly trap dont click on her link! Why would you say these kinds of things to someone who is obviously a sensitive person! The world needs more people like her, and less people who are ready to kill things and belittle people to make themselves feel above others.
you gotchyer friutflies…thens you gotchyer fruitcakes…