Microwave Fruit Fly Trap

This may be an off-the-wall idea, but it has worked for me. All summer, we did not have any fruit fly problems. About ten days ago, there was an explosion of fruit flies in our kitchen. It was the worst fruit fly problem we have ever had. I have always washed any produce that we buy, but for some reason it didn't work. The flies were invading my kitchen. It was a daily endless battle to rid these critters. Running out of ideas to get rid of them quickly, I came up with this idea.

I placed a large bowl of cider vinegar with a few drops of liquid detergent on a large dinner plate. I used the scraps of a fresh tomato that I had cut and placed around the bowl on the plate. I covered this loosely with wax paper with some slits on the top to allow the flies to enter easily. I let this sit with the microwave door open for about an hour.

After that hour, there were a large amount of flies on the bowl and plate. I quickly closed the microwave door and then turned in on high for one minute. The flies were zapped dead when I opened the door. I wiped it out and repeated one more time; keeping the oven door open again for an hour. This killed the majority of the fruit flies in the kitchen. A few were flying around the kitchen, but I was able to rid of them with the fly swatter. So far, the fruit flies are gone.

Be sure to use dishes/containers that are microwave proof. Since you will be cooking in the microwave, use enough cider in the bowl so it doesn't cook off. Also, use large enough pieces of fruit/produce that will not burn while cooking. Our microwave is 1100 watts so the time may vary. I used wax paper to keep any of the food from splattering, but put slits in it to allow the flies to enter. I had a concern because there are small holes inside of the microwave; I thought maybe the flies would escape, but I watched while the microwave was running and the flies did not go into any of them.

Before trying the microwave, I was using the cider vinegar with dish detergent in a bowl plus another bowl using beer. Both had worked, but I had so many fruit flies it seemed like it would never end.

Along with the vinegar/beer dishes on the counter, I had used sticky mouse traps and turned them with the sticky adhesive on the outside. I did get some that way but the microwave worked the fastest. I also got rid of any food source that would attract the flies. I also removed the trash out of the kitchen every day.

My husband said this is my craziest idea yet, but was happy with the results. It worked and worked quickly. I don't think I could have taken one more day of those fruit flies in the kitchen.

By it's.only.me from NE PA USA