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DIY: How to Make Your Own Fly Trap

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Like so many of us in our cramped, window-free NYC apartments, I’ve been plagued with the summer invasion of fruit flies who absolutely refuse to leave but seem to really enjoy multiplying. Awesome. While the little guys are generally harmless, they’re not the most aesthetically pleasing while hovering over a fruit bowl or toothbrush holder, and I wanted to obliterate the bugs once and for all.   Without spending any money…

Though legend has it that more flies will be caught with honey than vinegar, the Internet proves the adage wrong, and cider vinegar or white vinegar with a bit of sugar seems to be the poison of choice.  As an at-home salad dressing aficionado, I had both, and decided to set up fly traps in my kitchen and bathroom. (And no, I’m not planning on making fruit fly vinaigrette…)

In my efforts to spend exactly zero money on this project, I took out a recycled plastic Whole Foods  Paycheck container and filled it about 3/4 of an inch with vinegar.  I mixed in some sugar packets from my local coffee shop and cut a plastic shopping bag to fit over the top of the container.  I slipped a rubber band around the plastic sheet to keep it taught and poked a few holes with a pen.

Only a few minutes, some household supplies, and voila, a fly-free apartment!

diy-fly-trap

Note: it can take a few days to catch all the flies, but the method is well worth it.

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Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and his freelance writing has been featured in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, The Bold Italic, Geek.com and too many other outlets to remember. His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appears every other Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner. Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages. In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.

He's been called "an Underground legend": SF Chronicle, "an SF cult hero":SF Bay Guardian, and "the chief of cheap": Time Out New York.