Learn how to DIY a fly trap that actually works using a mason jar (a soda bottle works too) and bait. These results are 100% real from my own backyard using household items and a stinky bait.
This fly trap DIY works so well outside for green bottle flies, aka blowflies, that it'll turn your stomach. How's that for an endorsement? But more than the trap, the most important thing about this DIY - is the fly trap bait.
Living in an almost 200 year old house with backyard chickens means I've learned how to control a lot of pests.
The best time to control pests is BEFORE you see pests. And I know my flies. I dried and counted hundreds of fruit flies while coming up with the best possible fruit fly traps.
Catching flies is a whole lot easier if you start baiting before they start mating.
Get your fly trap made and placed outside a couple of days before warm weather arrives to keep the population under control from day 1.
As with most pest solutions, double whammying is the best way to go. Don't use just one method. Use several. For instance, pair these fly traps with controlling flies with natural predators like parasitic wasps.
When one of my chickens became sick with flystrike, a deadly affliction caused by bottle flies, I knew I had to head into battle against them.
I made and compared a few homemade fly traps including:
- a mason jar with paper cone
- a soda bottle with the top cut off and inverted
- good old fashioned fly strips (not DIY but I had to test them out!)
The results showed the trap wasn't so much the determining factor in how well a homemade trap worked - it was the bait.
Table of Contents
Mason Jar & Paper Cone Trap
Baited with raw shrimp.
SUPPLIES
- Mason jar
- Standard sized sheet of construction paper
- 1 raw shrimp
- water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Roll a piece of paper or cardstock into a cone and tape it together.
- Put the cone into a mason jar of any size, making sure there's room at the bottom of the jar for at least 2" of water. You may need to adjust the shape of your cone.
- Add water and a single raw shrimp to the jar.
- Wait. Within a couple of days your jar will be FULL of flies.
Yep. A raw shrimp allowed to rot in the sun for days until it has the putrid smell of liquid internal organs. That was the key to a successful fly trap.
Soda Pop Bottle Fly Trap
Baited with commercial, store bought fly bait (although not THIS fly bait which actually looks kind of great. I just ordered some.)
This is the basic DIY fly catcher you see all over Pinterest.
SUPPLIES
- Plastic soda bottle
- Scissors
- Commercial fly bait
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the top off of the plastic pop or water bottle.
- Flip the top upside down (it'll look like a funnel) and stick it back into the bottle.
- Pour a couple of inches of water into the bottom of the trap and then bait it.
In this experiment I used I used store bought fly bait. The container is a 2 litre pop bottle. The flies can get into the bottle, but can't figure out how to get out. Then they drown.
This trap caught NO flies. Not a single one.
But it isn't the design of the trap that was flawed, it was the bait. Store bought fly bait attracted no flies at all.
Fly bait is the most important part of your fly traps.
Fly Strips
The fly strip cost a couple of dollars and dangled sadly from my window frame enticing no flies at all, just hanging there like a limp tongue.
I wanted to make sure I gave all the fly traps a good shot so I kept them all out for a week. This is how things had progressed after 4 days.
Fly Trap Results
Mason Jar with natural fly bait (shrimp) - Caught HUNDREDS of flies in 4 days
Soda bottle with commercial fly bait - Caught ZERO flies in 4 days
Fly strip - Caught 7 flies in 4 days
After 4 days it was pretty clear that the rotting shrimp was the only way to go in terms of bait.
My homemade fly trap recommendations
The trap
Either the mason jar or soda bottle method will work very well to catch flies outdoors.
The bait
Raw shrimp is your BEST choice for fly trap bait.
For this experiment I only baited the soda bottle with commercial bait (which caught nothing) but since then I've tried it successfully with shrimp as a bait. It works just as well as the mason jar with paper cone.
Testing Different Baits
I experimented with different baits including:
- Fermented chicken feed
- Raw sweet corn
- Fresh chicken poop*
- Raw shrimp*
* If you use meat, seafood or poop understand that this gives the flies a place to lay their eggs. That means if you use any of these things that after several days you will ALSO have maggots appear in your fly trap. Consider this when choosing your bait.
The rotting shrimp was the winner by a shrimpboat load.
The only issue with the enticing smell of rotting shrimp was the vile smell of rotting shrimp. If you place your container up high enough (above nose level) you miss most of the stench but given any kind of downward breeze you suddenly feel like you're walking through a rotting whale carcass.
By day 7 I was pretty sure I would have to try something else because I couldn't stand the stench of the shrimp no matter how well it worked. Then a funny thing happened. By days 8 and 9 the trap was so filled with flies they actually suffocated the smell of the shrimp. Yet somehow the stink was enough to continue to attract the flies.
By day 14 the mason jar trap was almost completely FULL of flies.
Home Fly Trap on Day 14
Because there were so many flies I couldn't smell the shrimp at all and the jar was almost full.
After 20 days it stunk again. Stunk like the guts of a hot monkey. But the stink could have been the mass grave of flies as well.
To save myself some grief and whatever happens to be in my stomach, when it comes time to remove the jar I just tie a plastic bag around my head, put a lid on the jar and throw the whole thing in the garbage.
Just kidding. I don't tie a bag on my head. I'm an excellent breath holder on account of my cat's horrific gut issues when she - coincidentally - eats seafood.
Fly trap placement
The best place to put fly traps is actually AWAY from where your fly problem is. (The dog run/chicken coop/picnic area.) The point is to draw the flies way from wherever it is they're fond of.
Top Tip
To repeat ... the best way to get rid of flies around your house is to use TWO methods.
- Parasitic wasps (really just tiny little flying things that are in no way as menacing as their name alludes to) will kill most flies before they even become flies. The wasps kill them in the larvae stage.
AND
- A DIY fly trap like this (or you can buy a similar sort of trap)
What about indoor flies?
Honestly, I just horsetail them with a kitchen towel.
But you can try this indoor fly bait recipe if you want.
Fly Bait Recipe
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup vinegar
- 2 Tbsps sugar
- 1 tablespoon dish soap (the dish soap breaks the surface tension of the water and vinegar, making the flies unable to use it as a launching pad when they fall in it)
Use either the mason jar or plastic bottle method. You can use a small water bottle instead of a large soda bottle.
Now that you've mostly eliminated one insect from your yard (totally understandable, flies are sex crazed monsters that feed on crap and then land on your corn on the cob), you might want to help out another.
Learn how to raise monarch butterflies on you property, something I've been doing for over a decade.
If you have a great fly bait recipe, leave it in the comments below. If you have a great maggot story maybe just keep that to yourself. Just kidding. Obviously, I'd love to hear the maggot stories.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Dominic
Was the shrimp cooked, or raw?
I've got these, and am not thrilled with their performance.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/starbar-captivator-fly-trap
Amy in StL
For everyone looking for a solution for mosquitos get a thermacell mosquito lantern or just the personal one. Each one covers a 12' x 12' area very effectively. The only downside is that the pads last three hours and often I'm only out for an hour and if it sits open for a couple days you'll need a new pad. Seriously THERMACELL!
Colleen
A smidgen of the savory, soupy slurry that forms in the bottom of the green bin might also be a good bait for flies in your trap.
Look forward to reading your posts!
Heidi
Hi Karen, fascinating post! I use apple cider vinegar in a shallow dish covered in cling film (food wrap) with some holes in it and it keeps away midges, flies and mosquitos. Could you try putting a few around and let me know how you get on - we are in Oz and it works for me ☺
Karen
Hi Heidi. That works for fruit flies here (it's what I use in the kitchen when I find them) but it wouldn't do anything for the green bottle flies I'm afraid. :( ~ karen!
Susan Robinson
Reading this post and all the comments I have laughed so hard my stomach muscles will hate me tomorrow!
Karen
Excellent. That's the sign of a good post when it inflicts injury. ~ karen!
Mindy
Almost as disgusting as a yellow jacket trap, with rotten lunch meat bait, full of dead bee carcasses. Wait, there's more. It fell out of the tree and my, then youngster, dog, proceeded to bring it in the house while I was at work, and chew it open on my bed. Totally awesome. I had forgotten all about that until your post. She passed away this February, and stories from the memory banks are always welcomed. I hope you don't find decapitated flies in your pretty linen sheets.
Jody
I didn't get to read all the comments so sorry if I am repeating someone else but cat food seems like a possible good bait substitute. It's pretty meat filled and might stink less. But you probably already tried it...
Shauna
Woohoo, I made it into a post! And, such a lovely post - rotting meat, dead flies, chicken poop. In other words, a classic Art of Doing Stuff post. YES, life is good!
Lori
Seems to me you have plenty of the right bait right under your nose. Try chicken poop in a trap and see how it works. It will save you from knowing awful truths about your neighbors that you might find in their trash!
Now if only there was something useful to do with those disgusting dead flies.
Karen
Hi Lori! Yes it seems logical but I mentioned in the post that I tried all sorts of different things (including chicken poop) in the traps. The shrimp was the only thing that worked. ~ karen!
S
Seems like just good ol' dog poop would work. Flies love dog poop and I'd much rather smell poop than rotting shrimp.
Karen
Ohhhhh I don't know about that lol. I might go for the rotting shrimp. ~ karen!
Stephbo
I wish I had known that trick years ago when I had a horse who was tormented by bot flies.
maria-to
omg that was one nasty but fascinating post !
dani
Does anyone have an organic method to keep mosquitos from laying eggs in a birdbath?
Sheri k
Dani, google BTI dunks. They are safe for bird baths.
ReetaVeeda
Google "water wiggler" It's a water disturber/agitator made for bird baths; amazon has it!
Cathy
I bought a solar fountains. The birds like the flowing water.
George Spelvin
Change the water every few days. That's all you need to do. Spray it with the garden hose to replace the water and aerate what's not changed.
Kelli
Ooh goodie! I got to learn about $0.00 flytrap from you, and a $0.00 fruit fly trap from Houzz today! (small jar with apple cider vinegar + 2/3 drops of dish soap, if anyone wants to know).
Linda
Kinda gross..but cool at the same time...thanks for sharing how to get rid of these pesky beasts! :)
Jody
I'm gob smacked. I think that is the best and most informative post you have ever done. I almost want those little f*^%er flies around so I can try this out. I think I will, just to save my sanity eating outside. Thank you to Cuddles and her poopy bum. Without that there wouldn't have been this post.
Karen
LOL. Not what I would have put on my "best of" posts lists, but if you say so ... ~ karen!
Jody
I showed my husband your post. He was very impressed with the scientific experiment and documentation you did. He thought it was worthy of the Bay Area Science Fair. Too bad you're not in high school.
Amy
6 years later, I think I'm copying this for science fair for my kid. :)
Diane
Whatever you do, when it's time to toss that jar DO NOT BREAK IT!!!
Linda O'Brien
Thank you, thank you, thank you Karen!!! We moved into our new home last September and I was so grossed out when spring arrived...with flies...everywhere!!!!! I couldn't even sit out on my deck they were so bad. At one point my husband caught me outside with the vacuum cleaner trying to suck them up. Embarrassing but true. I can't wait to try your idea; I have shrimp in the freezer that'll be ready to rot next spring. Woo hoo!!
Deb
So many comments. Maybe in the list of a hundred dozen comments up there, someone else said this about mosquitos - but maybe not? The most effective way to keep the mosquitos off is a stiff breeze, so get out the fan and the waterproof extension cord. Their tiny evil wings can't get them to you through your force field of wind. And you avoid chemicals.
Shannon williams
OMG...THANK U THANK U THANK U!
And just an fyi for anyone who is interested...FUN FACT: NOT ONLY DO MOSQUITOS STEAL YOUR BLOOD BUT THEY ALSO PEE ON YOU. YEP CHECK IT OUT (GOOGLE IT) JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER!
Nicole
HI Karyn
Oh how I hate flies! Trust me I know all about flies. Living on a dairy farm we have our share. In our case having a mason jar with rotting meat, even if it's effective, will not do it for us. Don't get me wrong, I ALWAYS try a DYI first (specially if using a mason jar...LOVE mason jars!) But we really need something that works. Well a few years ago the guys found it! It is a thin, white tape. NO, not at all like the tape you used! This tape comes on a spool. You hang the spool up and pull the tape to an empty spool you hang on the opposite end of the area you want to cover. The flies...well..fly to it and get stuck. When the area of exposed tape is covered in flies you just wind the empty spool up until you see enough new tape exposed. I know it is not homemade but it WORKS. Unfortunately it is only sold in farm retail stores. But if interested just let me know, I have connections;)
Karen
I feel like I may have seen that at my feed store in Copetown. If you have a brand name let me know! If it isn't the same thing then I'll be emailing you to pick me up some!! ~ karen
Nicole
I cant believe I never saw this! You CAN buy it at any farm supply store. We buy from a company hat sells large rolls. But we started with Mr. Sticky . That would probably work best for your set up. It really is amazing!!
Karen
Hey Nicole! Thanks. I'll have a look at Quickfeeds for Mr. Sticky, lol. ~ karen!
Millie
Ok, picture of shrimp soup made me want to gag. I got the same result using a dead mouse from mousetrap. Waste not..when out in the garden I take a bug zapper, looks like a litte tennis racket. Wave it through a cloud of whiteflies, sounds like little firecrackers. Hear a mosquito buzzing around your ear, wave it around your head until you hear the zap. I have gotten rid of those pesky biting flies too. Very satisfying. Wasps are too strong of flies, I don't mess with them.
Merrilyn
I am interested in fly tape. Please tell me where it can be purchased
Marta
Much appreciated. And now your solution will be all over Pinterest.
Karol
I safely waited until after breakfast and lunch to actually read the post. I knew there would be gross pictures too. I've been reading your posts for a couple of years now, and it took me this long to figure that out. I'm a slow learner.
Just wondering... are you SURE they're not attracted to something that smells GOOD? I'd sure try that over hanging dead shrimp on my house. Ucky-pooey.