There are fruit flies in our house. They're feeding off the broken nectarine pit that I threw in the trash can. Where do those insects come from? "This very mystery, vermin from nowhere, gave rise to a charming and durable belief called 'spontaneous generation'." But of course there is no such thing. They can smell ripe fruit or fermenting foods from a great distance and "can maneuver into your kitchen through window screens, door jams, or any other crack in your home. Occasionally, they may catch a ride in your grocery bags or hatch from eggs laid in less than fresh food brought home from a grocery store."
They look pretty easy to catch since they don't fly very fast but when I think I've caught one and open my hand, there's nothing in there. Houdini flies.
Thanks to the internet, I learned how to build a homemade fly trap.
Excitedly, I went home and cut up a plastic water bottle, poured some vinegar in there, then taped a paper funnel on the bottle. Last night there were more than 10 fruit flies in there! I felt so powerful!! It was fun to watch. Kind of like watching fish swim in a fish tank... but not really... and it gave me goosebumps - like when you see lots of ants. I wish I had a kid to show them these little flies in this contraption. I will surely teach my kids to not be afraid of insects.
But I should have took them out last night... when I looked this morning some had escaped!
Comments (7)
what does this contraption look like? sounds neat. a better fruit fly trap.
can you figure out a way to get rid of ants for me? hehe
lol @ houdini flies. those bugs mystify me too! and i think it's best to teach ur kids not to be afraid of insects. that's going to be hard for me to teach since i'm petrified by some of them!
i've always wondered where they come from too! thanks for education! i'd love to see the contraption... pictures?
You can find how to build everything on the internet!
you know whats weird? fruit flies have been invading my kitchen for the past few days! i dont know where they are coming from because my family moved all our fruits to the frig but yet they are still here!
wow, ting! i've ALWAYS wondered where they came from because they always seem to appear so magically. And who knew that they're brown striped with red eyes??!