Use An Old Milk Jug To Trap And Get Rid Of Pesky Flies

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Every October, spooky things of all kinds fill your home. You expect the trick-or-treaters, at least on Halloween night. What you get, however, are about a gazillion flies. They arrive in such numbers in the last days of summer and early fall that you may mistakenly think you've stepped into a remake of a 1950s horror film starring these big-eyed, buzzing pests. You could learn how to grow and care for dozens of venus flytraps or install fly strips in an effort to rid your home of these abhorrent houseguests, but both methods only work if the flies land on them. It turns out that there's a far simpler way to repel flies from your home. If you have a plain, plastic milk jug and some putrid-smelling bait, you can finally step out of the scary movie and into a more peaceful, fly-free existence.

There's a popular non-toxic fly trap called Farnam Starbar Milk Jugg Trapp that pairs with any old plastic milk jug. These pre-made traps feature a funnel-shaped top and contain bait — aka the attractant. The lid has a cap with gaps that let the scent of the bait out so it can reach any unsuspecting flies in the vicinity. The flies fly into holes cut into a milk jug, thinking there's food waiting for them inside the cap, and they get stuck in the bottle. The bait is non-toxic in the sense that ingesting it isn't harmful. However, it does smell beyond gross, akin to the odor a skunk emits, according to reviewers on the product's Amazon listing. Given that the bait contains a bit over 20% putrescent whole egg solids, it's not surprising.

With the help of some scissors or an Xekigu Craft Knife, cut four holes into the sides of the jug, about halfway up. These are the entry points for the flies. Fill the jug with water, then push the bait, which is a bag full of soft, squishy yellow mush, into it. Numerous reviewers on the Farnam Starbar Milk Jugg Trapp Amazon listing suggest wearing gloves because the scent of the bait will stick to you as steadfastly as Pepé Le Pew's odor stuck to Penelope Pussycat.

Once the jug is full of water and fly attractant and has its cap on, it's ready to hang up. Tie some wire around the jug's handle and hang the jug in a tree or on a fence post. Because of the bait's scent, you want to hang it at least 20 feet away from a patio or porch. Don't hang it inside your house. This all-you-can-eat bug buffet should lure the flies away from your home. If you're a homesteader, you can use the milk jug trap to keep flies away from your animals, too. Check the trap about once a week to see if it's full.

The brave-hearted can empty the jug and use it again. Just add a Starbar Fly Trap Attractant Refill and another half container of water to fill 'er up. However, for the squeamish, the ephemeral nature of an upcycled milk jug is an undeniable positive; you can simply throw the jug away once it's laden with flies. If you buy milk regularly, you'll eventually have another empty jug to use for a new trap.

If you don't want to part with $19, which is about what a Starbar Milk Jugg Trapp costs on Amazon — you can learn how to make a DIY fly trap. You'll still need an old milk jug, but this time, you don't remove the cap. Your homemade version of the Starbar trap won't feature the store-bought specialty cap. Make the bait from fruit and vegetable scraps, strips of meat, and manure. As before, puncture holes in the sides of the jug, just above the waterline, then add water and the scraps to the jug. The flies will enter through the holes you've cut into the sides of the jug.

While flies may be flying horrors, they are, fortunately for us, lacking in the cognitive department. Their first tendency — most of the time — will be to fly toward the top of the jug to get away instead of trying to crawl back out through the holes they used to enter the jug. Since the top of the jug has a lid on it, the little beasts will eventually fall back into the water and perish. If you do it right, your DIY bug trap will keep the creepy crawlies out of your home just as well as the mass-manufactured traps do.