Catch flies with vinegar, not honey

[foxfirefey]

I've recently discovered a cheap, marvelous, safe way to catch flies.

Put a little bit of water with a dash of dish soap mixed in with some balsamic or apple cider vinegar into a little plastic food container (like yogurt comes in!) with a hole cut in the middle of the lid. Wider is better than taller, I think, but have not scientifically proven--I'm suspecting the closer the liquid is to the hole, the better.

The vinegar attracts the flies (that old adage about honey and vinegar? not true! at least for fruit flies), and the dish soap breaks the tension of the water so that they can't get out.

Comments

[landshark]

This reminded me of something I'd seen a few times on the Oregon coast. I kept seeing old shops with the doors wide open and little ziploc sandwich bags 1/2 full of water tacked to the door jam, hanging right in the doorway. I finally asked about it and apparently it it keeps flys out. i can only guess it has something to do with the reflection of the water and their freaky eyeballs...