Building your mosquito and fly trap is easy and can usually be made with supplies and tools available at home.
There are two elements to each design: 1) the housing, where the insects are trapped, and 2) the bait, the substance that lures them in.
These ten simple do-it-yourself designs for mosquito and fly traps will help you limit the number of pests in your home and outside without using nasty chemicals.
Some Things to Consider
Before crafting your mosquito trap, you need to understand a little about mosquito behavior that can help you effectively choose the materials and the area to put the trap.
Firstly, mosquitoes hate the shining sun because their tiny bodies dehydrate quickly and they die. That’s why they hide in dark and moist places helping them to keep hydrated and functional for their lifetime.
Second, they fly only up to 4-6 feet above the ground. So, placing your mosquito trap in this height range will produce maximum results. Nevertheless, they do go above and below this range, but this is the most generalized height in which they are active.
Third, they are attracted to dark colors, that’s why they prefer to remain in dark places with little or no sunlight. Also, it is the sole reason why our mosquito traps will be dark in color typically dark green.
If you keep in mind these three points, then your DIY trap will work most effectively. Let’s hop into the designs:
1. Inverted Pop Bottle Design
It uses a 2-liter soda bottle that has the top half removed and inverted into itself. It forms a downward funnel that allows mosquitoes and flies to enter, but not escape.
2. Paper Funnel and Jar Design
This design is a variation of the Inverted Pop Bottle Design but uses the same principle. Easier to make, quick to duplicate, and works just as amazing.
This is particularly effective against fruit flies. You need to use vinegar to lure them in.
For this design, you will need a cup or bowl, some apple cider vinegar or fruit juice, plastic wrap, an elastic, and a knife to make a few small holes in the plastic. It will get rid of fruit flies fast.
We have all seen fly ribbon that comes in small tubes that are attached and pulled to dispense. You must be thinking, are they effective? Yes, unless you get your hair caught in it.
You can also make your own flypaper. There is a quick recipe to make the adhesive liquid that the paper will soak in and allows you to create numerous fly papers.
1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1/4 cup of water
Instructions:
Cut the paper bag into strips and make a hole into one end for hanging
Combine the honey, sugar, and water into the pot and place over medium heat until the mixture is fully blended. (sugar dissolved)
Dip each strip into the mixture so it is coated on both sides.
Hang your strips up over something to prevent the dripping mixture from falling on the surface. (newspaper should work fine).
Once dry, hang them up where the flies fly.
5. Fly Repellent for Horses
Have horses on your homestead? You should have horse flies, too. Those things are purely brutal!
If you hate making traps and cleaning them up, then making a fly repellant might be a better option. This is a quick recipe. You will need to buy an empty spray bottle for spraying your horses.
Directions: Pour everything all together in the spray bottle, but leave a little room for shaking. Shake up and spray.
7. Natural Mosquito Repellent
It is probably the simplest mosquito repellent ever. To make it, all you need are some limes and a handful of whole cloves.
Cut the lime in half, and insert the whole cloves vertically. Place it around your patio or garden. Easy peasy!
8. Ziploc Bag Fly Repellent
This design just requires a Ziploc bag half full of water with a couple of pennies. Hang it near the area that needs to be free of flies, that’s all.
Sounds strange? Apparently, flies are afraid of the water and then get confused by light hitting the pennies and the water. Needless to say, it works best when the sunshine strikes.
9. Fan and Screen Mosquito Trap
To build this design, you will need a box fan, magnets, and a screen. Then you need to make a spray bait to attract the mosquitos, and the fan will take care of the rest. Follow Wiki’s lead on this one.
10. Cone Trap Design
This design is a heavy-duty fly trap and is great for areas that have densely crowded fly populations.
A wooden frame holds a mesh cone in place over a pan of bait to capture and collect flies.
However, making this model is a bit more complex compared to others. But it’s able to handle the immense amount of flies. Follow the school’s lead to build this one.
Non-Toxic Fly Traps You Can Buy
Too much hassle or not finding any success with your DIY fly trap projects? Now, you can buy reasonably-priced non-toxic fly traps. Here are a few suggestions:
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