Liquid dish soap is exactly what you need to drown the flies. Sugar and vinegar attract them, while the soap breaks the surface tension of the liquid to trap the flies instead of keeping them sitting on the surface.
Common house flies are attracted to decaying organic filth such as feces and rotting meat, whereas fruit flies seek sugary substances and feed more commonly on overripe fruit, spilled soda, and alcohol.
Liquid sprays such as Vector Ban, Riptide, Bifen and others work well to kill flies on contact and provide some continual effectiveness. These products can be sprayed by hand with any pump type sprayer and can also be used in misting systems for barns, and outdoor areas where a continual spray is required.
A good bait for house flies is 1 part molasses, 3 parts water. This ferments and smells pleasant as long as it doesnt putrify. Many house fly baits use brewers yeast, fish meal, and sugar that ferments in water.
Put a few drops any dishwashing liquid in a small dish of water and place it by the fruit on your counter. Fruit flies are attracted to it and will fly into the water and die.
A mixture of apple cider vinegar and dish soap can help you trap flies and kill them. Mix about an inch of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap in a tall glass. Cover the glass with plastic wrap, secure it with a rubber band and poke small holes in the top.
Vinegar (or acetic acid) is the ultimate product of the fermentation process in fruit, which is why fruit flies are attracted to vinegar odor.
Does Vinegar, Dish Soap, Essential Oils Repel Flies? Vinegar attracts, not repels flies; however, a container with vinegar and dish soap will function as an attractant trap as the vinegar lures flies to enter the trap and the dish soap will cause the flies to sink and die.
Flies hate the smell of essential oils like lemon grass, peppermint, lavender and eucalyptus – put a few drops in a spray bottle and use around the house daily. They also hate the smell of camphor (a traditional moth deterrent) which you can buy online, cloves and cinnamon.
Rotten potatoes, onions or overripe or rotting fruits
Damaged or cracked pieces of food can greatly attract flies. Therefore, if you have any damaged fruits or vegetables in your home, make sure to discard them because flies can lay eggs in such areas.
Pour in at least 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of apple cider vinegar, then add about 3 drops of any liquid dish detergent. The soap breaks the surface tension so the flies can't get out once they fall in. The vinegar is the bait, and the apple cider scent attracts plenty of flies.
Make a humane DIY no-kill fly trap
Put something flies will be attracted to inside, like an apple core or some leftover food scraps. Then put the top of the bottle upside inside the bottom of the bottle. Tape it in place and leave the trap out. The flies will go inside and won't be able to get back out.
Take a jar and fill it 1/2 or 1/3 full of apple cider vinegar. Next, gently mix in a few squirts dish soap (maybe a teaspoon amount) so there are no bubbles. Then, leave it on your counter overnight near where you see them. In the morning there will be drowned fruit flies in the bottom of it!
The Efficacy of Honey
Well, it's definitely going to help you more than vinegar generally will, at least (though apple cider vinegar can be used to attract them too). Flies may be attracted to the sweetness of honey. Of course, that sweetness can be a fly's downfall, since it's also quite sticky.
✔️Mix apple cider vinegar and dish soap.
Combine equal parts of the two in a small bowl and add a pinch of sugar to the mix. Ideally, the dish soap will have a fruity smell. “The fermented smell from the vinegar can attract flies,” Pereira says. “But the soap is really what will kill them.”
The sugar, apple cider vinegar, and dish soap all attract flies as they smell so good to them, but once inside, they fall into the liquid and drown.
One of the most common predators of flies, including fruit flies, is the frog. Although frogs eat a diverse diet, they feed on flies as often as they can. The spider is also a common predator of the fruit fly. These arachnids spin their webs as traps for flies.
DIY fly killer spray: Mix ½ cup of water with ½ cup of isopropyl alcohol (found at your local drug store) and 1 teaspoon of liquid dish soap into a spray bottle (add water first so soap doesn't bubble). Spray directly onto pesky flies to kill them.
Flies are attracted to moisture and standing water so keep the water buckets, bird baths and containers empty. It is also a good idea to get rid of any other debris that could retain rain water from your backyard.