Swat Away Those Pesky Flies or Use Traps

For people who live in warm climates, a fly swatter is essential to keep flies from swarming all over your kitchen. A single fly is annoying by itself, but you can only imagine what would happen if dozens or even hundreds of flies hover and buzz around your dirty kitchen. Fly swatters are useful because you can repel the flies, or even kill them if they get particularly annoying. Here are some tools that you can use to swat flies away:

• Fly whisks are usually made from long threads or strips of plastic film, and are waved around to discourage flies from landing or breeding on food. You can make a fly whisk out of a long stick or skewer, and knot some shredded plastic bags on one end.
• Fly swatters are an old reliable way to kill pesky fruit flies and other insects. It's still a hit-and-miss prospect, and when you do hit the fly dead-on, you end up squishing it. Make sure to clean and disinfect the fly swatter, and the surface where you made the fly go splat, with disinfectant soap and rubbing alcohol.
• Bug zappers take the old fashioned fly swatters to the 21st century. Bug zappers are battery-operated machines that look like tennis rackets. You simply wave the bug zapper to the direction of the fly, and the conductive mesh will electrocute the insects in an instant.

If you're not keen on using insecticide, then you may want to use fly traps. Traps can be used to collect the flies for disposal, or kill them altogether. Compared to insecticide, fly traps are less expensive and non-toxic. They are also ingenious ways to get rid of fruit flies in your kitchen.

The old reliable sticky strips your grandma used in her kitchen are still very useful for getting rid of fruit flies. Many strips of fly paper come with sweet scents that attract fruit flies. The flies then stick to the adhesive, and you can dispose of them properly. Sometimes the adhesive in fly paper is mixed with a toxic substance like arsenic. Fly paper is reliable, although it can be a chore to roll up and throw in the trash bin.

To make a fly trap out of a kitchen bowl or a glass, follow these instructions:

• Place some fruit (like bananas or apple wedges) in a bowl or a glass.
• Stretch a piece of cling wrap or Saran wrap over the bowl.
• Pierce a few holes on the plastic with a toothpick or a fork.
• Leave the bowl or glass on your kitchen counter overnight.

The bowl or glass trap works by luring insects into making their way inside the container. While it's easy for them to get in, it's impossible for them to get out. You can then dispose of the flies and the fruit bait properly by throwing it in the trash bin.

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