How to Make Flypaper

If you are bothered by annoying flies, one way to solve the problem is to make flypaper. Homemade flypaper is an effective way to clear the area of these pesky insects. Once inside your home a fly can live for several months, carrying and spreading germs wherever they land. Hanging flypaper that you make is a simple and inexpensive solution to a fly problem.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Brown paper bag
• Scissors
• Flat shallow pan
• 1/2 cup sweet maple syrup
• 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. granulated white sugar
• String
• Thumbtacks

1. Cut a brown paper bag into strips approximately 18 inches long and 3 inches wide.

2. Mix together ½ cup sweet maple syrup, 2 tbsps. dark brown sugar and 2 tbsps. granulated white sugar in a bowl.

3. Place the brown paper bag strips into a shallow flat container, that has low sides, such as a cookie sheet or jelly roll baking pan.

4. Cover the strips of paper with the syrup and sugar mixture and let it soak overnight.

5. Scrape off any of the extra sticky mixture from the paper strips the next day.

6. Make a small hole on the end of each of the sticky strips and put the string through each one.

7. Hang the flypaper near doorways, windows or in the garage by attaching the string to the ceiling with a thumbtack.

Tips & Warnings

• Because flies prefer warm well lit areas, another good place to hang your homemade flypaper is by light fixtures.
• Flies cannot chew their food. Their tongue acts like a sponge allowing them to suck up liquids, making your homemade flypaper very appealing.
• A single fly can carry five million germs that can be transmitted to both people and animals.
• A common housefly lays approximately two thousand eggs that can hatch within a few hours in the right conditions.

Resources

• Check this site for other great homemade ideas