There is nothing quite like realizing that flies have reproduced somewhere in your home. One day, your kitchen is a quiet and calm place for cooking and the following day it looks like a convention moved in (reservations for 200? Sure, why not?!). After spending two days employing my fly swatter and feeling both disgusted and overwhelmed, I scoured the internet for a better, more passive solution. After all, even using my magical Norwex EnviroCloth and Window Cloth to clean off the dead-but-not-forgetten was getting old after the third time in two days.

The internet delivered, just as I had hoped. DIY Fly Paper is an easy and chemical-free solution to those freeloading flies that won’t cost you much at all! I combined the information I found and attemped the project below with promising results:

Supplies:

• Paper (I used strips cut from paper bags, but you can use thicker paper like cardstock as well)
• String or twine
• Hole Punch
• 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 cup Corn Syrup
• 2 Tbsp water
• Wire hanger

Directions:

1. Cut paper into strips. If using paper lunch bags, cut horizontally so that the two sides stay attached at the folds.
2. Punch holes for the string and add a loop with string or twine.

Fly paper strips with string, ready for the sticky coating!

3. Heat the sugar, corn syrup and water in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved.

This mixture is very sticky, especially as it cools.

4. Remove mixture from heat and use a pastry brush or spatula to spread on the strips, holding them upright so that they do not touch the table or counter (this would just get messy, but it is okay if the mixture drips). Make sure to coat both sides.

5. Hang finished strips from a wire hanger over newspaper or other similarly easy-to-clean surface. They will drip quite a bit.

A simple coat hanger will do the trick.

You will want something underneath to catch the drips!

6. After 4-6 hours, remove carefully and hang where you need to capture flies. Ta-da!

What are your favorite chemical-free solutions to pest control in your home? Share in the comments!