Bugs are gross.
They’re creeping, crawling little critters that create nothing but trouble- especially when they end up inside your home. They make everything dirty, smelly, and unsanitary. Sometimes they even eat your home from the inside out (we’re looking at you, termites!).
Alas, these sorts of pest problems are all too common.
Up to 84% of homeowners in America get infested by pests each year. You can be your bottom dollar that a whole lot of them are insect-related. Know the struggle?
Well, there’s good news. Building yourself a homemade bug trap can make a mighty difference in terms of keeping the bugs at bay.
The trickier part is finding a design that actually works.
Want to learn about the best outdoor and indoor bug traps? Let us help! Keep reading to discover 7 effective DIY bug trap designs to try right now!
1. Stink Bug Bottle Traps
Stink bugs are one insect that lives up to its name and reputation! These nasty critters release a foul smell that’s designed to deter predators.
The worse part? The odor gets worse when you crush the bug. This simple bottle trap should help if you ever have them in your house.
Grab an empty 2-liter plastic bottle and use some scissors to snip off the top 2-3 inches. Unscrew the lid, invert the detached top section and sit it inside the main body; use tape to fix it in place. The top of the bottle (aka the bit you drink from) should now be inside and facing downward.
Finally, place a turned-on tiny light inside the bottle and position it somewhere dark and insect-prone. The stink bugs won’t be able to resist! They’ll enter the bottle and get stuck.
2. Side-Door Bottle Trap
Did the bottle trap above sound like too much work? Well, this one might be more up your street!
Take your 2-liter plastic bottle and place some insect bait in the bottom (honey, sugar, ripe fruit, or peanut butter all work well).
Next, use a sharp knife to cut a small ‘u’ shape into the side to create a flap. Finally, lift up the flap to create an opening and place the bottle anywhere that insects abound. They should, in theory, enter the bottle through the opening and get stuck inside.
3. Vinegar Bowl Fly Traps
The best homemade bug traps are often the simplest. Case and point?
These awesome vinegar-bowl fly traps.
Let’s face it, few insects are quite as annoying as your everyday fruit fly. They buzz around your home, landing wherever they please, leaving a trail of germs as they go. They’re annoying, unsanitary, and, ultimately, need to go.
Get yourself a washing-up bowl and fill it with soapy water (hot or cold water is fine- just make sure there are lots of suds). Next, pour some red-wine vinegar into a plastic cup/bowl. Finally, place this in the water bowl so that it floats on the surface.
Now all that’s left to do is wait! The flies will be drawn to the vinegar but get caught up in the suds/water. Refresh the mixture throughout the day and you should rid yourself of flies in no time.
4. Plastic Wrap Fruit Fly Traps
Not all fruit flies will fall for the vinegar bowl trick. That’s why we’ve included this plastic wrap trap to work alongside it.
Once again, it’s an easy and effective way to get rid of these blighters.
Get yourself a small bowl and fill it with a concoction of honey/syrup, balsamic vinegar (or beer), and a dash of olive oil. Next, stretch some plastic wrap tightly over the top of the bowl and secure it with an elastic band. Finally, make some small holes in the wrap and leave it out.
The fruit flies won’t be able to resist. They’ll crawl in, get trapped, and drown in the sweet mixture inside the container.
5. Beer Pit Slug Traps
Love an ice-cold beer at the end of a long day?
You’re not the only one! Turns out those pesky slugs that cause chaos in your garden (eating the fruit and veg you work so hard to grow) like it too.
A small, shallow container with a little bit of beer in the bottom is all it takes to make them leave your lettuces alone. Place these tempting traps amongst your veggie patch. The slugs will come along, drink too much, fall into the beer, and drown in the process.
Problem solved.
Don’t worry if you’d rather keep the beer to yourself though. A mixture of sugar, water, and yeast should work just as effectively.
6. Ear Wig Oil Traps
Earwigs might be running amok in your garden as well.
Thankfully, a similar trap to the one you used for the slugs should work here too. This time, though, you can hold onto your beer and break out the vegetable oil instead.
Take another shallow container and fill it with a splash of oil and a dash of soy sauce. Place it wherever your earwigs are known to cause trouble. It shouldn’t take long for them to take the bait.
7. Sticky Paper Bug Traps
Two things should be clear by now:
First, bugs love sweet stuff. Second, they’re not very clever.
Sticky paper insect traps exploit both of these facts. All you need is a piece of cardboard coated in a sweet and sticky mixture to which bugs will be attracted.
Our suggestion? Heat up corn syrup, sugar, and water on your stove.
Stir the mixture it’s combined into a paste, and then set it aside to cool down. All that’s left is to coat your cardboard with the sugary paste and leave it on the ground/hang it up somewhere to start attracting insects.
They’ll come, get stuck, and soon perish!
Try These Homemade Bug Trap Ideas
Insect infestations of any kind are never fun for homeowners.
They’re stressful, destructive, unhygienic, and unappetizing affairs that need sorting out ASAP to stop the situation from getting worse. Thankfully, DIY bug traps can help you do exactly that.
We hope the homemade bug trap ideas in this post will prove useful in this regard!
Are you suffering from an insect and want some professional support? Contact us today to see how we can be of service.