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    Home » The Plain Columns » The Amish Editor

    Updated: Homemade Bug Traps

    Published: Mar 21, 2012 · Updated: Jul 24, 2017 by Kevin Williams | 6 Comments

    By Kevin Williams

    So, yeah, whenever summer hits with full force this post gets popular.  It dates back to the days when I would visit the original Amish Cook on her Indiana farmstead during the summer. I would see several    2-liter soda bottles dangling from trees. This is a photo I snapped of one way back

    Homemade bug trap

    I asked Elizabeth about these during my first summer at her farm and she explained to me that they were "bug traps."   "Once inside, they're done for," she said matter-of-factly.  It takes a few days for the bugs to begin to show up but, wow, once they do these things really do work.  These things turn into the Hotel California for flies, they check in but they never leave.  Now one thing I never really reached a conclusion about is whether they actually worked to ward off insects or whether they simply attracted more.  I think the best strategy is to hang them away from your picnic table or porch swing by about 30 - 50 feet.  That way the bug traps will lure the flies there and away from your potato salad. If anyone gives them a try, let us know how they work.  This is the "recipe" for what Elizabeth put inside:

    BUG TRAP JUICE

    1 cup sugar

    1 cup vinegar

    1 or 2 banana peels

    water

    Pour sugar and vinegar into the bottle and stuff in banana peels.  Fill bottle half way with water. Discard bottle cap,  Use string to hang from a low tree branch.

    Elizabeth always used green bottles (like 7-Up or Mountain Dew)...I'm not sure what her reasoning was, it may just be that seeing a bunch of dead bugs through a clear bottle isn't the most pleasant sight.

    « Ready for Rhubarb? Homemade Rhubarb Juice
    Amish Humor »

    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Wendy

      March 21, 2012 at 3:18 pm

      I've made similar traps for my kitchen when fruit flies have been a problem. You simply put some old fruit or peels in a jar, cover it with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in it. (Then take it outside when it's time to dispose of your "catch".)

      Reply
    2. Mona G.

      March 26, 2012 at 7:15 pm

      Here is one I use, put about 1/2 inch. of apple cider vinegar and 2 drops of dish detergent , mix together pour into a shallow container....I take a small yogurt container, cut it down to about 1 inch and put the vinegar mixture in it, the fruit flies will go to the vinegar mixture, and they can't get out....then you just throw it all away.....no more fruit flies......

      Reply
    3. Lynn Anys

      March 26, 2012 at 8:32 pm

      Did Elizabeth use cider or white vinegar?? I have seen these things around for several years, but never made one. I need one now, with such a warm winter here in N.Carolina the flys and bees are just crazy around here !

      Reply
    4. Larry

      April 02, 2013 at 4:45 pm

      Apple cider vinegar is what you need to use.

      Reply
    5. Warren

      July 15, 2020 at 7:54 pm

      This is a tried and true recipe. We have used it on the farm for decades. But keep the cap..you'll want to cap this thing when it's full and make it go far, far away from your nose. This thing attracts wasps and yellow jackets too..especially when those banana peels go nuclear.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        July 16, 2020 at 3:26 pm

        Good advice about the cap, Warren, thanks!!

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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