BAIT JARS

Start with a clean glass jar. To enable non-winged insects to easily climb up the glass, roughen the outsides with coarse sand paper or wrap wrap mildly sticky tape around the outsides of it. Coat inner lip of jar with petroleum jelly. Add the bait: a piece of fruit (banana is especially good), beer, etc. Place the jar in problem areas. Empty, clean and replace the bait and petroleum jelly as needed. You can also "install" these jars outside, burying them in the ground so that just the lip is sticking up above the surface. (Catherine Rigby)

Another bait trick is to pour some beer into a shallow bowl or jar lid. The drowned insects can be poured out and the trap rebaited as necessary. Not as aesthetic as using a dark glass jar for bait, but it is effective. (Catherine Rigby

A better approach, however, is to construct a trap by placing a paper funnel (rolled from a sheet of notebook paper) into a jar which is then baited with a few ounces of cider vinegar. Place the jar trap(s) wherever fruit flies are seen. This simple but effective trap will soon catch any remaining adult flies which can then be killed or released outdoors.

MAKING INFUSIONS
Use 2 teaspoons of fresh herb, or 1 teaspoon of dried, per "serving." Add the herb to 1 cup of boiling water; remove from heat. Let it steep for 5-10 minutes. Pour the cooled infusion into a dark bottle and seal tightly or pour into a squirt bottle. The infusion can be squirted on problem areas (or the pests themselves) or daubed on with cotton balls. If you make several batches at ones, you can store the infusion in the dark bottles in the refrigerator. (Catherine Rigby)