So we’ve all heard “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” right? My kitchen was overrun with fruit flies. Like, Gregor Mendel would say, “dude, that is a LOT of fruit flies.” So I decided to catch (which is to say, kill) them. Ah, but how? Given how intrigued they are by my kombucha, both vinegary and sweet might appeal.
Only one way to find out! Science! Bowl of vinegar, bowl of honey, bowl of wine (just in case. And it’s pretty vinegary wine at that). They sat out all day:
Vinegar
Honey. Note the zero flies within.
Flies strained from the two bowls of vinegar. Julianna: Why are you straining that, mom? Me: So we can reuse the vinegar. I’m not made of money.
Wine didn’t catch as many, but made for a satisfyingly grisly looking photo.
So the lesson is, feel free to be mean to people to get what you want. Because that whole flies-with-honey thing is BUSTED.
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May 29, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Tash
Oh yes, I always catch my fruit flies with apple cider vinegar…they loves it. And please, please say you were joking about reusing the vinegar….
May 29, 2012 at 8:34 pm
mazeway
Well, I did reuse it, but to catch more flies. You have to put dish soap in it to break the surface tension of the vinegar.