Make Your Own Fly Trap!

Making your own fly trap is a great way to catch food if you are keeping a predator as a pet. Preying mantids are great to keep as pets and love to eat fresh flies. Fly traps are also a great way to trap and study the behaviour of many different species of flies. You can watch them feed and learn how they use their mouthparts to sponge up their food. Follow the easy instructions below to make your own fly trap.

What you need:

  • Empty jam jar with a lid
  • Vegemite, peanut butter, rotting fruit, mince or other foods for bait
  • A pencil or stick

Step 1

Get the empty jar and smear your bait inside. I like to use Vegemite because I always have it in the fridge and flies love it because it is very strong smelling. Flies also love rotting fruit, bits of meat or just about any other food (the smellier the better)!

Step 2

Turn the jar upside down and place it on a table outside. Use a pencil or a stick to prop up one edge of the jar, so there is a small gap where insects can fly in. Flies will smell the food inside, fly in through the gap and get trapped inside.

Step 3

All you have to do is put the lid on the jar after a couple of hours and you should have a delicious meal for your predator.