Every summer the hubster and I get in an argument over those nasty flypaper strips that he wants to hang in the house! You know the ones I’m talking about? They are a gross waxy yellow color and just plain disgusting-looking….and that’s WITHOUT dead flies stuck to them! :-)
I will concede to letting him hang some in the garage by the door into the house, but I draw the line at hanging them INSIDE the house. They just give me the heebie-jeebies!
So when I read about an idea at Care2.com for making your own homemade flypaper…I couldn’t wait to try it. ANYTHING had to be better than those icky yellow ones!
Turns out these are actually quite attractive-looking…almost DECORATIVE (OK, that might be going a little too far.) Of course they don’t have any dead flies stuck to them yet, but still, if you hate the look of those gooey yellow strips as much as I do...you might want to give this a try!
DIY Fly Paper
What you need:
- A paper grocery bag
- A single hole punch
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey or corn syrup
- 2 Tablespoons water
Cut your paper bag into strips that are 2 – 3 inches wide (no need to measure…just eyeball it).
Punch a hole in the end of each one and then thread a piece of twine through the hole and tie the ends into a knot to form a loop for hanging.
Now to apply the “sticky stuff”. Mix the sugar, honey (or corn syrup), and water in a saucepan on the stove over low heat just until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl and then run each paper strip through the sticky mixture until it is well-coated on both sides.
Hang your homemade flypaper strips somewhere to dry. Make sure to put a towel or something else absorbent under them to catch any sticky drips. I put an old tablecloth under mine and then just threw it in the washing machine after the strips were done dripping…which wasn’t very long.
If you’re wondering if these things are really STICKY….wonder no more! A picture is worth a thousand words….
They are definitely STICKY! Surprisingly sticky!! Eventually they will dry out and lose some of their stickiness (especially in a dry climate like mine!), when that happens just spritz them with some sugar water. They will re-stickify and attract even MORE flies! And isn’t that really the point?? :-)