First attempt to trap fruit flies at home using banana as bait

STEM Chat
#1

Hello reader!
I recently attempted to trap fruitflies at my home using bananas as bait.
I took a small piece from a ripe banana and mashed it using a fork to make a smooth paste. I also took a portion of the banana peel and placed both these baits outside my kitchen in a shady area.
Mashed banana bait-day 1
Banana peel bait- day 1

I was patiently waiting for 3 days to see some flies hovering around my bait, but I have spotted none till now. The mashed-banana bait is rotten and has changed its color from pale-yellow to dark brown.
Mashed Banana bait-day 4

Should I wait a little longer or change the bait instead?

5 Likes
#2

Hi Khushi,

I have a few questions. Can you tell me
1)What is your research question and why did you choose fruit flies to answer your question?
2) What are the short-term and long-term objectives of your research project?
3) What is the temperature in your area? Do you think winter temperatures can impact growth and activity of fruit flies? Maybe keep the rotten fruit longer.

You can also try to make Tomato Rava Sugar + Vinegar medium (TRSV) previously made by other CUBEists. Please see this post for details https://metastudio.org/t/newly-developed-home-made-media-for-fruit-flies/3938?u=anushilac

#3

You can just keep the banana without mashing and all. Or you can keep tomato to trap flies. You can also use curd to attract flies. For that you need to take a container put the cloth in it and on the cloth spread the curd… You can also keep a mixed bait (diff fruits)
Also lemon which is very ripe can be used to attract flies. :+1:t2:

#4

Good to see this initiative.
How often do you see fruit flies in the location where you have kept mashed banana and Banana peels? What is your observation pattern? At what time of day and night you are observing Mashed banana and Banana peel? Please share details.
I would suggest not to throw these baits as of now. You can try to keep more fruits at different places most probably near garbage bin area where we see fruit flies.

#5

Hi khushi. I wonder if you constantly mentored the system , i.e. some flies might have hovered over the bait ,gone unnoticed . So i think some modifications in trap can help :v:

#6

What kind of modifications you are suggesting?

#7

Follow up please @9202 Were you able to spot fruitflies in your kitchen? @9202