How to Make Your Own Fly Paper

How to Make Homemade Fly Paper

1. Cut a Paper Bag Into Strips

   Cut a brown paper bag into strips about 12" long and 2" wide.

   Tip

   If your grocery store doesn't offer paper bags, save restaurant takeout bags or use paper lunch sacks. A roll of craft paper from the dollar store will also do the trick.
   

2. Mix and Heat Ingredients

   Warning

   Heating sugar syrup can be dangerous if it gets too hot. Be careful when heating your sugar mixture, and don't heat it too long. If hot syrup comes in contact with your skin, be sure to follow proper burn first aid.

   Combine equal parts corn syrup, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Heat, constantly stirring until the sugar dissolves.

3. Submerge Strips in Mixture

   Remove the pan from the heat and carefully submerge the strips of paper in the sugar-water mixture. Allow them to sit long enough to become saturated.

   For maximum stickiness, leave the strips soaking in the sugar mixture for several hours, or even overnight. Be aware that removing them from the cold mixture could get messy.

4. Let Strips Dry

   • Place a drying rack on top of a cookie sheet. It might be helpful to line the cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper first to make for easy cleanup.
   • Remove the paper strips from the sugar mixture with tongs. If you didn't let the strips sit for a long time, be careful! The sugar syrup might still be be hot.
   • Place the strips on the drying rack and allow them to sit out until they’re completely dry to the touch. Now all you need to do is hang your flypaper wherever flies are a problem and admire your handy-work!
   • Your fly strips will be super sticky. Be sure to hang your fly paper in a place where it won't come in contact with people or pets. Otherwise, you might have to deal with a sticky (and possibly furry) mess.

   Tip

   If the paper dries out over time, you can re-wet it with a misting bottle or replace it with a fresh piece of your very own fly paper.

One-fourth cup of corn syrup, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1/4 cup of water make for a lot of flypaper. It is not recommended that you multiply the batch unless you plan to hang your fly paper in a larger area that is dense with flies such as in a barn or horse stall.

More Ways to Catch and Repel Flies

If you don't want to mess around with sticky flypaper, you can also make a fly trap in just a few minutes out of a bottle and some other simple supplies.

There are plenty of other inexpensive ways to get rid of flies, too. Consider trying the following:

• run fans to keep flies disoriented
• keep your spaces tidy and free of smelly messes
• move garbage receptacles away from structures
• keep kitchen compost and garbage sealed with a lid
• make sure door and window screens are not damaged