I hear you. Good organic stuff costs $8 a bottle. You don’t need that. Cheap, cloudy, store-brand vinegar works better because it has more sediment—more of that “fermented stink” that drives flies wild. Save the fancy stuff for your kale smoothies. Use the gas station vinegar for murder.
How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies? - Local Pest Control
And if you run out? White vinegar with a drop of leftover wine works in a pinch. But be warned: it’s like offering a vegan a kale salad—they might show up, but they won’t stay for dessert.
One More Surprising Fact
Fruit flies have been buzzing around the Earth for over 40 million years. They’ve survived ice ages, dinosaurs, and your last attempt at baking sourdough. They’re not stupid. They just have a single-minded passion for vinegar. Use that against them.
Also, scientists have mapped the entire genome of the fruit fly. We know more about these little jerks than we do about half our neighbors. And you know what? They still fall for the same plastic-wrap-and-vinegar trick your grandma used in 1965. Evolution, man. It’s a slow burn.