THERE’S nothing more unattractive than flies hovering around your food.
A woman shared her favorite DIY trick for keeping bugs out of her kitchen.
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In her viral videoTikTok user Kamana Bhaskaran (@kamanabhaskaran) explained how to repurpose an item you would normally throw away for pest control.
She said that she had had problems with fruit flies in her house in the past.
However, with a simple trick, Kamana was able to drive them out of her kitchen.
She said she uses bottle corks to keep insects away from her fruit.
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“Fruit flies are attracted to moisture and sugar,” Kamana told her followers.
“The cork absorbs the moisture released from the ripening fruit and activates a natural substance that repels fruit flies.”
As the name suggests, fruit flies are mainly attracted to ripe and fermenting fruits and vegetables.
According to the experts of Arrow Killersbut they are also known to hang out in other places in the house.
“They are attracted to things like drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, garbage bags, cleaning rags and mops,” they said.
“Basically they are attracted to food waste and moist environments.”
Kamana demonstrated how she simply breaks a cork in half and then places it in several pieces on her fruit bowl.
Cork has the natural property of absorbing moisture and releasing it again when the air becomes drier.
Cork not only reduces the sweet smell in the air, but also produces an odor that fruit flies do not like when it mixes with the fermenting fruit.
This makes it the ideal product to absorb the moisture produced by ripe fruit.
TikTok users shared their thoughts on the hack in the comments.
Common garden pests
Common garden pests are no cause for alarm. If you can identify them, you can work to remove them and prevent them from coming back.
Aphids (green aphid, black aphid)
Aphids are very common and can affect the growth of plants. They have small soft pear-shaped bodies and are usually green or black. You can find them in clusters on the stem of soft shoots – look especially under leaves – or you can find a sticky substance on your plants that betrays that aphids have been there sucking the sap.
White fly
These small white-winged insects are related to aphids, only 1 or 2 mm long, and look very similar to white moths as adults. They can be found on the underside of leaves, preferring younger, fresher leaves. They fly in clusters when disturbed. Their life cycle is only three weeks long, meaning that an infestation can occur very quickly.
Snails
An unmistakable, clumsy-looking body plus small sensory tentacles on its head. Slugs propel themselves forward on a single, muscular leg. They range in size from surprisingly small to frighteningly large; limax cinereoniger species can easily exceed 20 cm in length.
Caterpillar of the cabbage moth
The caterpillars of the cabbage moth are happy to penetrate into the heart of the vegetable. The caterpillars are recognizable by their yellow or brown-green hues and are hairless.
Mealybug
Mealybugs are small oval insects with a white, powdery wax coating. There are several species, many of which have what appear to be legs coming out of their sides and back. In their earliest stages of life, it is quite possible to mistake them for fungi and not recognize them as insects at all.
“I have to try this, thanks,” wrote one impressed follower.
“Thank you!!!! I have to try this!!” said another viewer.
A third person described the quick trick as “so cool” and added that they shared it with their family.
Another woman shared her thoughts about the inexpensive purchase she makes to keep flies out of her home on hot days.
A pest control expert has revealed the best DIY tips to keep flies out of your space.
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