The Edit — Home & Garden
Fruit Fly and Gnat Traps: What Actually Catches Them
Fruit flies breed in the kitchen; fungus gnats breed in houseplant soil. A trap catches adults of either, but only removing the source ends it. What extension entomologists advise, and the 5 traps owners rate.
This guide is research-led: we have not handled these units ourselves. If you buy through our links we may earn a commission — it never changes a pick. How we choose
This page explains how to tell fruit flies from fungus gnats and what university entomologists say ends each. It ranks 5 traps and treatments by rating and by how many owners rated them on 6 October 2026, as How we choose describes. Nothing here was handled or tested.
Yellow Sticky Fruit Fly Trap 54 Pack, Gnat Traps for Indoor House Plants
Good fit Houseplants with gnats
Not for A fruit fly problem in the kitchen
Summit Mosquito Dunks, 100 Count
Good fit Gnats that keep coming back from the soil
Not for Fruit flies, which do not breed in soil
Zevo Flying Insect Trap for Fruit Flies & Gnats
Good fit A tidy trap that looks like a night light
Not for Anyone counting on it alone
Safer Home Plug-In Fruit Fly Trap
Good fit A room where a night light is welcome
Not for A heavy fruit fly problem
Good fit A few flies near a fruit bowl
Not for A buyer who wants the bait to last
Fruit flies circle the fruit bowl; fungus gnats rise from the plants
Where the flies gather tells you which one you have. Fruit flies are about 1/8 inch long, tan in front, black behind, and usually red-eyed, according to the University of Kentucky. They hover over ripe produce, the sink and the recycling.
Fungus gnats are darker and more delicate, with long antennae, and look like tiny mosquitoes, says UC Statewide IPM. They walk on the soil of houseplants and drift up when a pot is watered. Adults do not bite, but large numbers of larvae can damage roots.
Fruit flies stop only when the breeding spot goes
Kentucky’s entomologists are blunt: unless every breeding site is found and cleaned, the flies keep coming however many adults are killed. Fruit flies need only a moist film of fermenting material, which they find in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles and cans, mops and rags.
Kentucky’s own trap is a jar with a funnel rolled from notebook paper and a few ounces of cider vinegar in the bottom. Commercial traps do the same job with a lure and a lid.
TERRO Fruit Fly Trap, 6-Pack
94,782 ratings at 3.9, the most-rated trap here, a fruit-shaped bait trap whose lure owners say dries out fast.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Type | Liquid bait trap |
|---|---|
| Pack | 6 traps, 270 days of lure |
94,782 ratings at 3.9, the most-rated product here and the lowest-rated. Owners like that it is easy to set up and does not smell. The complaint that recurs is a lure that dries out within days, and a trap some say caught nothing.
Buy it if
- A few flies near a fruit bowl
Don't buy it if
- A buyer who wants the bait to last
The TERRO bait trap is the one most buyers reach for, and it rates lowest of the 5. A jar of cider vinegar does the same job, and either one only helps once the source is gone.
Light traps catch some flies and split owners
Plug-in traps use a blue or white light to draw flies onto a sticky card. Zevo refills were among Amazon’s Home & Kitchen best sellers on 6 October 2026, and the base has 56,886 ratings.
Zevo Flying Insect Trap for Fruit Flies & Gnats
56,886 ratings at 4.2, a plug-in light trap with sticky refills, which owners like as a night light but split on as a trap.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Type | Plug-in light, sticky refill |
|---|
56,886 ratings at 4.2. Owners find it easy to set up and like the soft glow as a night light. Whether it catches flies splits them sharply: some say it works, others say it caught nothing and was a waste of money.
Buy it if
- A tidy trap that looks like a night light
Don't buy it if
- Anyone counting on it alone
Safer Home Plug-In Fruit Fly Trap
39,259 ratings at 4.2, a plug-in light trap with a bright night light, which owners split on for fruit flies.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Type | Plug-in light, sticky card |
|---|
39,259 ratings at 4.2. Safer Home owners like the bright night light and a design that does not look out of place. The split is the same as the Zevo’s: some say it clears fruit flies, others that flies ignore it.
Buy it if
- A room where a night light is welcome
Don't buy it if
- A heavy fruit fly problem
For fungus gnats, dry the soil and stake the pots
UC IPM’s first advice for fungus gnats is to stop overwatering: let the surface of the potting mix dry between waterings and fix any drainage problem. The larvae live in moist soil, so a drier top layer breaks the cycle.
At 75°F, eggs hatch in about 3 days, larvae feed for about 10, and pupae take about 4 more, so a pot can produce a new wave in under 3 weeks. UC IPM suggests yellow sticky traps, cut small and pushed into pots, to catch adults, and raw potato chunks on the soil to check for larvae.
Yellow Sticky Fruit Fly Trap 54 Pack, Gnat Traps for Indoor House Plants
14,036 ratings at 4.6, yellow sticky stakes that push into potting soil, which owners say work best on fungus gnats.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Type | Yellow sticky stakes |
|---|---|
| Count | 54 |
14,036 ratings at 4.6, the highest rating here. Owners say these work best on fungus gnats and like the flower and butterfly shapes in a pot. The stickiness splits them, and some struggle to peel off the backing paper.
Buy it if
- Houseplants with gnats
Don't buy it if
- A fruit fly problem in the kitchen
Bti treats gnat larvae where traps cannot reach
UC IPM lists Bti, the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis, as a biological control for fungus gnat larvae. It is toxic only to fly larvae such as mosquitoes and gnats, and it needs repeat applications. UC IPM names Mosquito Bits and Gnatrol as Bti products.
Summit Mosquito Dunks, 100 Count
29,762 ratings at 4.5, Bti dunks sold for mosquitoes, the bacterium extension guidance names for fungus gnat larvae.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Active | Bti |
|---|---|
| Count | 100 |
29,762 ratings at 4.5. Summit sells the dunks for mosquitoes, and owners report them killing larvae in ponds, rain barrels and bird baths for about 3 weeks, with no smell. Some say the dunks crumble easily. Read the label for how it may be used on houseplants before you start.
Buy it if
- Gnats that keep coming back from the soil
Don't buy it if
- Fruit flies, which do not breed in soil
For other pests, do ultrasonic pest repellers work? reads the evidence on plug-in repellers, and mouse traps, compared ranks the traps for the season mice come indoors.