I hung an apple cider vinegar trap over my sink just to catch the fruit flies: the day I pulled out the compost caddy, I saw where they were really coming from
Apple cider vinegar traps work great—until they don’t. After three days of watching flies multiply, one person discovered the real problem wasn’t buzzing near the fruit bowl. It was sitting inches away in a compost caddy, harboring thousands of larvae. Here’s what pest experts don’t tell you about fruit fly breeding cycles and why your trap is only catching stragglers.