In the News: Alumnus, Inventor Helps Homes Go Fruit Fly Free

Like most of us, Michael Bernhardt, '99, detests fruit flies. Unlike most of us, he did something about them.

Bernhardt’s idea resulted in a trap that relies only on a piece of fruit and an apple cider vinegar spray to attract and kill this pesky kitchen nuisance. He told WIVB-TV that he went forward with his project because, despite many helpful hints and commercial projects, nothing really worked.

According to the Buffalo News, Bernhardt, a business graduate, developed the Active Green Fruit Fly Trap by closely observing the fruit flies that invaded his own home. The News reported, “Unlike home remedies and passive commercial traps, which rely on the fly drowning itself after coming into contact with liquid bait, Active Green sends a spray of liquid every 10 minutes to flush standing fruit flies from the inside walls of the trap. It wipes out insects in dramatically higher numbers and in much less time.”

Because it uses only nontoxic cider vinegar, the trap poses no threat to children or pets.