While Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) has been well studied for its scientific uses as a model organism, not as much work has been put into controlling them as pests across the world. These fruit flies are a common nuisance to households everywhere, and can present health issues through spreading bacteria and other pathogens it comes into contact with onto the food we consume. Controlling them is largely done with baited traps which they are attracted to, but finding what substances they are most attracted to can improve the effectiveness of these traps. For this experiment, seven household substances including, apple cider vinegar, 20% sugar water, simple syrup, banana slices, mushroom slices, beer, and wine, were used to bait traps. These were all placed outside, to compare and test their attractiveness to D. melanogaster. It was found that after eight days out, bananas attracted the most flies, followed by mushrooms, apple cider vinegar, wine, beer, simple syrup, and then the 20% sugar solution. The results were mostly consistent with what was expected considering what compounds fruit flies are attracted to. The results were able to demonstrate what household items prove most effective in attracting fruit flies in order to remove the pests from wherever it is needed. Additional research could look into the attractiveness of each of the active chemicals fruit flies are attracted to, and also find what concentrations and mixtures of these are most attractive to better make a bait for the flies
