How to Catch a Fly With Your Hands

Flies are indeed very annoying insects and can contaminate your food. They are very fast fliers but believe it or not, they can be caught with bare hands!

Find a fly. Wait for it to land on an open surface free of clutter (such as a table).

Position your hand about 1 foot (30 cm) behind the fly and 3 inches (8 cm) above the surface. Your palm should be open with your thumb toward the fly. Rotate your hand so that your palm is facing diagonally down and towards the fly.

With a quick motion, move your hand over the fly keeping it about 3 inches above the surface at all times. As your hand reaches the point above where the fly landed, close your hand quickly. The fly will be startled by the quick motion and will take off directly into your palm! Follow through with your hand for another foot or so.

Flies are small and you may have caught the fly without feeling it. Carefully open your hand to see the fly you caught.

If you did not catch a fly on your first attempt, do not get discouraged. Try again, adjusting the speed of your hand. Once you get it right, it will work every time!

Another method worth trying is putting a cupped hand in FRONT of the resting fly, then with a swift forward movement catch the fly as it takes off. To kill the fly, throw it onto a hard surface.

Tips

• Use something like Windex to stun it. Don't worry, it will never kill the fly, just stun it or make it unconscious.
• Using the bottom of your palm can prove to be very effective.
• If you are skilled enough, you may be able to simply catch it out of the air. Be warned: you may not notice that you actually caught a fly, so don't open your hand above the food.

Warnings

• Remember flies can be very dirty and full of deadly bacteria.
• Always wash your hands after handling them with your bare hands.
• Some flies drink blood and will bite, so make sure your flies aren't blood-sucking vampires.