Shoo Fly! The Best Fly Traps

Best Fly Traps

Did you know there more than 120,000 species of fly? Yes, that’s right 120,000! The good news is that we don’t come into contact with all of them every day, but the six we do encounter is enough to drive us crazy.

Catchmaster 975 Outdoor Disposable Fly Trap Bag

Last update on 2023-06-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

If you live in an area where you have many indoor and outdoor flies, the Catchmaster Disposable Fly Trap Bags are a great solution for catching a lot of flies at once. The bags are designed for both indoor and outdoor use, and all you need to do is add water to the bags then hang them up. When you’re hanging them, make sure they’re somewhere stable and won’t fall down. A tree branch or light post are both good options.

Some users on Amazon reported that the odor inside the bags was pretty bad. In this case, we recommend only using the bags outdoors where you won’t smell them. Place them strategically near doors and windows to keep bugs from coming inside.

Overall, this is one of the best products for catching swarms of flies without using toxic chemicals throughout your lawn. The ingredients stay inside the bag and all you need to do is throw the entire bag away once it’s full of flies. For the average user, a single bag should last at least a month. The two-pack is a great value price, and many users reported that the two bags were enough to last the entire season.

Victor M380 Fly Magnet 1-Quart Reusable Trap with Bait

Last update on 2023-06-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Victor is one of the most recognized brands in the pest control industry and has been around for over 100 years. That’s no small feat given all the competition out there. Everything about the eco-friendly fly trap works, from the shiny white top and the diamond-shaped lid that attracts flies to the patented non-toxic bait that attracts a wide range of flies, including blowflies and house flies.

Like with the Rescue disposable fly trap, you simply add water to ‘activate’ the bait. There is a marker that shows you how much water is needed. Remember that the flies also drown. The trap uses a patented, non-toxic bait that smells to high heaven but works a charm and it can be used a few times without it losing its efficacy. The bait might lose some of its odor but it’s easy to buy.

Because there are no harmful chemicals, it’s safe to use around children and animals, and anyone who suffers from allergies. One warning, though: this fly trap works and it works well, so expect a lot of flies, which you need to get rid of at some point. You might want to just buy a new one rather than reusing it.

BEAPCO Fruit Fly Traps

Last update on 2023-06-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Fruit flies are a nuisance in the kitchen and around the house, but BEAPCO Fruit Fly Traps will effectively attract, trap and kill all the fruit flies in your home. Each pack comes with six disposable cups and a bottle of solution to put in each cup that will attract the flies into the cup. They are incredibly easy to use and very discrete. You’ll never even notice them and the fruit flies will disappear.

These spill-proof cups are easy to maintain making Beapco Fruit Fly Traps a mess-free solution to your fruit fly problem. This pack traps will last you 180 days because each trap is good for a 30 day period before it needs to be replaces. Running about fifteen dollars a pack they are a very affordable solution to an annoying problem.

The Flies That Annoy People and Animals on a Daily

• Stable Flies
• Flesh Flies
• Blow Flies
• Houseflies
• Blue and Green Bottle Flies
• Dump Flies

Besides being a major irritant, flies are also known for spreading some pretty nasty diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, anthrax, yaws, cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever. They are also responsible (indirectly) for poultry death and low weight in cattle.

A Few Not-So-Fun Facts About Flies

• A female fly can lay between 400 and 600 eggs
• A fly’s life cycle is around 30 days
• A fly is attracted by movement
• Flies can smell over 750 yards
• If not emptied, one garbage bin can make the perfect breeding ground for as many as 30,000 flies
• In warm weather, a fly can produce an entire generation in under two weeks

Different Types of Fly

The commonly-seen flies we face in our homes, around farms and other places include:

The House Fly

Musca domestica or the housefly is possibly the most common pest and can be found in houses, poultry farms, recreation areas, restaurants, barns, and anywhere else there is food and people. They lay their eggs pretty much everywhere, but poultry or animal manure is their favorite place. Also, decaying garbage provides excellent conditions for breeding. They’re strong fliers but also travel using animals, vehicles, and even wind currents.

The Stable Fly

Stable flies are also called dog flies and they’re the blood-sucking types. The usually bite animals but will also bite humans. Adult stable flies can travel up to 70 miles. They resemble houseflies in both color and size but they have a bayonet-like mouth, designed solely for the purpose of sucking blood. The bites are painful and persistent stable flies will carry on biting even if they’re swatted.

Flesh Flies

Flesh flies are known as scavenger flies because they feed on dead carcasses and meat scraps. Females lay eggs directly on the food source and the larvae eat feed on that. Their life cycle is between eight and 21 days.

Bottle Flies and Blow Flies

There are a few species of both types that are found in residential areas. Bluebottles, green bottles, and bronze bottles are usually more abundant in these areas. They breed in animal manure, decaying animal matter, and scraps of meat. Adult flies are very active indoors and are attracted to light, which you probably didn’t know. Their entire life cycle lasts between nine and 21 days.

What Attracts Flies to Your Home?

No matter how clean you keep your house, there’s still a chance of flies. Any food smell is an attractant so unfortunately there’s not much you can do. Garbage piles draw flies too because of the rotting waste and food. Flies live off decaying things.

Ripening fruits attract flies because of the scent. Feces and manure are attractants so if you have pets of any type you can be guaranteed of flies. Also, if an animal like a squirrel or a bird dies nearby, the carcass will attract the flies.

Are Flies Dangerous?

They’re not dangerous as in they can rip your face off or attack you in swarms. The only flies that bite are horse flies, but that doesn’t mean the rest are harmless.

Flies are basically germ carriers with wings. Because they live on and off dead animals, rotting food, in sewers, and in feces, they carry bacteria wherever they go. For example, the fly sitting on your sandwich right now was probably in a pile of doggy doo two minutes earlier and somewhere even worse 20 minutes before that.

The Different Traps

Obviously, it is totally impractical to set up hundreds of Venus flytraps around the house. Fortunately, there are various ways you can trap flies, with some being more effective than others while a few are a lot less appealing. Each seems to have its own pros and cons, so the final decision will come down to your personal preferences.

Zappers

Zappers are highly effective but, let’s be honest, they can’t be used in areas where food is being prepared. For home kitchens and restaurants a trap with a sticky adhesive is a better choice.

UV Lights

UV lights get rid of flies quickly and effectively and you don’t have to worry about unsightly sticky papers or knocking things over that have liquid inside. The only downside is that not all flies are attracted to UV lights.

Adhesive Solutions

A simple but effective way of trapping flies is with adhesive papers or ribbons. These work really well but they’re not particularly nice to look at and are best suited for outside and in areas where they won’t be seen.

Containers

Containers, either bags or bottles, have a way for a fly to get in but not out and it’s usually filled with a liquid that serves as an attractant. The idea is that the flies eventually drown. There are reusable ones as well as types that can be disposed of. We prefer the disposable ones personally.