After the trap is about full, how do you kill the remaining flies so they don't get away when you take the lid off?
496042
Three possibilities: IF you place a weight in the bottom during the original preparation (e.g., stainless steel washers/nuts, bolts etc - or just a suitable rock) then you can submerge the ENTIRE trap(?) in a five gallon bucket of water. You can place the entire trap in a plastic bag sealed at the top for a suitable period of time. Finally, just transport the entire trap in a sealed container to a dump area (a vacuckant lot?) and not worry about the few living flies in the trap. BTW, I generally take a bucket of water with me to the dump area for initial rinsing. You will want to wash these traps after dumps. They stink = they're effective! Three possibilities: IF you place a weight in the bottom during the original preparation (e.g., stainless steel washers/nuts, bolts etc - or just a suitable rock) then you can submerge the ENTIRE trap(?) in a five gallon bucket of water. You can place the entire trap in a plastic bag sealed at the top for a suitable period of time. Finally, just transport the entire trap in a sealed container to a dump area (a vacuckant lot?) and not worry about the few living flies in the trap. BTW, I generally take a bucket of water with me to the dump area for initial rinsing. You will want to wash these... » Read More Three possibilities: IF you place a weight in the bottom during the original preparation (e.g., stainless steel washers/nuts, bolts etc - or just a suitable rock) then you can submerge the ENTIRE trap(?) in a five gallon bucket of water. You can place the entire trap in a plastic bag sealed at the top for a suitable period of time. Finally, just transport the entire trap in a sealed container to a dump area (a vacuckant lot?) and not worry about the few living flies in the trap. BTW, I generally take a bucket of water with me to the dump area for initial rinsing. You will want to wash these traps after dumps. They stink = they're effective! « Show Less
496043
Three possibilities: IF you place a weight in the bottom during the original preparation (e.g., stainless steel washers/nuts, bolts etc - or just a suitable rock) then you can submerge the ENTIRE trap(?) in a five gallon bucket of water. You can place the entire trap in a plastic bag sealed at the top for a suitable period of time. Finally, just transport the entire trap in a sealed container to a dump area (a vacuckant lot?) and not worry about the few living flies in the trap. BTW, I generally take a bucket of water with me to the dump area for initial rinsing. You will want to wash these traps after dumps. They stink = they're effective!
496044
We never had that problem. Since I left it to my son to clean, he just tossed the whole trap, so we didn't have to worry about loose ones. But, guess you could use some flying insect spray to spray before taking the lid off.
1131047
Find the source of the fruit flies and throw it out. I used the trap and 3 days later no more flies. We had a bag of potatoes under the sink that was the source. The trap worked!
1040490
I am pretty sure the smell attracts more flies than you would normally see in the area where you hang the trap. The good thing is that the trap lures them so they don't fly near your windows or your patio table.
127207
I purchased this to catch flies when we go camping. It works very well luring all flies into the trap. make certain you hang it away from the area you sit as the smell is ghastly That is what lures the flies in
2202760
Assuming your trap has 2 doors, leave one of the doors shut and place the bait between the shut door and the trip plate. This forces the "critter" to walk onto the trip plate with its full weight to get to the bait and more likely trip the mechanism.
1677013
I have raised praying mantises before and they might not be able to escape, but I think the fruit flies might. It would be a close call on both of them. The screen is very small, but so are they. I used a piece of very small mesh material to and doubled it over on the top of he jug I had them in. Maybe you could put something like that on top until they grow just a little.
1808672
Twist the top half about 1/4 turn until it comes out. I always empty the water as soon as I finish to make sure it is fresh to work the next time
615479
Reach in there with your hand and scoop out the flies. Keep your mouth closed when doing this just in case they were all faking it and then suddenly fly into your mouth in some sort of gross kamikaze mission. It might be a good idea to tuck your pants into your socks and wear safety glasses too.
117186
I agree with bird class. The more flies inside the trap, the more flies are attracted to the trap. It can smell pretty bad, so I keep it a good 20 feet from the house. I usually discard the trap when it is about 3/4 full. I left one hanging too long and the plastic bag ripped away from the plastic top and fell on the ground, spewing dead flies and stench.
1160121
I don't have the answer but I can suggest that in the summer when the fruit flies are around, I found putting saran type plastic wrap on the outside of the filter then putting it back into the lid kept them from getting into the compost bin. Good suggest regarding the Lysol!!I would like to know the answer to this question as well.
117188
Hi Celeste, I haven't filled one yet, but I would discard when 1/4 to 1/3 full, that's a lot of dead flys.
637931
There is a plug in the trap that you must remove before you set the bait out. Just pull on it,carefull not to damage the bait, once out, set the bait where you want tit. It worked for me
2256685
There is a 2 wings barrier only open toward inside so no way to escape. To empty by pulling the top partof the trapper out.
2105199
I think they want us to place it far enough away because it really stinks. And the idea was to draw the flies away from the house. Well it does not do so. It does capture them once they find it. It catches alot but there were still many by the house. Putting it as close as you can stand the smell would work.
1583356
You will become adept enough to take flies out of the air. I found that when a fly is on the surface, just hover over it and it will jump up into the webbing and kill themselves.
2178654
I wipe mine inside and out with one of those bleach wipes every 4-5 kills. Obviously turn the unit off first. Much better than snap traps, glue pads and the so called humane traps. This is the only thing that worked for me.
2256684
It can't get out, because the trap doors close in on it. You have to take the tip off and let the bug out. I gave mine to good-will. It's and under-powered toy as far as I'm concerned.