Sunday, October 28, 2012

Got flies? Solve it, cheap.



Pretty gross. But, no matter how many times you scream at remind everyone in the house, flying things make their way in.  Once they're in, you can smear their guts all over with a fly swatter or fry them with the battery operated version.

Until Now.

With just 3 purchases from Home Depot, you can make a simple, sanitary solution. Set a reminder on your Google calendar every six months to change out the trap and it will last years.

Here's the parts list:

  1. Undercabinet fluorescent light fixture (Don't put it under a cabinet, though.  Put it on top of your cabinet.)
  2. Blacklight fluorescent bulb, sized for the fixture above (bugs like the UV light)
  3. Sticky box fly trap (bugs will brush against this and get caught)
You may have seen something like this, even if you didn't realize it, in restaurants.  The cool blue glow of that white thing sitting on the wall of the kitchen at your favorite place does the same thing.  The principle is pretty basic.  Attract flying insects on a one-way trip to their afterlife.

Find a good spot on top of one of your cabinets.  Set the fixture up there, with the blacklight bulb installed.  Run the power cord off the side of the cabinet so that you can plug it into the wall. The fly trap would normally hang somewhere, but we're just going to lay it on top of the bulb and fixture.  Make sure to remove the sticky backing so that the insects will be captured. Then just turn on the light.  It won't suck too much juice, but if you really don't want it on during the day when the attracting light won't work as well, you can add a timer.

At night, when you're padding through your kitchen at night with your white socks on, they'll glow like you're at a rave. No need for a night lite.

Depending on how many insects you let in, the fly strip will last several months, but it's easy to check.  If it loses its tackiness, swap it out.  If it gets full, swap it out.  It's a couple of bucks to replace.  The light bulb will last years. And you'll be surprised at how many bugs you'll catch.

Check this one out.  Got more crane flies than houseflies this time.


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