Living in the blissfully quiet countryside brings many blessings, but the abundance of flying insects is not one of them. That is why I am hoping the bestselling Zevo Flying Insect Trap from Amazon is the answer to my prayers, as so many people swear by them.
As we have to open our windows throughout the day and night to cool our home without AC, this unfortunately invites in lots of flies, especially on days when the local farms spray their fields with fertilizer, causing a rise of flying insects near our home.
Mesh screens are not practical for my household, and I don’t like the look of them besides, and whilst net curtains are making a comeback, it’s not a look I can live with while trying to keep these indoor pests, firmly outside.
How does the Zevo Flying insect traps work?
You plug in the item, which glows blue to draw any flying insects to it, whilst the extra sticky cartridge on the back is a trap the flies cannot escape. It works on fruit flies and gnats too.
Simply place them in your home, plugged in, and watch those pesky flies get lured in and trapped for good.
Thousands of shoppers on Amazon swear by these nifty little plug ins from Zevo, with 50,000 units sold last month alone, alongside 80,000 refills, telling us clearly that people come back time and again for this product.
Verified shopper JP says in their review that the kit is ‘worth every penny,’ and has found the Zevo Flying Insect Trap from Amazon to be brilliant for getting ahead of the problem, whilst also working immediately.
Since moving home to a mountainous area, they have ‘encountered a variety of bugs/flying insects that I have never had a problem with before. They kept coming and coming, and I was at my wits' end with trying to eliminate them.’
After trying vinegar and other fruit fly traps that ‘didn’t make a dent in catching them’, Amazon shopper JP tried the Zero Flying Insect Trap, adding, ‘Let me tell you, they started catching them quickly! Easy to set up and assemble. I just popped one of the sticky traps into the cartridge and plugged into several outlets throughout the home in places where I saw them the most. The trap itself is super sticky, so once the flies get stuck, there is no going back!’
The happy customer noted that despite the slightly higher price, ‘these are worth every penny due to its effectiveness. I am hoping I am ahead of the game with getting them set up early so I can enjoy having food or a beverage without having to fish out these tiny little critters.’
Shopper Richard L. adds, ‘The plug ins work well especially where gnats and mosquitoes can be a problem. Expensive but kills many bugs who get stuck on the inside of filter with soft purple light.’
Meanwhile, initially ‘skeptical’ Amazon shopper Samantha Orta gleefully reports after being overrun by flying insects, their home is now ‘free from the clutches of these nasty little’ bugs, due tor the Zevo plug-in.
What the experts say
Whilst good airflow is essential to cool a home without AC, open and unscreened windows invite flies in.
Mihail Velev, rodent and insect pest control expert at Fantastic Services says, 'Devices like the Zevo Flying Insect Trap are designed exactly for this kind of setup. The Zevo Flying Insect Trap uses a combination of UV and blue light to attract flying insects, such as flies, fruit flies, mosquitoes and gnats.
'Once drawn in, the insects get stuck on an adhesive backing instead of being electrocuted. The key features of this product are that it's safe around pets and children, it has a plug-in design that runs continuously, it has a refillable adhesive cartridge that can be replaced every 15 to 30 days, and it targets light-attracted insects, such as houseflies and fruit flies.
'I would absolutely recommend it. It's low maintenance and quiet, which is great for living spaces and bedrooms, non-toxic because there are no pesticides or odours, it's good for low-to-moderate fly problems indoors and it's ideal for homes with open windows, where flies are already inside.'
Mihail points out however, that it has a limited range, as it's only effective in the room it's in, 'typically within 3 to 4.5 metres,' he adds. 'It also won’t be effective against flies that aren’t light-attracted, like cluster flies during overwintering.'
This can be combated with Zevo's multi-room kit, available on Amazon, that has four plug-ins and cartridges refills.
The pest control pro recommends combining Zevo with temporary magnetic mesh window screens. 'They’re cheap, can be installed without tools, and let you keep ventilation.'
I use a big zip mesh door screen from Amazon for my kitchen door, as it keeps my cats in, and bugs out.
As for placement, he recommends popping a Zevo trap in the kitchen or main living area, where flies tend to congregate and using outdoor bait traps to reduce the number of flies reaching the house in the first place.
Mihail adds, 'I recommend Katchy Indoor Fly Trap for fruit flies and gnats. It also uses UV light, a fan and a sticky trap. It's a little more aggressive in drawing insects in and it works especially well in kitchens and near bins.
'The Aspectek Indoor Fly Zapper uses UV light with an electrocution grid, and it's more powerful. It's good for garages, sunrooms, and kitchens, but it can be noisy.
'RESCUE! Outdoor Disposable Fly Traps use a protein-based attractant to lure flies outside, away from your windows and doors. Hang it at least 3 to 6 metres from the house.'
As for rural properties like mine, Mihail recommends window fly traps, 'sticky sheets which are cheap, clear and stick directly onto window panes. They're great for high-risk windows where flies naturally gather.'
The Catchmaster sticky fly traps from Amazon are highly rated and 3000+ shoppers bought them last month.
Why there are so many flies near my home
Matt Smith, co-owner of Green Pest Management, provides some insight into why my countryside home has so many flies.
He says, ‘Flies love farmland for a variety of reasons. They, of course, love manure and fertilizer, but other things that draw them in are cool, damp places for breeding and laying eggs.’
Matt explains that flies can squeeze through the smallest of openings, so to completely have a fly proof house is impossible. It's one of the challenges of getting rid of flies.
‘Keeping doors closed and screens tight will help a lot. Flies are a source problem so find the source that is drawing them in, remove it, and your problem will significantly improve,' Matt adds.
He also recommends using sticky traps when faced with the same problem. Matt explains, 'What worked best for us was using sticky traps. We put them on the windows and by the kitchen sink.
'I will say they aren't pretty and are a bit of an eye sore but they did work. We would place them in the corner of the windows and sometimes we would put a little bit of bait on them.
'Keeping doors closed and screens tight will help a lot. Flies are a source problem, so find the source that is drawing them in, remove it, and your problem will significantly improve.'
Learning about the ways insects come into your home can help arm you, alongside the best pest-busting products and natural pest control methods to get the issue under control.
Flying insect essentials
To plug in and forget about it, the Zevo Flying Insect Trap is a hand-off method to get flies under control in your home.
This useful starter pack includes three cartridge refills. I’m also pleased to see these are safe for use around children and pets, as I have both in my home and don’t like using pungent or toxic sprays.
Tackle multiple rooms with this four cartridge set so you can banish flies for multiple areas of the home at once.
This 48-pack of strong adhesive fly tape works best stuck to the top of windows. It’s an affordable solution for anyone who doesn’t want to use a plug in, or foot the continuing cost of the Zevo refills. Shoppers rate these highly for stickiness.
You can also use a cucumber to deter flies from entering your home.
