If you’ve been trying to find the best trap for biting flies look no further. Biting flies are not only a nuisance but a health hazard for you and your animals. They harm livestock in ways that can cost tons of money and injure the health of cattle, horses, and other animals.
Biting flies are difficult to catch. They are attracted to the shape and body heat of their prey. This means a typical leave-out sticky trap that relies on chance won’t work. Neither will something that utilizes scent or bait.
An infestation of biting flies can make life miserable both for you and your animals. To combat these nasty pests, we’ve assembled a list of the best traps and where you can buy them now.
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Starbar Bite Free Stable Fly Trap
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If you’re looking for a fast and cheap option to get rid of flies quickly, consider trying Starbar’s Bite-Free trap. These traps are designed for the lower levels of your barn or outdoor areas. Some advantages of this trap are that it is weatherproof, insecticide-free, and can hold up to 8,000 flies and other insects.
This trap is ideal for smaller stables or people with low acreage and only a few animals. It works especially well when used in tandem with other fly-control methods like keeping a sanitary space and certain types of bait that prevent non-biting flies from clogging it up.
The caveat here is that you need to closely follow Starbar’s instructions. Placement is the key, and you won’t get the full results if you don’t install it properly.
Bugjammer Knight Stick Biting Fly Trap
You can try out the Bugjammer Knight Stick at a slightly higher cost. A good amount of science has gone into this trap and it is different from other biting fly traps in that it uses a sound frequency and a visual element to catch flies.
The Knight Stick is unique in that it is perfectly suited to atypical livestock businesses like petting zoos. The trap is non-toxic and weatherproof, meaning it’s great if you need to keep it close to where your animals spend most of their time. If you or an animal get any of the trap glue on your hand, you can wash it off with a gentle oil like olive or baby.
Bugjammer is confident in the effectiveness of their trap. You can explore their site for specific scientific reports about the Knight Stick. Spoiler: if you’ve been considering an Olson trap, go for the Knight Stick–research shows it works better.
The HORSE PAL Fly Trap
- READY TO USE: Giant Fly glue traps are pre-scented and are intended for use without additional bait. For best use, leave trap hanging near the area...
- MAXIMUM PROTECTION: Catchmaster glue traps are safe, non-toxic and no-mess. An effective alternative to standalone glue boards that may not hold up as...
- ECONOMICAL GIANT ROLL: Our 30' x 10" one sided flying insect trap roll contains 3,600 square inches of premium fly catching surface. Designed to help...
The Horse Pal is one of the best fly traps for outside. It targets multiple types of biting flies like horse flies, deer flies, and yellow flies. This low-maintenance, eco-friendly trap is one of the most popular out there because it works and it is user friendly.
According to the makers, here’s how it works: “When the flies discover the target is not a blood meal, the trap is designed so that the flies enter the capture bottle, die from the heat of the sun on the bottle, and accumulate in the bottom of the capture bottle.
This large trap works well for larger farms and you should place it in open areas. You want it close enough to the livestock that it will attract the flies that are targeting your animals. But if you have curious characters on the farm, make sure it’s behind a fence or far enough away that the animals can’t knock it over.
Sometimes you have to mess with the placement of the Horse Pal before you find the sweet spot. Don’t be discouraged, and experiment with areas that get an abundance of sunlight.
With proper maintenance, this trap will hold up for many years. It’s on the pricier side but will last you in the long run.
Epps Biting Fly Trap
- CATCH PESKY BUGS: Trap mosquitoes, gnats, flies, horse fly, housefly, nat, lantern fly, knat, and many other irritating flying insect with this...
- PROTECT YOUR HOUSE: Hanging hook lets you place the trap anywhere near common bug infested areas in your home to lure, and catch all pests. Try...
- THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Perfect for porches, garage, patios, gardens, stable, lawn, chicken coop, and any popular hotbeds for flying insects to keep them...
Also on the best outdoor fly trap list is the Epps Biting Fly Trap. This one is a behemoth, at 5′ tall and 7′ long, but it has a larger range of about 20 acres. This trap claims to reduce flies by 80% which is nothing to turn your nose up to.
The Epps trap is also multi-purpose and catches horse flies, deer flies, bull flies, green heads, yellow heads, black flies, stable flies, and other flying and biting insects. So if you’re willing to invest a few hundred bucks and some dish soap, it is worth it.
Like most biting fly traps, Epps requires no chemicals, bait, or pesticides. With the tried-and-true soap and water method, this trap works quickly. Some have had to empty it within 24 hours of setup. It requires little maintenance aside from cleaning out the captured bugs and keeping on top of the water level.
Epps recommends emptying the trap every few days. But if you find the sweet spot for it, you might need to do it daily. That and the cost are the only real downsides here.
Bite-Lite H-Trap Professional Horse Fly Control System
- RAPID KNOCKDOWN: Kills and repels more than 70 listed species including biting and nuisance flies, ticks, and mosquitoes
- WORKS ON DOGS: Effectively kills fleas and ticks on dogs
- LONG-LASTING: Protects for up to 14 days
Similar to the Horse Pal in design, and the Epps in price, the Bite-Lite H-Trap is designed for smaller farms with around 5 horses or 2.5 acres. One of the great things about this trap is that the makers have invested a lot in testing to ensure it works at the highest performance level. They’ve conducted studies from Florida to Cape Cod in varied settings.
It is designed to hold up well in different weather conditions and has a lifetime of several years. It traps multiple species of biting flies and is used by many to reduce fly populations in their living area, even if they don’t have livestock.
Like most biting fly traps location can be picky. Make sure to find a spot that stays in direct sunlight for most of the day. If it ends up in shady areas it won’t work as well.
This one is well worth the money if you have a small-scale farm or live somewhere where the flies are driving you crazy!
DIY Bonus: The Nzi Trap
- PREVENTS DEVELOPMENT of house flies and stable flies in the manure of treated horses.
- HIGHLY PALATABLE PELLETS made with alfalfa. Simply add to your horse’s feed.
- CONTAINS NO ORGANOPHOSPHATES and passes through your horse without being absorbed. Only affects your horse’s manure.
This trap was originally designed in Kenya to deal with the tsetse fly epidemic. It has been tested extensively in Africa, and then in the USA as well, and is known to be extremely effective.
It requires no water, chemicals, pesticides, or sticky material. Instead, the Nzi Trap uses a combination of colors and shapes that mimic the way animals appear to a fly’s eyes. It attracts them and utilizes their biological reaction of flying upwards into the sunlight. Once the flies go up, they are trapped in mesh netting. The only maintenance it requires is the removal of the dead flies, and it covers up to 20 acres.
The only real downside here is that it’s difficult to find online retailers. If you’re feeling crafty or the other traps just aren’t working for you, you can find instructions on how to build it here, and information on what materials to use here.
All in all, catching biting flies is tricky. Several companies mentioned here have invested scientific and practical resources to remedy this pest issue. Depending on the scale of your farm, the number of livestock, and specific needs, there is a product out there that can save you and your animals from those pesky flies.
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