Frequently Asked Questions
OnFleeke
- What Should I Use As Bait?
Here are a few of the most common baits used by our customers who have had awesome results:
- Wet Cat Food - It's no secret that cat food doesn't smell very good, this is what makes it a great starting bait to test because it has a strong, unpleasant smell and is also fairly moist which flies love. We highly recommend 'fancy feast' cat food which you can buy in most pet stores or online, the fishy cat food goes down very well with flies. To make your cat food bait even better, add some beer or milk and let it turn inside the bait bowl.
- Fish - Many customers have found success using sardines as bait, once they are outside and exposed to the elements for a little while, they become lovely and stinky, making the trap super appealing to flies. In general, flies are very attracted to the pungent aroma that fish let off, so it's definitely worth testing any fish you have available. Honorable mentions to tuna, kippers, and salmon also. TIP: Once in the open, fish will dry up quickly, so make sure you add some olive oil to the bait bowl or milk or beer.
- Starbar Fly Attractant - This bait has proven itself time and time again for many of our customers, it's completely non-toxic and shouldn't attract any of your other animals on the farm since it is a powder that mixes with water rather than actual food. It's available in most farm shops.
- Rescue Fly Attractant - Similar to StarBar, rescue fly attractant is also a big winner amongst our customers, find it also in farm shops/tractor supply
- Feeling creative? - Mix 65% powdered egg or 2 raw eggs with 25% yeast, 15% sodium bicarbonate and then mix with water to make a thick solution. Leave for a couple of days to let it become nice and stinky and you're all set.
- POOP! - Pretty gross, but if you live on a ranch with lot's of animals, you'll have this in abundance, so it does make sense to use it. Feel free to add it to any of the above, combinations of every bait we mentioned works great.
NOTE: ALL BAIT MUST BE KEPT MOIST/HYDRATED
Flies thrive off standing, smelly liquid. So make sure your bait is not dry or it will not attract flies.
Again, there is no right answer on what bait to use, but if your bait bowl is not the smelliest or most foul substance/item on your farm then you may be reducing the effectiveness of your Fly Trap. It's important to remember we are dealing with live creatures here, creatures that are thriving off hanging onto your animals. If the bait bowl isn't smelly enough to draw them from your horse, they will never leave.
Once you hit the sweet spot you will know right away, similar to the snowball effect, flies will be drawn to where other flies are congregating and your trap will be almost full before you know it.
2. How Should I Setup My Fly Trap?
- Height - The height placement of your Fly Trap is absolutely vital. The lower you can hang the trap to the ground, the better. Generally, flies always fly, eat, poop, and breed no more than 5ft off the ground. Placing a trap above 5 ft or hanging it off the ceiling of a high barn, for example, will seriously negate the effectiveness of your trap. We've had customers in the past originally hang their fly trap above our recommended maximum of 5ft with no luck but then found instant success after placing it below our guidelines.
- Location - The location of your trap must be carefully considered because if the trap is placed in an enclosed area where flies can't access easily then for obvious reasons it won't have any success. Similarly, if you place a trap away from your animals or where there aren't many flies in the area then it would be pretty difficult for your trap to attract those flies that are currently on your animals from a distance. So if you own a horse, for example, we highly recommend placing traps around the paddocks and fences that your horse is grazing in.
- Experimentation - Similar to baits, trying different locations is often necessary. There are hundreds of variables that can affect the success of your fly trap. So be sure to move your trap(s) around different locations of your farm to maximize results.
3. So... How do you empty it?
If you wish to empty and reuse your Fly Trap, you can either vacuum or shake the flies out through the small hole they entered in! They make great little snacks for your farm birds or chickens! :)
4. Additional Setup Tips
The hanging location of your Fly Trap is important to get right and may take a couple of different attempts before you hit that ''sweet spot'' where flies are much more attracted to your net rather than your animal(s).
We recommend placing your Fly Traps in sunlit areas where they are in the sun and in a warm area for a good few hours of the day. We do not recommend putting your trap(s) inside your horses actual stable because it may see the trap as a feeder and will destroy it or eat the contents! We'd suggest instead that you place the traps around fences near paddocks or fields where your horse may be grazing for long hours on a hot summers day. Poop carts, manure piles, just outside the stables, barn, etc. are also advisory places where you'll find success with having a trap set up.
DO NOT HANG above 5ft, the majority of the flies are lower than this, so you need to make sure your trap is on the same level to have the best effect. It's vital that you hang on the same level / if not lower than your animals that you keep whether that be horses, chickens or live stock.
Once you find a location on your ranch that you think has a heavy population of flies, you'll need to bait your trap with a tasty, smelly snack to attract the flies away from your animals into the net. We'll run through some of the main baits our customers have had success with in the past:
Wet Cat Food mixed with Beer or Water
''Bad Milk''
Overripe, dry fruits
Rotten fish / meat
If you're feeling creative, mix 65% powdered egg or 2 raw eggs with 25% yeast, 15% sodium bicarbonate and then mix with water to make a thick solution. Leave for a couple of days to let it become nice and stinky!
Please Note: If the trap is left in the sun for a few days then the bait will inevitably start to become dry and less appealing to flies, so make sure you top it up every now and then! (You can just pour a little beer or water inside the dish if the contents has become dry to make it fresh again)