Flybrella: a device to attract and kill house flies

Abstract

Flybrella is a lightweight inexpensive trap that can be suspended like an upside-down umbrella in prominent locations where house flies, Musca domestica L., rest. It consists of a solid, cylindrical backbone to which is attached a perforated transparent tube, or baffle, with a commercial sugar/toxicant strip affixed inside. Centered directly beneath the tube and also attached to the backbone is a 10-cm-diameter inverted opaque plastic cone. House flies readily enter the tube, feed on the fast-acting toxicant, and then fall directly down the tube where they are collected in and concealed by the cone. The cone may be emptied easily through a capped opening in the bottom. In paired indoor tests, the efficacy of the commercial sugar/toxicant strip was increased significantly by the individual addition of several other attractant materials. Variants of the original design were tested, including a more efficient design featuring two concentric tubes with offset perforations. The toxicant strip may be easily removed and/or replaced when desired.