Captivator Fly Trap

[Haven]

I bought this thing 3 weeks ago at TSC and it is not working at all. The only thing it caught is a handful of gnats and a few tiny ants. I have it sitting on the ground in an area with a lot of flys and they ignore it. Am I doing something wrong? Does it need to be lifted off the ground a few feet, or does it just suck? What a waste of cash...Says it is supposed to "out trap their competition 3-1"...

[gobug]

I don't understand. What kind of trap is it? Traps to me are like thermometers. They don't cure a problem, they just measure the problem. The traps is food processing plants I serviced for pest control are checked, recorded, and emptied every day. The have a blacklight and a glue board. I reviewed the recorded catches once a month.

Traps in restaurants were usually placed near the front door. They had a blacklight and a glue strip that was slowly wound up. No record was kept.

Flies can be very different from one species to another. What kind of fly is your problem?
gary

[Haven]

The Captivator is one of those clear plastic jugs with a top that has holes where flies go in and cant get out. It comes with a liquid attractant you fill the jug with - smells like a rotting corpse.

The flies I am not sure of - your common outdoor varieties. Some black, some irredescent. Med and large sized...

[gobug]

"Common outdoor flies" is too vague for me to give any specific advice.
I did use a small trap like you describe in the produce section of a grocery store, but it used a sweet vinegar to attract very small fruit flies. Your rotting corpse comment makes me think the fly they are attracting could be a house fly.

One rule of thumb in the pest control industry is to eliminate the breeding opportunity. In a barn with animals, this means get the excrement out often. A dead animal or rotting meat will bring a different group of flies.

That your trap claims 3-1 better performance makes me think the smelly attractant is their patent, and they are specialized for a certain industry. I will look up that name and see if I can find something.
gary

[gobug]

I read a little and see it is for horses. Is that what you use it for?

[gobug]

Since the attractant in Captivator traps is a pheremone, it is very specific to a certain type of fly. Maybe you do not have that type. I find it strange that when I googled "what kind of fly Captivators trap", I did not get any answer, just a bunch of sales talk. Oh well. I would return it and ask for your money back.

[Haven]

Thanks for the info. Its for a dog kennel. The kennel is kept very clean daily, but this time of year the flies come out and I am surrounded by land with livestock wich doesnt help matters.

I will try filling it with some honey water or something and see if it has an effect.

[mothernature]

Mighta been cheaper to actually get a dead corpse!

[oregon woodsmok]

My experience with fly traps. They need to be in the shade and they need to be suspended 3-5 feet high.

If that doesn't work, drop a small piece of chicken into the water at the bottom and let it sit there and rot. That should do the trick.

[rwur961615]

I use the captivator traps and they work great for me. Make sure it is in the shade not more than 3' off the ground (mine sit on the ground) and shake the jar 1 or 2 times a day. It works great for my rabbits and dog kennel.
Rick

[Fowler]

Originally Posted by Haven

The Captivator is one of those clear plastic jugs with a top that has holes where flies go in and cant get out. It comes with a liquid attractant you fill the jug with - smells like a rotting corpse.

The flies I am not sure of - your common outdoor varieties. Some black, some irredescent. Med and large sized...

OMG does it stink though!!
I had mine up on the table outside and it caught 6 flys then the dog jumped up there and carried it off to his hoarder pile....I heard them are not the good ones....the ones with the green writing work better (not sold at TS)....now where are they sold?

[PKBoo]

We have ours about 3 feet off the ground, and they work wonderfully! The "bait" is a pheromone that will attract flies, but I've put chunks of chicken in and that works too (once it gets good and stinky). Getting it up off the ground seems to be key.

[Haven]

Originally Posted by PKBoo

Getting it up off the ground seems to be key.

That must be the issue then. seems others had good luck with it off the ground. I just can't believe it did'nt catch one fly all this time because it was on the ground...or maybe a bad batch of attractant or the wrong species, as gobug said.

Thanks for all the help, will mess with it more this weekend.