The Gimmicky Bug Trap That Actually Works

I don’t know how I manage it, but any time I open the back door all the bugs in the Pacific Northwest come into my house, and then will not leave. Why, bugs? WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS.

I am, in addition to being an exemplary bug hostess, extremely prone to purchasing gimmicky products. So when I saw the Zevo Flying Insect Trap at Target I thought, “Oh what the hell why not” and bought it. After the easiest setup in the world, i got ready to be disappointed in this thing. But it turns out Zevo is for real, this trap works amazingly well, and I’m now ready to evangelize to everyone who also lives in a home that is apparently a bug paradise.

The Zevo Flying Insect Trap is made up of two parts, one is the base that includes a plug (it plugs into an outlet, there are specific directions on which outlet is best, more on that later) and the disposable trap bit that you toss once it’s full of bugs. The trap piece is remarkably light, I even weighed it (10 grams) because I couldn’t believe something so flimsy and simple looking could actually work.

Here’s the side view to illustrate that this thing is small and will not cramp your style

I could attempt to tell you how this thing works, but why would I when Zevo explains it on their website so well. Here’s what they say:

“Zevo attracts flying insects using dual lights (blue and UV LED’s) that work together to attract many different types of flying insects, such as house flies, fruit and drain flies, mosquitoes, midges, moths of all sizes, gnats, fleas, flying roaches, and many more! Those flying insects fly into the openings of the cartridge and get stuck on the powerful adhesive pad inside. Unable to pull themselves free, they dehydrate and die. The cartridges last around 45 days and can be replaced when full.”

It does emit a fairly bright blue light, which you can’t really see during the day, and you get used to at night. When I first plugged this trap in, in my kitchen, I thought it was SO bright and would annoy my neighbors, but now that I’ve had it for over a month I don’t even notice it anymore, and I really don’t think it’s that bright at all. Also apparently you can’t put it near your chameleon, as evidenced by this part of their FAQ section:

There are very specific directions on where to plug in this trap so it can catch the most bugs. Mine is in an outlet above my countertop in the kitchen, but under a cabinet, so I was worried it wouldn’t work. There are also under cabinet LED lights, which I was also worried would mess with the trap. Maybe it does, but my trap still managed to catch two flies, a bunch of tiny gnats, some mosquitoes, and two moths that couldn’t fit in the holes of the trap so they just parked themselves underneath it and died. I took a photo of the filled trap but thought it might be too gross, so I’ll just say if you zoom in on the picture at the beginning of this post you can see some lil’ buggies, and just imagine that all over the trap. It caught a lot of gnats that were so small I doubt I’d have noticed them flying around, but I’m happy they’re gone.

When you buy the starter kit it includes a little map of where you should and should not place the trap. You can see why I stressed about putting it under a cabinet! There are a lot of rules! I used to leave my under cabinet lights on all evening, sort of like a nightlight for the kitchen, so you can walk in and grab a drink or a snack and not have to turn on any big lights, but now that I know this trap needs to use it’s own LED powers to grab bugs, I don’t leave the lights on. This may completely change when it’s winter and the sun goes down at 4pm. I of course turn the lights off overnight, and I think that’s when this trap really gets to trappin’ anyway.

It’s under a cabinet, it’s next to a window (Plus there’s a door directly to the left, out of frame) - all of these things are Against the Rules but it still works.

The Zevo Flying Insect Trap is inexpensive (The starter kit, which includes two disposable traps, is $17) and the trap and refills are sold at Target, so they’re easy to get. The refills are 2 for $7, which is a steal for something that lasts a month and actually works. If you have a dream house (in the sense that you love it and want it to be bug free, and ALSO that bugs dream of flying into your home and never leaving) you’ve gotta get at least one of these traps. I cannot believe it actually works!