Is the Zevo Flying Insect Trap Really Worth It?
I decided to try out the Zevo insect trap and compare it to good old fashioned vinegar and dish soap to catch fruit flies. The results were shocking!
The Trouble with Fruit Flies
It only takes fruit flies TEN DAYS to go from egg to a mature adult that can reproduce itself. An adult fruit fly can lay up to 100 eggs every day!
If you even have a few female fruit flies in your house, it doesn’t take long before you are overrun with the little buggers. Trash cans, dining rooms, kitchens, bathroom sinks, all can become quickly infested with fruit flies.
What is the Zevo Flying Insects Trap?
This fly trap uses UV light to attract house flies to its disposable sticky pad. It has a two-prong plug-in base and should be placed in any area you have fly issues. The disposable refill cartridge is easily removed and thrown away. The trap itself casts a fairly dim blue glow to attract the flies. They market it as a great way to combat flies indoors, touting it is much better than “outdated” vinegar methods.
How much is the Zevo Fly Trap?
You can get one plugin station along with one sticky insert for $20 on Amazon. This comes with one of the replacement cartridges. It’s not the most expensive of the insect traps I’ve seen but it isn’t exactly cheap either.
How well does the Zevo Flying Insect trap work?
As far as trapping fruit flies, this trap leaves a lot to be desired. If you check out my YouTube video I did a side-by-side comparison of the vinegar dish soap trick and the Zevo so you can see the stark difference.
After five days of leaving both on my counter, I had caught HUNDREDS of fruit flies using vinegar and dish soap. The Zevo caught maybe around fifty insects. It also caught some little gnats and another mystery bug.
We didn’t really have any black flies in the house for it to catch.
Other Thoughts on the Zevo Trap
On Amazon this thing has a TON of positive reviews, which I don’t understand at all. Even the photos of it “working” show about five or six bugs stuck to it.
Maybe these folks don’t have fruit flies or flies like a farmhouse can get in the summer. Possibly their standards are a little lower for how many flies this should catch.
Another thing to consider is the energy use and plastic waste. The device itself has to be plugged-in to work. Then the disposable sticky cartridge/trap insert is made of plastic. It doesn’t seem that it will be recyclable in my particular county.
Eventually, the device itself will also wear out and need to be thrown away. If the device worked really well, this is something I would consider worth it. However, since it doesn’t catch many flies it seems like a double waste of money and plastic.
Other Ways to Use the Zevo
I plan to keep this plugged in, in the kitchen for a couple weeks until we get a handle on the fruit flies.
After that I might pop it down in the barn to see how it does. They do say not to use it in outdoor spaces, but I figure the barn is technically indoors?
Another option might be to try it in enclosed patios, near entryways or similar. It might do well with catching mosquitos!
What works best for trapping fruit flies?
My tried and true method for catching fruit flies is the old vinegar and dish soap method.
Use a short but wide cup. Fill it about halfway with vinegar. I haven’t noticed a big difference between apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or rice vinegar, so whatever will work fine.
Add in a couple pumps/squirts of dish soap. Give it a quick stir.
Leave this on your countertop and let it do its thing.
After a few days it seems to stop attracting them as much. Dump it outside, rinse the glass, and repeat the process for a few weeks.
Considering how quickly fruit flies can complete their lifecycle, keeping the vinegar/soup solution on the counter for several weeks will help get them under control.
