What are the Different Types of Insect Traps?

There are quite a few different types of insect traps that seek to trap insects such as Indian meal moths, ants, and wasps. Moth traps typically utilize pheromones and sticky traps to lure in meal moths and prevent them from escaping. In addition, ant traps tend to use baits designed to poison slowly so that the ants can spread it around the nest before dying. Finally, bottle traps are often utilized to dispose of outdoor pests, such as wasps and beetles, by luring the insects in and preventing escape.

Moth insect traps are often used to reduce the population of or eliminate Indian meal moths in a home. These moths, sometimes referred to as pantry moths, can cause considerable damage to dry foods, as well as facilitate the spreading of germs and toxins. Moth insect traps typically utilize pheromones to lure in Indian meal moths, and due to the short range of the pheromones, it is often recommended that the traps be placed in several rooms and around dry foods. These traps integrate sticky surfaces, so when the moth lands on the trap in response to the pheromones, it is stuck, ultimately leading to its elimination. Indian meal moths are often introduced into homes through dry foods, such as pet foods and oatmeal, but they can also enter the premises through openings such as doors, windows, and chimneys.

Ant insect traps come in many forms, but most of them involve presenting baits that kill ants slowly enough that they do not die before bringing them back to the nest. This is an important facet of ant insect trap because if an ant dies before directing other ants to the bait, the source of ants remains largely unaffected. Ant baits are presented in different ways, such as within plastic traps designed so only ants, not pets or children, can access the bait, or simply as loose bait.

Bottle traps are another type of trap that utilizes a bottle and a one-way mechanism that allows insects to go into the bottle but not out. These traps are typically baited with the type of food that the target insect likes, such as soda for wasps or fruit for beetles. Bottle traps are often placed in trees or set on flat surfaces. The main advantage of bottle insect traps is they are inexpensive and lack poisons. This type of trap is not only used for insects, but is sometimes used as a humane way to capture rodents.