Fly Traps

Electric fly killers and sticky fly traps both suit indoor spaces. Electric units handle a steady stream of flies and are the usual choice for kitchens and food areas. Sticky papers and discreet window traps are chemical-free and better where you want something silent and unobtrusive, or in a room you do not use daily.

Non-toxic bait trap bags work well outdoors, particularly near bins, compost or livestock. Site them at the edge of the area you want to keep clear rather than in the middle of it - a baited trap draws flies towards it, so one beside the seating brings flies to the seating. Some electric units are rated for sheltered outdoor use; check the individual product before siting one outside.

Many of our traps, especially the non-toxic bait bags and sticky papers, suit households with pets and children. Place sticky traps where a child or animal cannot reach and get stuck to them, hang bait bags out of reach, and site electric units away from food preparation surfaces.

Sticky papers and bait bags can stay effective for up to several months, though a paper that has dried out or filled with dust stops holding flies before it looks full. Electric units use replaceable tubes and cassettes - UV output falls over time even while the tube still lights, so replace it on the manufacturer's schedule rather than waiting for it to fail.

Between the flies and where they are heading. Indoors that usually means near a window, a door, or the bin rather than the centre of the room. Electric units work best in low ambient light, so one competing with a bright window will underperform - site it away from the light source, and where flies gather rather than where you sit.

Two different pictures. If the trap is untouched, it is usually siting: move it nearer the window, door or bin where flies actually congregate, and for an electric unit away from competing daylight. On a bait bag, the lure may have dried out or been diluted by rain. If the trap is catching but you still have flies, it is working and the numbers arriving are simply larger than it can keep up with - which points at a breeding source or an open route in.

A trap deals with adults; it does nothing about where they are coming from. Sustained numbers indoors mean a breeding site - an unsealed bin, a blocked drain, standing water, compost, or something dead in a loft or cavity. Find and remove that and the trap starts winning. Our guide to getting rid of flies yourself covers where to look.

Not well. Small flies hovering around fruit bowls, bins and plugholes are fruit flies or drain flies, which need a bait trap suited to them and, more importantly, the breeding site cleaned - a drain, a spill under a unit, or overripe fruit. A trap sized for house flies will catch very few of them.