Africa-Inspired Trap Catches Thousands Of Flies
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It may not look like the side of an animal to human eyes, but to biting flies the Nzi cloth trap apparently looks like a defenseless source of lunch. The pup tent-like trap is the brainchild of scientist Dr. Steve Mihok, who developed it while working to eliminate tsetse flies in Kenya in 1995. Over the years, the Nzi trap has been adapted to capture horse flies and other pests all over the world in jungles, forests and fields.
The best success in N.A. has been with horse flies, Mihok says, especially with horse owners in southern states. His record catch was about 10,000 horse flies in one day.
“Flies are attracted to the black between the blue wings. Then they get into trouble in the mosquito netting. Their main behavior is to go up to the light,” says Mihok.
That light leads them to an opening through a screen cone into a bottle where they die from exposure.
Though the visual attraction is enough, Mihok has also added scent to traps. Cattle urine exposed to air for a week or two and octenol (available at hardware stores for mosquito traps) work well, he says.
The traps are about 6 ft. wide, 4 1/2 ft. tall and 2 ft. deep. They’re set on T-posts or poles near water tanks or ponds where livestock gather.
“You can make one of these yourself and put it near your horses. It provides a distraction to the flies there. Instead of the horses, they’re drawn to the trap,” Mihok says.
Though DIYers have improvised with a variety of materials, he emphasizes using the right color of blue for the best results. His first choice is the UV-protected Pacific blue acrylic fabric made by Sunbrella® for outdoor furnishings.
That’s the material used in Nzi traps sold by Rincon-Vitova Insectaries. Ron Whitehurst, co-owner of the California company that specializes in safe biological control products says that he discovered Mihok’s trap while doing research.
“It seemed like a good addition to our product line,” he says. Along with the Sunbrella® blue and matte black acrylic fabric, he uses weather-resistant mosquito netting, and he contracted with a garment shop to make the traps. Rincon-Vitova sells the traps for $195 (posts not included) and donates $10 of that for biting fly control research.
“It’s a simple thing farmers can use. There are no moving parts, no pesticides, no maintenance,” Whitehurst says. “It fits in with our integrated pest management strategy to control flies.”
While the current design works great for horse flies, Mihok has been experimenting on how to make it more effective for deer flies. Unfortunately it is only moderately effective for stable flies and doesn’t work at all for mosquitoes, he notes.
Check out YouTube: Nzi Trap, to see how the Rincon-Vitova Insectaries trap is set up. Instructions to make your own cloth or wood versions are at www.nzitrap.us.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, P.O. Box 1555, Ventura, Calif. 93002 (ph 800 248-2847; www.rinconvitova.com; bugnet@rinconvitova.com; smihok@bell.net).
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Africa-Inspired Trap Catches Thousands Of Flies MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous It may not look like the side of an animal to human eyes but to biting flies the Nzi cloth trap apparently looks like a defenseless source of lunch The pup tent-like trap is the brainchild of scientist Dr Steve Mihok who developed it while working to eliminate tsetse flies in Kenya in 1995 Over the years the Nzi trap has been adapted to capture horse flies and other pests all over the world in jungles forests and fields The best success in N A has been with horse flies Mihok says especially with horse owners in southern states His record catch was about 10 000 horse flies in one day “Flies are attracted to the black between the blue wings Then they get into trouble in the mosquito netting Their main behavior is to go up to the light ” says Mihok That light leads them to an opening through a screen cone into a bottle where they die from exposure Though the visual attraction is enough Mihok has also added scent to traps Cattle urine exposed to air for a week or two and octenol available at hardware stores for mosquito traps work well he says The traps are about 6 ft wide 4 1/2 ft tall and 2 ft deep They’re set on T-posts or poles near water tanks or ponds where livestock gather “You can make one of these yourself and put it near your horses It provides a distraction to the flies there Instead of the horses they’re drawn to the trap ” Mihok says Though DIYers have improvised with a variety of materials he emphasizes using the right color of blue for the best results His first choice is the UV-protected Pacific blue acrylic fabric made by Sunbrella® for outdoor furnishings That’s the material used in Nzi traps sold by Rincon-Vitova Insectaries Ron Whitehurst co-owner of the California company that specializes in safe biological control products says that he discovered Mihok’s trap while doing research “It seemed like a good addition to our product line ” he says Along with the Sunbrella® blue and matte black acrylic fabric he uses weather-resistant mosquito netting and he contracted with a garment shop to make the traps Rincon-Vitova sells the traps for $195 posts not included and donates $10 of that for biting fly control research “It’s a simple thing farmers can use There are no moving parts no pesticides no maintenance ” Whitehurst says “It fits in with our integrated pest management strategy to control flies ” While the current design works great for horse flies Mihok has been experimenting on how to make it more effective for deer flies Unfortunately it is only moderately effective for stable flies and doesn’t work at all for mosquitoes he notes Check out YouTube: Nzi Trap to see how the Rincon-Vitova Insectaries trap is set up Instructions to make your own cloth or wood versions are at www nzitrap us Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rincon-Vitova Insectaries P O Box 1555 Ventura Calif 93002 ph 800 248-2847; www rinconvitova com; bugnet@rinconvitova com; smihok@bell net
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