"It might be the most effective non-chemical fly-catching method ever developed," says Doug Prantner, representative for Hess & Clark, manufacturer of "Sticky Roll", a new roll-up fly tape system that updated an old idea -- sticky fly paper.
The system consists of two crank-up reels that mount anywhere in the barn. When you set it up, one reel holds 1,000 ft. of plastic sticky fly tape -- about 3/8-in. wide -- and the other is empty. Using pulleys, you string the tape throughout the barn. When flies land on the tape, they get stuck and die. When the tape fills up, you just reel it in onto the empty reel - flies and all. Fresh tape rolls out at the same time, ready to catch more flies.
"Flies love to land on wire or string so they're naturally drawn to the tape. I've seen sticky tape so thick with dead flies it was as big around as a finger," says Prantner. When you reel in tape coated with dead flies, they fall off around the reel. Once the reel is full, you simply through it away and install a new reel, tieing it to the end of the old tape and reeling it back the other way.
It includes 3 pulleys that allow you to set up an "M", "U", or rectangular shaped run in the barn. Or you can just run the tape in a straight line.