How to Build a Yellow Deer Fly Trap

Deer flies often bite.

Trapping deer flies, which are also known as yellow flies, can avoid painful bites that result in allergic reactions or similar problems. Female deer flies feed on blood and can be an annoying pest. More than just annoying, there are health concerns that come with deer flies, including allergies to the saliva or blood borne diseases transferred from the bites. Trapping these insects with a simple home trap can be very effective while avoiding the use of poisonous chemicals.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic nursery pot or beach ball
• Blue paint
• Sticky tack substance
• Rod

Instructions

1. Paint the plant pot blue or use a blue and black beach ball. Blue is an attractive color to deer flies and has been known to catch the attention of the flies.

2. Add some sticky tack to the pot or beach ball. As soon as the flies land on the sticky substance, they are unable to get free and fly away. This is the actual trap, which keeps and kills the flies.

3. Place the pot or beach ball on a rod. The rod should be approximately 5 to 6 feet in height for the ideal trap. According to Organic Gardening, deer flies will often attack higher areas of the body before they attack lower areas of the body.

4. Stick the rod into the ground and check that the pot or beach ball easily moves. Slight movement, such as tilting back and forth in the wind, catches the attention of the flies so that they try to attack the trap.

Tips & Warnings

• Natural predators can be placed around a yard as a second protection against the flies. Wasps or spiders are a good option as a natural predator that can be attracted to a yard.

References

• Organic Gardening: Deer Fly Defense
• Public Health Entomology Research and Education Center: The Yellow-Biting Flies of Florida
• University of Florida: The Trolling Deer Fly Trap