Flypaper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any unsourced material that has been or is likely to be challenged may be removed at any time.
This article has been tagged since December 2006.

Flypaper is paper coated with an extremely sticky or poisonous substance that traps flies and other flying insects when they land upon it.

[edit] Description

Various formulas exist for the coating of the flypaper; An ideal coating should be extremely sticky, non-toxic, attractive to the insects to be trapped, and not very volatile (so that it doesn't dry out too quickly). A common home formula for the coating contains white sugar, maple syrup, and brown sugar.

[edit] Effectiveness

Flypaper is as effective as many other methods involving insecticides or high-technology traps (such as bug zappers). However, a twisted strip of flypaper hanging from the ceiling is considered by many to be aesthetically less acceptable than some other methods, and so flypaper is not as commonly used as it once was. Some formulas for flypaper also have a slight but potentially disagreeable odor. Handling and disposing of flypaper can be awkward because it is so sticky.