The Best Flea Traps

A flea trap is one of the easiest ways to get the number of fleas reduced around you when you have an infestation. It is a good way to lure fleas out of hiding places or to even know nesting areas around your house.

If you have never had fleas invade your home, through whatever means, you would not fully understand when someone, who has one, is frantic to find reprieve, no matter how brief.

However, as much as flea traps sound logical and friendly, this review means to inform you of what you need to know about them before deciding if you would go the way of flea traps or not.

How does a flea trap work?

There are mainly two types of flea traps in the market: the electric type and the regular type. But they have one thing in common and that is the fact that they both use glue to keep the fleas trapped till they starve to death.

Apart from this, most of them also use light to attract fleas. Fleas like color, warmth, and light so the traps use light which emits heat to lure the fleas to the trap and when they jump to reach the light, they inadvertently fall smack into the glue and become trapped.

Now, the electric flea trap emits heat and light when plugged into an outlet. As the light in it warms up, it draws out fleas from their hiding places around your house and bam! The regular flea trap does not need to be plugged in (may work with batteries) but works with light which attracts and traps them.

The bottom line here is that a flea trap uses light and heat together with adhesive or glue for trapping. And it also works well when placed close to your pets, if you suspect the problem stemmed from them.

What to know about flea traps

All it does is keep them rooted in one spot until they die (or drown). Which is why you should use flea traps with other treatment methods if the problem is serious. You cannot depend on just traps to solve it, even if it is termed the best flea trap available.

You could also use flea traps to find hiding places and nests. As mentioned earlier, fleas are good at hiding and tiny crawl spaces suit them well, apart from your pets’ skin. But if you are not sure of exact hiding places, using traps would serve you.

Furthermore, if you have been employing control or preventive measures to curb an earlier infestation, a flea trap is a sure way to check if your measures are working or not. Again, the number of fleas that end up trapped in the glue disc overnight is the only proof you need.

Apart from placing them close to our pets, you could place traps on carpets and rugs, where you have cracks, behind wooden boards and so on. When you do this, you would be better informed about where to go hunting.

Where should you use flea traps?

The key to successful flea trapping is a smart trap placement. Although some traps come equipped with special lighting that can lure fleas to their doom, many homemade alternatives contain no such thing. Therefore, positioning your traps in areas that see high levels of flea traffic is the best way to ensure they work effectively.

To catch as many fleas as possible, place your traps in the following locations around your home:

• Around pet bedding and bowls. The best place for flea traps is anywhere your pet spends a lot of time. This usually includes the area around bedding, outdoor kennels and feeding bowls.
• Around and under furniture. Fleas will often hide out in sheltered, dark areas, including underneath and behind furniture.
• On carpets and rugs. Flea eggs are smooth and will quickly fall from the fur of your pet to land in your carpet. They’ll remain here until they hatch, so carpets in flea-infested homes are often crawling with both larvae and newly-hatched fleas. Place your traps in carpeted rooms to make sure you catch as many of them as possible!
• Under shrubs in your yard. If you have a problem with fleas in your yard, the best place for traps is often beneath shrubs and in other sheltered areas. Anywhere that may provide a nighttime resting place for wild or stray animals is likely to be overrun with fleas, so set up traps here if you keep finding them on your pets.

When should you use flea traps?

Flea traps are not a reliable way to control a large infestation of fleas, as they will only trap a small percentage of the flea population in your home. However, they can be used to effectively reduce numbers of the insects in flea hot-spots, such as inside dog kennels, under shrubs in your yard, and around your pet’s bedding.

You should start using flea traps if you notice a particularly high level of flea activity in one specific area of your home, such as where your pet sleeps. For effective flea control, however, traps should be used as just one element of a multi-pronged attack, as they can only marginally reduce a flea population.

A flea trap has several advantages but before you settle that a particular one is the best flea trap available, be sure to put these factors into consideration:

Effectiveness

Even though they capitalize on the fact that fleas are drawn naturally to color and light (making a flea light trap) a great way to go, some work better than others.

It has been discovered that yellow-green light draws a noticeably larger percentage of fleas than ordinary white light. Traps made with this type of light would be more effective than any other, at least in terms of attracting fleas.

Some glue discs work better and last longer than others. Some remain effective for as long as three months. The point is not just placing them out there but getting the results promised and needed. It would not sit well with you if you are promised three months and you get barely a month on one trap.

Top tips for effective use:

• Place traps away from doors and areas with lots of foot traffic. Avoid disturbing your traps by placing them in locations where they’re least likely to be kicked over.
• Play pets in areas with high levels of flea activity. Your flea traps will be most successful if used in areas with lots of fleas. The most suitable places are often near pet betting and food bowls.

Safety

Flea traps are an entirely natural, non-toxic way of capturing fleas. There are virtually no safety risks involved with most flea traps – they don’t use poison baits or mechanisms that could cause accidental harm and are totally safe to use in households with kids and pets. The only potential risk associated with flea traps is that they may present a tripping hazard if placed on the floor.

However, some flea traps are safer than others. If you buy an electric flea trap, you may not want to place it too close to your pets or kids because it involves electricity. Your toddler may even be drawn to the device, out of curiosity. Even though different measures have been put in place to ensure safety for this type, you can never be too careful.

Again, some flea traps give out a faint odor. Whether this scent is safe for humans and animals is going to be determined by use. You see, people react to things differently so even if the scent is nice, someone may react adversely to it so take note of that too.

Availability

How readily available are flea traps and the glue disc refills, especially the brands you want? If you need one right now, do you have a place close by to get it? If you must use a flea trap and it is not readily available, you may have to drive far or improvise.

Price

Flea traps are not items you would have to break the bank for but, again, it depends on how much you need it. Some cost as low as ten dollars. However, this price depends on how many you need and how many refills you may have to get before you see the results you want. The important thing is that you have to decide what is important to you and go for it.

Even though all the necessary factors for making a decision are not exhausted in this review, keeping the listed ones close to your heart while buying will go a long way for you.

You have to decide whether you will give fleas a run or let them run you down. The detailed buying guide and review of five of some of the best flea traps available have placed the ball in your court. The only thing left to do is to step out and buy, armed with the information provided above.