Indoor Garden Tips: Sticky Traps for Insect Control

White flies and other indoor garden pests are easily controlled without sprays or chemicals. One of the best ways to control white flies and other indoor flying insects is with a stick trap. Sticky traps are easy and inexpensive to make. You can also use them to trap moths that lay eggs in your rice and grains.

What You'll Need

Collect a bunch of yellow plastic lids. I use the ones from the extra-large tubs of peanut butter. You will need Tanglefoot or other insect trap paste, and a disposable foam brush to apply it. Tanglefoot can be found at most tractor supply places, feed stores, or garden centers. If you are unable to locate insect control paste, petroleum jelly can be used instead, but it is less effective. Green coated floral wire and needle nosed pliers are used to make the holder. Wooden or plastic clothespins are used to hold the trap in place. A sharp pair of utility scissors or snips aids in cutting the floral wire. The snips are also used to cut the yellow lids. Disposable gloves keep your hands free from the insect trap paste.

Make the Holder

The size of the holder depends on the size of your plants. An 18 inch piece of wire is a good size to use. Using the needle nose pliers, bend the top quarter of the wire so that it is perpendicular to the rest of the wire, the wire should look like an upside down letter "L". The sticky trap will attach to the "L" with clothespins. Place the longer, straight end of the wire into a planter, sinking it down far enough so that it will not fall over when the sticky trap is attached.

Make the Sticky Trap

Cut the lid into four pieces and remove the outer lip. There should be four, pie shaped pieces. Put on your disposable gloves, and using a brush, cover both sides of a pie shaped section of the yellow lid. Place the lid up against the wire holder, secure with clothespins, and you are done.

For the Pantry

You can use these traps in the pantry to control moths and other insects. Instead of using a wire holder, punch a hole in the pointed part of the pie-shaped piece with a hole puncher. Run a string through the hole so that you can hang it in the pantry. Cover both sides of the yellow lid piece with Tanglefoot or other insect trap paste, and hang carefully in the pantry, making sure the hanging trap will not get stuck on cabinet doors or walls. You can also hang a sticky trap near a kitchen scrap container to keep fruit flies at bay.

The traps are inexpensive to make, and when they become full of insects, throw them away and replace it with another yellow lid covered with Tanglefoot. The wire holder and clothespins will last for quite a while. It is a safe, non-toxic way to control indoor plant pests.