Pest Information

Insect Light Traps (ILTs) can be Electric Fly Killers (EFKs), which electrocute insects or Electric Fly Catchers (EFCs), whose glueboards trap insects by adhesion. ILTs attract insects by emitting UV-A light, to which filth flies are positively phototactic. Phototaxis is insect behaviour in which a stimulus either attracts or repels it. UV-A light attracts houseflies, and other filth flies like flesh flies, blue bottle flies and green bottle flies. Commercial ILTs rely on a UV-A light source to attract filth flies, which traps either electrocute (as in EFKs) or trap on a glued surface (as in EFCs). Though traps to attract insects first became popular in the late nineteenth century, ILTs such as EFKs and EFCs are a relatively newer invention, with a US company launching the first commercial product in the late sixties of the twentieth century. USA’s Gilbert Industries – the world’s first manufacturer of professional insect light traps: Don Gilbert of the American company Gilbert Industries pioneered ILTs through his invention of an escape-resistant ILT in 1967, as described in his company’s website’s history section, which is one of the earliest records of professional ILTs. Before Don Gilbert launched what he called professional ILTs, those devices were used by scientists and farmers to attract and trap insects that responded positively to light. Don Gilbert is the pioneer who foresaw the potential for ILTs in businesses for indoor housefly control. He called his devices professional ILTs, to denote that his inventions were suitable for the professional pest control industry. Before Don Gilbert’s products, ILTs were popular primarily as outdoor insect control devices. Don Gilbert introduced ILTs for indoor use and saw their potential benefits inside food factories and pharmaceutical units. In 1972, Don Gilbert patented a glueboard ILT that would control insects by trapping them on a sticky surface, unlike his earlier ILT versions which electrocuted insects after attracting them with UV-A light. PCI – the Indian pioneer in ILTs: India’s pioneering pest control company, Pest Control (India) Pvt. Ltd. (PCI), was the first Indian company to introduce an ILT in India in 1979. PCI launched the Pest-O-Flash EFK, which killed insects by electrocution on a high-voltage grid and, even nearly half a century later, is still a popular Indian ILT brand. There was relatively less innovation in ILTs in India for the next two decades, with EFCs appearing in the market only this century. Around the beginning of the twenty-first century, in 2001, PCI launched Spider EFC, India’s first electric fly catcher, and it had glueboards to trap insects attracted to the trap’s UV light. Like its predecessor, Pest-O-Flash, Spider was a popular brand, and it is still commonly seen across businesses in India to trap filth flies. The advent of UV LEDs in ILTs: Like residential and commercial lighting sources, ILTs depended on fluorescent tubes until the past decade. However, fluorescent tubes generate mercury waste and contain glass, a hazard that makes them unsuitable for the food and pharmaceutical industries. To overcome glass contamination from their ILT tubes, fluorescent tube manufacturers sold shatterproof tubes inside plastic sleeves to contain glass shards in case of tube breakage. However, the glass sleeves reduce UV output from the fluorescent tubes and affect trap fly-catching efficacy. Further, the high cost of plastic-sleeved UV fluorescent tubes now makes it a high recurring cost, one of the reasons for the shift of ILT customers from UV fluorescent tube traps to UV LED traps. Several global manufacturers of ILTs foresaw the need for LEDs as a UV source to replace the UV fluorescent tubes in their traps. As a result, in the past decade, several manufacturers have introduced UV LED ILTs with varying degrees of product success. Giridhar Pai Associates LLP (GPAL) represents one of the few global UV LED ILT manufacturers, Pestroniks Innovations Pte. Ltd. of Singapore (Pestroniks Innovations). Armed with a bio-Visual Enhancer (bio-VE+) technology patent, Pestroniks Innovations introduced the FLYght UV LED ILT range in 2020. The FLYght One and FLYght Duo traps use eight LEDs that last fifty-thousand hours and generate the same UV output throughout their lives. As a result, they consume just twenty per cent of the electricity of conventional (fluorescent tube) ILTs. In addition, FLYght One and FLYght Duo are compact as they have only a power supply unit as their part in addition to UV LEDs. GPAL commercially launched the FLYght One UV LED ILT in India in 2020 and followed it up a year later with the FLYght Duo. Pestroniks Innovations proudly “Make In India” their entire FLYght range and export it worldwide. At GPAL are proud to be associated with Pestroniks Innovations, a world-leading brand that manufactures high-quality, high-performance products in India. In the past two years, many Indian businesses have switched to the FLYght UV LED ILT range. Their reasons for the purchase include product looks, sustainability concerns, improved product performance and low or no maintenance. After comparing the performance of the FLYght range, Indian customers have favoured it as the other UV LED ILTs have design flaws that prevent them from effectively attracting filth flies. Pestroniks Innovations’ researchers, with their vast experience, had foreseen the challenges of using UV LEDs in ILTs and designed FLYght traps to maximise the attraction of filth flies. Further, right from the first product, FLYght One, to the second in the series, the FLYght Duo, Pestroniks Innovations ILT range incorporates very high power savings of 72% over 30 W fluorescent tube ILTs and 80% over 45W fluorescent tube ILTs. Some other UV LED manufacturers use many UV LEDs in their ILTs, making such traps consume as much electricity as conventional fluorescent tube ILTs and negating the switch from fluorescent to LEDs for a UV light source. We feel that customers primarily switch to UV LED ILTs to save power costs, and if such traps do not help achieve such an objective, customers will not switch to UV LED ILTs. We sell FLYght ILTs through the pest control industry, with pest control operators as resellers. However,

As the pioneers of UV LED electric flycatchers in India, we keenly study businesses’ use of electric flycatchers (EFCs). We estimate that customers buy nearly 25,000 electric flycatchers each year in India. But, sadly, users’ installation and maintenance of electric flycatchers make them ineffective fly management tools. Effective fly management combines multiple approaches, including prevention by better hygiene, using screens and other devices to prevent housefly entry indoors, monitoring by electric flycatchers, and using pesticides against housefly larvae and adults. The sole use of electric flycatchers won’t solve housefly problems, and businesses must focus on integrated fly management through the steps we listed above to prevent houseflies inside their premises. Electric flycatchers are just one tool in housefly management. They primarily indicate the infestation level apart from the source to identify the different flying insect species in their surroundings. As few flycatcher manufacturers try to educate their customers, not correctly installing and using electric flycatchers across businesses negates the purpose of electric flycatchers, i.e. monitoring. Incorrectly installed and poorly maintained electric flycatchers cannot serve any purpose. We list below the most common mistakes we have found in flycatcher use in India during our visits to hundreds of businesses nationwide. 1. Objects blocking the light of the flycatcher: Placing an object in front of the flycatcher blocks the UV rays from it and prevents it from attracting houseflies and other filth flies to the trap. The flycatcher must be visible and not have any obstructions around it that block its light from being seen by houseflies at a distance from it. 2. Installing electric flycatchers too high above the ground: One of the most common mistakes in flycatcher installation is placing the trap very high where it won’t attract or trap houseflies and is difficult to maintain. Houseflies are active about five feet above the ground though they may also be at floor level and higher than five feet. Therefore, a flycatcher must be installed five feet above the floor on a wall to maximise its attraction and ensure effective housefly trapping. 3. Placing electric flycatchers on the floor: Some users who find ground-crawling houseflies decide to place electric flycatchers on the ground, assuming it to be the best position for those devices. Unfortunately, though floor-placed fly catchers attract and trap houseflies, they will fail to attract all houseflies around them. Further, floor-placed electric flycatchers are prone to disturbance and damage by foot or other traffic. 4. Not replacing the electric flycatcher’s glueboards periodically: Electric flycatchers function by attracting houseflies to UV light and trapping them on a glueboard. Glueboards inside electric flycatchers become filled with houseflies and insects, with the period for glueboard replacement varying by location and season. We recommend a replacement of the glueboard once monthly, at least, or when the glueboard is full of trapped insects. Glueboards full of dead insects will attract parasites that feed on insects and won’t trap any insects as the glue surface is full of trapped insects. 5. Not replacing the flycatcher light source after expiry: The manufacturers of the UV fluorescent tubes specify a life for their light source, with most such tubes lasting about eight thousand hours or ten months. UV fluorescent tubes stop emitting UV after expiry and no longer attract houseflies. It is a good practice to note the date of replacement of a UV fluorescent tube and the next replacement date on it. In the case of FLYght UV LED electric flycatchers with LEDs that last 50,000 hours, there is no replacement date as the light sources last more than five years without replacement. 6. Placing electric flycatchers at the wrong location: A flycatcher must not attract houseflies from the outdoors. Hence, a common guideline for flycatcher installation is placing them perpendicular to an entrance about twenty-five feet away. Electric flycatchers don’t work in areas of very low or very high temperatures. Also, wet areas are not suitable for flycatcher placement. Outdoor fly catcher use is also a wrong practice as they won’t work in daylight and at night will attract a lot of night flying insects like moths and chironomids to the trap. 7. Using electric flycatchers as a control tool: Electric flycatchers are not a control tool as they do not trap every housefly or filth fly in a space. However, flycatcher glueboards are a good indicator of the fly pressure inside a building and supplement fly prevention and control measures. 8. Placing the flycatcher too close to light sources: Electric flycatchers are less ineffective when there are other light sources near them, as such objects could attract houseflies away from the electric flycatchers. Therefore, there must not be other competing light sources near a flycatcher for it to attract houseflies. 9. Using electric flycatchers in places with excessive dust: Electric flycatchers rely on glueboards to trap houseflies and other filth flies they attract by UV light. However, dust and debris surrounding a flycatcher can make the device ineffective as the glueboard would not trap the insects that the UV light attracts to the flycatcher. 10. Not consistently using the flycatcher: Electric flycatchers are effective when they are present and switched on during day time when houseflies are active. Some spaces like food factories, restaurants, cafes, bakeries, kitchens and others prone to housefly infestation must have sufficient electric flycatchers to monitor housefly levels. Unless electric flycatchers are present year-round and switched on during the day, fly management would be ineffective due to the limited flycatcher availability. Earlier, we published a blog, The FLYght Guide to Insect Light Trap (ILT) Use, on our website listing the dos and Don’ts of ILT use. You can refer to that blog post for simple tips on using fly catchers effectively to manage houseflies at your facility. Our flycatcher range of UV LED electric flycatchers, FLYght One and FLYght Duo, have in-built features to minimise their maintenance. As they have UV LEDs that last 50,000 hours, our customers can use both FLYght One and Duo for more than five

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Singapore’s Pestroniks Innovations Pte. Ltd. (Pestroniks) is a global leader in the field formed by the intersection of intelligent electronics and pest management.  The first generation ILTs: When the first-generation ILTs (fly-killers) appeared for sale in the United States about a century ago, they had an electric grid to electrocute insects attracted by the traps’ ultra-violet (UV) light emission.  Such traps, available even in 2023, have been in use hung from the ceiling or mounted on walls by the users. The second generation ILTs: After some decades of the first-generation ILTs, manufacturers introduced the second-generation traps (fly-catchers) in which insects attracted by the UV would get stuck on glueboards.  Fly-catchers also attracted insects through UV emission but trapped such insects on a glueboard.  ILT manufacturers introduced a range of wall-mounted fly-catchers.  They could customize the units for public areas to make the traps appear like light sources rather than housefly trapping devices. For nearly a century after fly killers appeared in pest control, introducing fly-catchers was the only major change in the ILT segment in capturing insects attracted to the device.  The third generation ILTs: Only in the 21st century did another change occur in ILTs – with manufacturers switching to UV LEDs instead of fluorescent tubes common in fly killers and fly-catchers.  UV LED ILTs are the third generation of the category in which the LED light source overcomes two principal limitations of UV fluorescent tube ILTs.  First, UV LED ILTs consume less than 2/3rds of low-power fluorescent tube ILTs, and as LEDs last longer, there is no need for annual light source replacement in UV LED ILTs. One of the first product categories that Pestroniks researched in the past few years was ILTs – which have not evolved much over a century since their advent in the twentieth century.  Pestroniks launches the FLYght ILT range: Pestroniks introduced the FLYght One in 2020 and the FLYght Duo in 2021 to become the first brand to launch domestically manufactured UV LED ILT in India.  Pestroniks is a “Make-In-India” proponent which manufactures the FLYght One and FLYght Duo at Mysuru in the southern-Indian state of Karnataka. A few global ILT manufacturers have used UV LEDs in their ILTs.  However, UV LED ILTs are still evolving, with trap makers using different approaches in their design for maximizing housefly catches. Pestroniks’ unique bio-VE+ patented technology: Pestroniks distinguishes its FLYght UV LED ILT range using patented bio-visual (bio-VE+) enhancer technology.  Further, Pestroniks makes metallic traps sturdier and long-lasting than the traps with plastic housing that other brands produce. The FLYght range is unique from other UV LED ILTs in the market.  Top ten reasons to choose the FLYght Duo ILT:  Following are the top ten reasons why we want customers to choose the FLYght Duo ILT over other brands.  The accompanying video illustrates each of the reasons visually.  In addition, it helps you better understand the FLYght Duo’s features and its ability to trap houseflies as part of an integrated fly management program. Pestroniks have mimicked the FLYght Duo copying carnivorous plants by designing the trap’s bio-VE+ board to reflect UV from the LEDs as a blue glow having UV rays in the range and intensity that strongly attract houseflies.  FLYght ILTs are the only range in the market with unique bio-VE+ technology. Unlike UV fluorescent tubes, whose UV output reduces significantly (approximately 10% each month in most brands), FLYght Duo LEDs generate constant UV throughout their 50,000-hour life. In contrast to the FLYght, UV fluorescent tube ILTs need glass sleeves to make the tubes shatterproof.  However, plastic sleeves around UV fluorescent tubes reduce the UV emission intensity and impact the fly-catching ability of the ILTs with such tubes. Unlike many other unattractive ILTs available in the market, the FLYght Duo stands out by its attractive appearance that melds into front-of-house business spaces. We are sure that our blog post has convinced you about the unique features of the Pestroniks FLYght Duo UV LED Insect Light Trap.  Since we launched this ILT globally in 2021, we have had fast adoption of this amazing product by the pest control industries of different markets worldwide.  Through the efforts of our national and regional distributors, we have also succeeded in hastening the adoption of UV LED technology among users of pest control services and products.  We are confident that our two-series videos that summarise FLYght Duo features and demonstrate the quick maintenance of the trap will further accelerate FLYght Duo adoption globally.  Please get in touch with us if you need more information on the FLYght Duo.

As the world moves to a net-zero regime where human activity does not add net carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, every aspect of life will change, including business practices and services. In pest management, we at Pestroniks foresee a major shift from conventional UV fluorescent tube ILTs to UV LED ILTs as trap manufacturers comply with national government regulations for phase-out fluorescent tubes. While Singapore is looking to stop the usage of non-LED light fixtures after 2022, in India, the central and state governments incentivized consumers to switch to LEDs for power savings. FLYght traps don’t just help users follow the rules which do not allow fluorescent tubes. Still, their LEDs generate enormous savings in operating power costs compared to regular fluorescent tube traps. Look at the 71% savings you can generate from FLYght traps over two-tube traps or 81% savings over three-tube traps. When estimating power consumption, we use the actual power consumed and not just the power rating (for example, 8W LEDs consume 9W power and 45-W tubes consume 53W). However, we have assumed a cost per kWh of energy in Indian rupees, which you can interchange with any currency for the same results. Indian companies that follow the April to March financial year cycle have started budgeting for their purchase of FLYght traps. Our customers benefit from power savings and the freedom to replace fluorescent tubes annually as FLYght’s UV LEDs do not need users to replace them over 50,000 hours. We are currently busy assisting our customers in planning their 2022-23 budgets in which they invest in FLYght One, and Duo traps to help them save on fly monitoring costs.

Insect Light Trap technology had evolved over the past ninety years when William M Frost patented a fly zapper in the United States. The first major change in ILTs was a shift from using an electrical grid to electrocute flies to the use of glue boards to trap them. With the advent of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for consumer and commercial lighting in the past few decades, it was merely time before we would have UV LEDs in Insect Light Traps.  At Pestroniks, we were the first UV LED Insect Light Trap manufacturers to launch such traps in 2020. We spent years researching how UV LEDs affect filth flies and have designed our FLYght traps for maximally attracting flies. In addition, our traps’ patented bio-Visual Enhancer (VE+) trap coating benefits the UV-A from LEDs to allure flies, like happens in wild carnivorous plants that draw insects for a meal. Here is Pestroniks’ ultimate guide to help you choose the best UV LED Insect Light Trap in the market. LED position determines a trap’s effectiveness: LEDs emit light very differently from fluorescent tubes, which were hitherto the choice of ILT makers. Pestroniks has carefully positioned the LEDs to ensure that FLYght traps unfailingly attract flies.  LEDs should reduce power consumption: Our FLYght traps have only 8 LEDs that draw just 9 W of power-saving 72% over two fluorescent tubes of 30 W rating and 80% over three fluorescent tubes of 45 W rating. Can you imagine such huge savings in electricity expenses? You may find some ILT brands with so many UV LEDs that those traps are likely to generate no power savings when you compare them to fluorescent UV traps. LED tubes versus LEDs: Some of the ILTs in the market have UV LED tubes making you wonder about the benefit of such an arrangement. In FLYght traps, we place UV LEDs individually, spacing them for the best trap UV-A output in conjunction with the bio-VE+ coating. Attracting flies matters more than UV output: ILTs work by UV attracting flies, and in an era of UV fluorescent tubes, the higher a trap’s UV, the better it could lure flies. FLYght traps, we have focussed on just enough UV-A output to maximize the fly catch. We don’t claim to have LEDs that emit the most UV-A as we are focused on making our traps attract flies through trap design and our patented bio-VE technology. Insect light traps can be attractive, too: FLYght traps are light yet sturdy, sleek, and compact but attract and trap flies like any effective ILT should and at times even better than conventional fluorescent tube traps. Our traps weigh under two kilograms but are sturdy in their aluminum shell. LEDs help us keep the FLYght design sleek and compact and even accommodate universal glue boards. The result of our design thinking has generated a trap that looks part of your interior décor, not a fly trap. Trapping flies discreetly: Viewers may be surprised not seeing flies inside a FLYght trap as that is what we set out to design. We concealed FLYght’s glue boards to trap flies after entry, but the trapped flies remain out of sight of viewers near the trap. Retaining tackiness of glueboards: The UV in ILTs affects the tackiness of glue in glue boards. Other ILT manufacturers suggest glue board change because glueboards in their traps are continually getting UV-A exposure and losing their fly trapping ability. You won’t face any such challenge in FLYght traps as we made sure that our traps’ glue boards don’t face the UV! No annual light-source replacement: We give you FLYght traps with UV LEDs that last a long time or 50,000 hours! So, we don’t suggest you plan for any light source replacement for five years! No more hassle of planning fluorescent tube replacement or spending on it. Get a FLYght trap and switch it on to operate it efficiently over many years. No more plastic sleeves on tubes or shatterproof tubes: We use inherently glass-free UV LEDs in our FLYght traps. When using FLYght traps, you don’t have to worry about getting plastic sleeved or shatterproof fluorescent tubes to contain glass in accidental breakage. No more worrying about hazardous waste: Regular ILTs have fluorescent tubes, which you must dispose of annually and carefully because they contain heavy metals. FLYght UV LEDs are free of any toxic material, leaving you free from worrying about waste disposal from your ILTs. We hope our suggestions helped you understand the UV LED technology of Insect Light Traps. Please get in touch with us for help to choose and use UV LED ILTs.

Launching the FLYght Duo in 2021, Pestroniks MD, Carl Baptista, made a short presentation highlighting how Pest Management Professionals could be ahead in their markets with FLYght UV LED Insect Light Traps (ILTs).  Pestroniks Innovations of Singapore designed the FLYght range to imitate carnivorous plant behavior of attracting insect prey using a UV glow and a sticky surface.  Pestroniks ILT technology bio-mimics carnivorous plants to attract and trap filth flies inside buildings. FLYght trap’s patented bio-Visual Enhancer (VE)+ coating emits a range UV wavelength like a carnivorous plant to attract flies that get stuck to the glue boards inside.  The bio-VE+ surface differentiates FLYght from all other UV LED traps in the market, which rely only on UV emission. FLYght traps UV LEDs face the back of the trap, and flies see the reflection of the UV on the bio-VE+ sheet, which attracts them.  Pestroniks has optimized FLYght LEDs to emit UV wavelengths that elicit the most positive phototactic response in filth flies. FLYght traps use universal glue boards that are standard across the globe and which a user can easily source.  As the trap is light being less than 2 kg., you can even use two-sided sticky tape to fix the trap on walls. In addition, the trap comes with hinges to let users fix it five feet above the ground on walls.  The trap’s 8 UV LEDs consume less than 10 W of electricity-generating enormous savings in power consumption. FLYght LEDs are inherently glass-free and comply with HACCP and other food safety standards.  Pestroniks’ three-year FLYght trap warranty covers any manufacturing defects and replaces the faulty component to let users have uninterrupted use of their purchases. In regular UV fluorescent tube traps, the UV cures the glue on the boards, making them less effective as they harden and lose their ability to trap insects. In FLYght traps, the UV does not fall directly on the glue boards letting them retain stickiness, last longer, and catch more effectively than conventional UV fluorescent tube traps.  In Singapore, the government has mandated discontinuing fluorescent tube traps by 2023, and FLYght UV LED traps are the right choice to meet that requirement. Pestroniks expects that such worldwide restrictions on fluorescent trap use will popularise FLYght UV LED traps. Pestroniks continually tests FLYght traps at its laboratories and, in such tests, has found that its traps attract more quickly and trap more flies than conventional UV fluorescent tube traps.  In addition, Pestroniks commissions independent test laboratories to evaluate its FLYght traps and shall soon share the results of such tests here. The UV from FLYght LEDs remains constant throughout the 50,000-hour life of the light source, which is a significant difference from fluorescent tube UV, which continually declines to be almost nil by the end of the manufacturer’s stated life hours. FLYght users are thus free from replacing the UV light source of their traps for five years. Pestroniks has several plans lined up to enhance FLYght trap capability, including auto-dimming, fly count, species identification, and genus-specific glue boards.  Pestroniks welcomes partners to commission such innovative technology for improved fly monitoring. We hope you enjoy watching this video and request you to leave your feedback in the comments.

Though businesses buy and use Insect Light Traps (ILTs) for monitoring flies, we commonly come across ILTs at the wrong height or full of trapped flies, due to lack of user knowledge of ILT use.  We share the below guidelines on insect light trap use to help our customers to implement an effective fly monitoring program at their facilities. Do’s: Understand the path a fly takes after entering your facility to decide the place where you want to trap them before they reach areas of open food. Intercept flies after they enter but before they reach the sensitive areas of your facility. Fly-proof your building with double doors, auto door closers, and insect screens on windows and vents to minimize fly incursion. Have traps along the critical pathways that see regular human and material movement. Install traps five feet or lower for best results in trapping flies.  Even traps on floors effectively trap fly trapping as those on walls. Ensure that you can access all ILTs for replacing glue boards and checking for the flies they have trapped. Spread traps evenly for ensuring that you trap flies throughout the facility  Use more traps in areas such as trash areas that have a higher fly population. Analyze the glue board fly catch for the number and type of flies which may vary with season and by trap position. Use ILTs for fly monitoring and not controlling flies as no devices can trap all flies entering your facility.   Don’ts: Site your traps next to light sources like windows or lighting that divert flies away from ILTs. Install ILTs at sensitive areas where you don’t want any flies. Place ILTs in narrow passageways with high foot or vehicular traffic that may damage traps. Forget to review your facility’s trap efficacy to decide which to move or remove as they are not trapping insects. Ignore dust and greasy vapors affecting trap performance by making glue boards less sticky or damaging the electronic circuits which illuminate the lights. Let glue boards with dead insects remain in traps as they could prevent fly trapping and attract carnivorous insects. Place traps near strong air currents from fans or air conditioners. Expose ILTs to water sprays or high humidity or oily vapors. Place traps near open doors or windows facing outwards. Use traps close to production areas having exposed food. If you have any questions after reading our guidelines on placement and use of ILTs, please contact us.