Hardly a month goes by where I’m not instructing someone how to build your own flea trap. During the summer it might be 3 or 4 times per day. We tell new customers, current clients and even those phone book lookers calling just to get a price or some free advice. One constant we always mention is the green light bulb. The traps can and do work with other colors but not nearly as effectively and we always get a puzzled look or the phone goes silent for minute and that silence is always followed up by;
“why green?”
Fleas eyes are especially sensitive to the colors yellow and green as these are the primary colors of vegetation. We suggest green because that is the most obvious color and does work better than yellow. Fleas also are attracted to shadows and the darker green seems to give more of that than the brighter lights. Now fleas also move towards carbon dioxide and while I’m sure someone out there is working on a flea trap with this feature, any color light will give you the warmth which is also something they key in on to find a host.
Now I’ve seen all sorts of light traps for fleas using every conceivable color including a black light. Success for some have been good but in
most cases the infestations levels were so high the fleas were hopping towards anything looking for a blood meal. Most people find ‘green’ bulbs in their Christmas light boxes, you know the ones that are a tangled mess and require a surgeon to undo. There are also small night lights that have a green ‘l.e.d.’ screen of sorts that works well but does not give off much heat so keep that in mind. One customer could only find a clear bulb and to compensate he used a green magic marker to get the green glow he needed. Pretty smart but I wouldn’t do that on anything bigger such as a regular light bulb. That might be to much heat and the marker ink could catch fire.
Keeping your pets from drinking the water or getting stuck
If you follow the first link above you’ll find a more detailed article on building your trap, (Ok, here it is again) but another question or concern is how to keep your pets out of the soapy water. The question is answered in that writing but it’s as simple as placing a piece of 1/4 inch hardware cloth over the bowl or pan. You could also use a oven rack or anything that still allows the hopping fleas in but keeps Tigers tongue from lapping up to much liquid or his paw from getting stuck on the glue pad.
In nature animals and insects are attracted to or repelled by a lot of different things. Scents and colors can warn a bug about impending danger or clue them in that a food source is near by. For trapping fleas and getting some immediate relief for you and Tiger, you just need to give fleas the green light.
