A Comparative Risk Assessment of the Use and Efficacy of High Voltage and Adhesive Ultra Violet Light Traps for the Monitoring and Control Musca Domestica L

Ultraviolet light traps are a commonplace solution to the monitoring and control of flying insects in commercial premises. There are many different trap designs and there are no agreed methods of quantifying their efficacy at catching flying insects. A quantifiable measure of performance has been developed by calculating the shortest period to catch 50% of house flies released into sealed test rooms containing a single ultra violet light trap. Traps using electrified grids were found to be less effective when compared with traps using an adhesive surface. This information is put into the context of the use of such traps to control flying insects in kitchens and food preparation areas where an increased risk of food and surface contamination from insect body fragments and bacteria carried on electrocuted flies. It is asserted that electrified grid traps are best used as control mechanisms where exclusion and restriction of flies is not practical and where there is little or no risk of particulate contamination of food.