A better bedbug trap made from household items for about $1 (w/ Video)

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May 21, 2014 by Brad Buck Credit: University of Florida

The contraption seems so simple, yet so clever, like something The Professor might have concocted on "Gilligan's Island."

Researchers at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have devised a bedbug trap that can be built with household items. All you need are two disposable plastic containers, masking tape and glue, said Phil Koehler, UF/IFAS urban entomology professor. The traps catch and collect the bugs when they try to travel between people and the places where bedbugs hide, he said.

"This concept of trapping works for places where people sleep and need to be protected at those locations," Koehler said.

The traps rely on the bugs' poor ability to climb on smooth surfaces, he said. Instead, the traps have rough areas to let bedbugs enter easily, and a smooth-surfaced moat that keeps them from escaping.

Here's how to make one:

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The traps work best if you apply talc, including baby powder, to the space between the small and large container walls to make it harder for the bugs to escape. Many people use incorrect methods to treat bedbugs. Koehler advises against using flammable liquids, mothballs, treating mattresses with pesticides and using bug bombs.

Koehler said the bedbug device is pretty foolproof and effective.

"It's really hard to mess this up to the point that you'd hurt anything," he said.

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A better bedbug trap made from household items for about $1 (w/ Video)

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