Electric Fly Killers

An electric fly killer – also called EFK, fly zapper or insect trap, is an electrified unit used in the confines of a commercial kitchen, restaurant, café, bar, pub, hotel or hospitality business. It attracts and electrocutes flying insects such as house flies, bluebottles and other fly species to help keep food areas within the premises hygienic and pest free.

Electric fly killers work by using ultraviolet light in the form of fluorescent tubes of LED bulbs to attract flies towards the units. The traditional electric fly zapper then electrocutes the flies on contact with the electrified grid.

There are also fly killers that use glue boards (also called glue traps or fly traps) that attract flies using ultraviolet light, and then trap them on replaceable sticky boards. More advanced versions such as Lumnia fly control units use adhesive rolling film encapsulation to hygienically capture flies and seal in fly fragments. The advantage of this fly trap is the catch surface is constantly refreshed to maintain maximum effectiveness and all fly fragments are hygienically sealed.

 All electric fly killers have a ‘coverage rating’ which indicates the maximum room area that the unit will effectively operate within. If the area that needs protecting is larger, then more than one fly killer unit will be needed. There are other considerations to take into account when positioning a fly control unit:

• The most effective location for an electric fly killer is between the most likely entry points for flies (i.e. doors, windows) and the food - as flies are lured away from food areas without being attracted further into the premises.
• Insects are attracted to bright lights, so zapper units must be kept away from other light sources that could compete for the flies’ attention and reduce the effectiveness of the unit.
• Ensure insect debris (blow out from electrocuted flying insects) does not land on food or food preparation areas if using a basic electric zapper, which could cause contamination – so do not place units above food areas. Using encapsulation fly killers like Lumnia and Lumnia Ultimate greatly reduces risks of contamination from this type of fly fragmentation, offering greater flexibility when positioning units.
• Most flying insects will enter from outside, so it’s vital not to place fly killers directly facing doors or windows, which can entice more flies to enter. Using Rentokil external Fly Box alongside Lumnia indoor units provides greater fly control protection as many flying insects are eliminated before they have chance to enter a premise.

 If positioned correctly, maintained and serviced properly fly zappers are perfectly safe for indoor environments.

DIY fly control products like fly paper, whilst effective at catching flies in the home are not suitable for commercial kitchens as they are not designed to cope in such an intense business environment and many contain insecticides which are not suitable for commercial kitchen areas.