Fly tape is a strip of paper or plastic coated with a sticky, non-drying adhesive that traps flies and other small insects on contact. It’s one of the simplest and cheapest pest control methods available, using no electricity, no chemicals that go airborne, and no batteries. Most versions are pesticide-free, relying entirely on physical adhesion to catch and hold insects.
How the Sticky Coating Works
The adhesive on fly tape is typically a blend of rosin (a natural tree resin), mineral oil or vegetable oil, and a tackifying agent. Rosin provides the base stickiness, while the oil keeps the adhesive from drying out and hardening over time. Some formulations include water glass (sodium silicate) as a binding agent. The result is a surface that stays tacky for weeks, even in warm conditions, grabbing onto an insect’s legs, wings, and body the moment it lands.
Because the adhesive relies on physical trapping rather than poison, fly tape is generally considered non-toxic. That makes it a common choice in kitchens, food storage areas, and homes with children or pets, though the glue itself is messy and difficult to remove from anything it touches.
Types of Fly Tape
Fly tape comes in several formats designed for different spaces and fly pressures.
- Hanging ribbons: The classic spiral strip that unrolls from a thumbtack. Packs of 20 to 40 ribbons are standard, and they’re widely used in kitchens, garages, barns, and porches. You pull the strip out of its tube, pin it to the ceiling, and let it hang. These work well in areas with moderate to heavy fly activity.
- Window strips: Clear adhesive strips that attach directly to window glass. Brands like Catchmaster make transparent versions designed to be discreet, catching flies drawn to sunlight without the visual clutter of a dangling ribbon.
- Sticky sticks: Rigid tubes coated with adhesive, sometimes mounted on a stand. These are less common but useful when you don’t want a strip swinging around in a breeze or sticking to your hair when you walk by.
For indoor use in a home, window strips and small ribbon packs work well. For barns, stables, greenhouses, or heavy outdoor infestations, larger packs of hanging ribbons provide more surface area and can be replaced frequently without much cost.
Getting the Best Results
Placement matters more than quantity. Flies are attracted to light, food odors, and warmth, so hanging tape near windows, above trash cans, or close to doorways tends to catch the most insects. In barns and stables, positioning strips near manure areas or feed bins targets the heaviest fly zones.
Replace strips once they’re covered in insects or visibly dusty, since debris reduces the exposed sticky surface. In hot summer months, you may need to swap them every one to two weeks. In cooler, less active seasons, a strip can last a month or more. If a strip looks dry or no longer feels tacky to a light touch, it’s done.
One practical tip: hang ribbons high enough that people and pets won’t walk into them. Getting fly tape stuck in your hair or on your clothes is a common frustration, and the adhesive is surprisingly stubborn to remove.
How to Remove Fly Tape Adhesive
If fly tape glue ends up on your skin, hair, clothing, or a pet, oil is your best tool. Vegetable oil is widely regarded as the most effective option, but cooking oil, mineral oil, baby oil, olive oil, and even peanut butter (which has high fat content) all work by breaking down the sticky rosin-based adhesive. Rub the oil into the affected area, give it a few minutes to soften the glue, then gently work the residue free. Follow up with warm water and dish soap to cut the oil.
For clothing and furniture, mineral oil or baby oil applied with a cloth works well, though you’ll need some patience and scrubbing. On hard surfaces, the same oils do the job with less effort.
If a pet gets stuck to fly tape, stay calm. Gently peel away what you can, then apply vegetable oil to the remaining adhesive and work it through the fur slowly. Don’t pull or yank, as this can hurt the animal or tear out fur. The oil needs time to dissolve the glue. Once the tape is off, wipe the area with a damp cloth to remove excess oil, then bathe the pet normally.
Risks to Wildlife
Fly tape used outdoors or in semi-enclosed spaces like barns, lofts, and greenhouses can trap unintended animals. Birds, bats, and lizards are all vulnerable. Bats are particularly at risk because they’re drawn to the sound of trapped insects buzzing on the adhesive. A bat investigating the noise can get its delicate wings and ears stuck, and once one bat is caught, its distress calls can lure other bats to the same trap.
Researchers at the University of Sussex documented cases of bats dying from dehydration and exhaustion after becoming stuck to unguarded sticky traps in stables and lofts. Prof. Fiona Mathews has called for sticky traps to be sold only with enclosed guards, a simple cage-like cover that lets flies through but blocks larger animals. Most commercial fly tape carries no warning about the hazard to bats or birds, and casualties frequently occur in locations where bats weren’t previously known to be present.
If you use fly tape outdoors or in outbuildings, placing strips inside a wire mesh guard significantly reduces the risk. Checking traps daily and removing any non-target animals quickly (using the vegetable oil method) also helps. Indoors with windows and doors closed, the risk to wildlife is minimal.
Fly Tape vs. Other Traps
Fly tape’s biggest advantage is simplicity. There’s nothing to plug in, no bait to replenish, and no batteries to replace. It’s silent, inexpensive (often under $10 for a pack of 20 or more), and effective against houseflies, gnats, fruit flies, and mosquitoes alike.
The trade-offs are aesthetic and practical. Hanging ribbons covered in dead flies aren’t attractive, and the adhesive creates a mess if it contacts anything unintended. Fly tape also doesn’t actively attract insects the way UV light traps or baited traps do. It catches whatever happens to land on it, which means it works best in areas with already-high fly traffic rather than as a preventive measure in low-activity rooms.
For heavy infestations in agricultural settings, fly tape is often used alongside other methods like baited traps or fans rather than as a standalone solution. For a few flies in a kitchen or garage, a couple of well-placed strips usually handle the problem on their own.