Katchy Midnight Insect Trap

The item arrived broken :( I am SUPREMELY disappointed because I was so excited at the thought of having an effective method to combat my nemesis that is the mischievously thriving fruit fly colony which plagues me, and this item arrived this morning broken. :( The blades of the fan internally are not connected and are banging about inside. Though I don't normally pay full price for things unless necessary (I either wait for a good sale or use applicable coupons/promo codes), I took the plunge on this purchase due to my need for a competent and efficient resolve combined with it's GLOWING reviews! First, I had to wait 9 days to receive the item, which I wasn't happy about, but not upset either. I have literally been checking tracking daily and looking forward to it's arrival. Then it arrives *HAPPY DAY*. I opened the package, removed the unit (felt/heard something odd but didn't think too much of it at that moment), reviewed the directions, plugged it in and although the light came on, the fan did not. I thought maybe I need to press a particular button or what-have-you, so I re-read the directions. Nope, it should be automatic. So I then began inspecting the unit and realized the fan blades were not connected. I then even looked for a way to open the unit without busting it so that I can fix it myself (I'm incredibly handy and that's how much I wanted this to work!). No go. I could probably open it up, but then it wouldn't be returnable. Ok, so THEN I go to the item link on Amazon and as of earlier today, it said "This item is currently unavailable" followed by something to the effect of 'and we don't know if or when it will become available'. I attempted to contact the seller to no avail. My only viable option was and is to return it. I don't want to return it for a refund or leave a bad review. Rather, I want the working unit I paid and patiently waited for. Errrrr. I decided to go about my day knowing I'd come back to this later and here I am. ... I pull the item up this evening, it is in fact available again, but instead of the $39.79 price I paid 9 days ago, it is right now (6/15/2018) listed at $54.49. Whaaaa?? So I am leaving this review in hopes that the seller will contact me and make good on my purchase, at which point I would update my review to reflect the working conditions of this seemingly enigmatic device. In summary, this 1 star review encompasses only that the item arrived broken and therefore did not operate as intended. A working unit may very well be worthy of all it's positive reviews. And maaaaybe even the new $54.49 price. I hope I am a unique case. I also hope this review was of help to you. Update 6/17/18: The seller contacted me today apologizing for my inconvenience and explaining that Amazon is responsible for the damage done during the shipping of this product. I responded immediately that I appreciate the response and although I completely understand that Amazon assumes the shipping responsibility, I am also concerned that I cannot repurchase a working unit at the price I paid 2 weeks ago. I inquired how this can be rectified, stating that I fully intend to update my review according to their level of service and the actual benefits of a working unit. And now I await their response. Honestly, if I have to repurchase at the higher price, I won't and I'll leave my review star at 1. It's not the price as much as the principle. Products can be damaged in shipping, that's understandable. But the seller is also responsible for commitment. So I'm really hoping they come through with a reasonable resolve that honors the price I paid for a working unit. I'll keep you posted. Update 7/1/18: The seller not only replaced my originally bought unit, but included extras as well. They have been extremely diligent in correspondence and I can honestly say that I am not only satisfied, but impressed. With that said, I would not have altered my review to 5 stars for customer service alone. ...these units works amazingly! The home I live in was built in 1924 and does not sport insulation the way a new home would. So pests are/can be/were a problem. The units do in fact attract flying things very well! The sticky pad of results had 2 bugs I didn't know I had and don't recognize. I am extremely happy with my purchase! And may very well buy more. The unit itself is aesthetically pleasing and is relatively quiet. Night is the best time for results since that's when it's darkest and the bugs can 'see' the light. The blue light transitions in brightness, which is even more effective in attracting it's prey. I'm changing my review from a 1 star to a 5 star. I saw other reviews stating it was a flimsy design. I do get what they're saying, but how thick must this unit be to rectify that?? It works as intended and looks good doing it. The bottom is easy to open to check and/or replace the sticky pad. There are only 2 buttons so it's super easy to operate. And it doesn't look like a bug catcher at all. No one would know. So I feel it's 'flimsiness' (is that a word?) is of no concern. As long as it performs, who cares how heavy or thick it is? This is 5 stars from someone who had to work for it. I hope this review helped you! Happy bug hunting :)

This worked like a charm. My kid had failed to clean the lift box regularly and we had tons of flies and gnats. This thing basically worked overnight, catching the majority of the pests and neutralizing them. I used the standard setting, rather than the eco/quiet mode because I wanted the most effective mode possible. The price was a touch high for what it is, especially since they only send 4 sticky pads with it, considering that you're supposed to change them out semi regularly. The attractor light was bright enough to get the bugs but not so bright as to be annoying.

TL;DR Buy a hand vacuum for $20 and a $20 present to yourself so you can put up with hunting the bugs yourself (instead of buying this item... if the bugs in question are moths). My picture misleadingly shows a lot was caught, but this was a span of over 21 nights. (Arguably I should change trap out often, but you’d have to read on before you try making that point.) So I’ve got a moth problem. Lots of moths + kitchen area x many weeks = annoyed me. (Sorry, pun was just there.) I’ve tried a variety of ways to have this product work well. Left it near food or problem areas, kept the place dark so only light source is the UV, stuff like that. I even tried shoving a live one above the fan (after a while you learn how to catch them by hand) and clasping my hands over it so the only way the moth can move is where the fan is sucking in... I peeked in from the gaps between my fingers and it was just chilling on the plastic fan guard. If it chose to fly it would probably get sucked in but it just started crawling on the guard trying to escape without flying. I had to startle it into flying a couple times before it finally got sucked into the trap. (The first attempts had it land back and grip onto that fan guard so maybe it wouldn’t get caught even if it did try to fly) I tried giving it over a week to see how effective it was at catching anything (Manual says it is effective with moths), checking periodically. After a few nights I had about 4 or 5 caught moths. I resorted to using my dirt devil hand vacuum ($20) and within a span of 3-5 hours with occasional 30 second vacuuming, I caught more than 4 times the number of moths than the trap did (in ideal conditions for 3 days). I kept observing the next few weeks. And no, I don’t have those large moths that won’t fit through the guard. The product concept is sound on paper but actual execution falls short. This is probably ideal for smaller-lighter insects like gnats, but “can still catch” stuff like moths from time to time. If this item was for like $20, I’d try to self-argue the efficiency issue with the device being a passive way to catch things. Maybe even get a second one in hopes of bettering the catch rate. But at $40 for one with this abysmal success rate... Here is the math: My picture has 25 moths, caught in more than 3 weeks of nights, generously averaging to a little above 1 moth caught per night. (That’s about the same rate as the first 3 nights as described before.) I’ve tested the adhesive after taking the picture and it is still quite sticky and some of the recently caught moths are still moving so it’s not as if it can’t catch anymore due to poor adhesion (but I’d probably toss it after a few more days tops, just in case). Some baby fruit flies were also caught but even the manual says the device can’t be used for adult ones. The rating system is also pretty bad. Easy to use, thickness, and adhesion. Easy to use is deceptive; still gave it a 5 since it was simple but as mentioned, does the intended job poorly. Thickness? Really? Maybe it means how visually discreet it is? I don’t want to give good/bad ratings over a misunderstanding. Adhesion, small bugs that get stuck stay stuck, but only if caught; 5 rating, but again, kinda moot if things aren’t caught often. (The only thing I didn’t follow in the manual was changing the sticky trap frequently. If I did, I’d be going “Woo, 3 moths... time to change the trap”) The manual claims this to be effective against moths but that seems to be a lie... or they had the gnat sized moths forcibly crammed into the trap in their testing facility.

I live in an area where, apparently, flies and fruit flies/gnats are just part of life. I HATE them!!! I'm trying all the things, including this. After 2 weeks, it caught a good many of these annoying things (see pics). However, this is not "the answer" to the entire issue. Has it reduced the number of bugs? Yeah. Has it eradicated the issue? No. There was a situation that gave a sudden rise to these things in my house and I've been fighting them for days. I also put bleach in/on all the water source areas (sinks, bathtubs) in my house. Anytime someone leaves a door open, flies get in as well, so I'm always fighting those. In the first week I had this, it didn't catch flies at all. The ones it caught were just in the last couple days, so I guess it works on them as well. But I've also been killing a TON of them - way more than this machine caught. The gnats are not *gone* and there are still the occasional flies. I end up doing most of the work to get rid of these things and they are STILL not gone. Does it catch some? Yeah, and that's nice. But don't buy this thinking it will solve the problem. The pics are after a couple weeks of leaving this thing on ALL day long! I have put it in kitchen and near a window. Both were about the same number caught. I'm glad to have help in the fight against these horrible things, but it has not solved the issue. It does seem to be more directed at gnats, than other bugs. Which is fine. But don't expect this to catch any and all bugs, or to get rid of them entirely. I'm told I don't have a lot of these bugs in my house (the pics beg to differ!), but I honestly don't see a massive difference. Less? Yeah. But get a hot day and suddenly there is zero difference. They're still thriving, somehow, no matter how much I clean and bleach and make sure nothing is left out, change the rubbish bins often, even keep food in the fridge well and tightly covered/wrapped. I don't even buy fruit for my counter any more. I'm not mad, just a little disappointed that it hasn't solved the issue I bought it for. But I'll accept the help in this war on these vile bugs.

Katchy works !!!! I have 3. I put 2 in my basement by windows because when they are open obviously that’s where most flying insects will come in. I catch flies of all varieties and moths, gnats, mosquitoes etc… I really can’t understand anyone with a bad review unless you do not use it on high . I have one with a reservoir built-in for vinegar or whatever you use to lure insects for better results. I think maybe mosquitoes are the hardest ones to catch in this device because they are more drawn to human and animals for their blood, not light like many other flying insects. Make sure it’s in an area bugs are a problem. I keep it on 24/7 by my sim pump pit and that thing is full in a month with little flying insects. Now it does have an issue with really small flies sometimes and I’ll find them trapped in there stuck to the metal mesh screening but i will take that as a catch and just empty in the yard trash so if some are not stuck they are away from the house outside in the yard. This item isnt very cheap but works well and the sound of those bigger flying insects, like moths make a satisfying sound when katchy snags them in its fan blade and deposits it into the trap. almost like a clinking sound. i love katchy. i even bring it when i go upstate to the mountains. i dont understand how people are not catching bugs with this product unless they are not very good with gadgets and turn it on without putting the fan blades that are necessary for catching the insects in the first place lol. trust me that this happens .

-- Update -- This device worked great for the first ~4 months or so, but over time has gotten far less effective. We bought this last spring, and it literally wiped out our fruit fly problem in a week. Now that spring is here again, I'm seeing more and more fruit flies in the kitchen. The device naturally gets dusty, and I use compressed air (as recommended by the company), but this does not completely clean the fan blades. Given the product's design, it is not very easy to take the device apart to actually clean the blades. I suspect that the dust is weakening the fan's suction power, thus it is less able to pull in flies. Minus two stars for not being a long-term solution. --Previous Post-- We've had fruit fly problems for the past year in our kitchen. We've tried lots of different home remedies (wine bottles, apple cider vinegar dish with soap, apple cider vinegar/soap dish with plastic wrap on top with holes, baking sheet with soapy water and a light), but each method seemed to get most of the fruit flies, but not all of them. I even started vacuuming up the fruit flies in the kitchen every few days, but again, we could never get them all. Installed this device, kept the fan on high, and left it on continuously. Within a few days, literally all the fruit flies were gone. Now we just keep it on high all the time and no more fruit flies! We'll probably see one random fruit fly a week. (We could probably switch the fan setting to low, but I don't find the noise bothersome or annoying enough to switch to a weaker setting) This trap is extremely effective for fruit flies, plain and simple. I can't speak to it's effectiveness against other bugs, as we only had a fruit fly problem. The fan does emit a slight, low, humming sound when it's in operation (the mechanical fan operates on a motor, so it will make noise), and it also emits a black-light aura around the device. So keep the slight noise and light in mind for where you want to physically place the device. In terms of size, it's about the size of a can of coffee ground. We just put it in the corner of our kitchen, so it's not really noticeable or in the way, but you probably wouldn't want this on your coffee table in your living room. I read reviews about people being concerned about the sticky fly trap paper being expensive and only getting three sheets. I think this is overblown. We've used the same sheet for the past 6 weeks, and it's still sticky and effective. At this rate, those 3 sheets will probably last the entire year, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Another reviewer found cheap sticky sheets that you can purchase from a different seller if you really want lots of sticky sheets, but I don't see the need. Highly recommend the product for fruit flies!

Incredibly effective for such a cute and small machine. I have one for both of my homes now. Catches all the critters and is low sound unlike some other brands. I love love love my katchy

I have tried: Zevo Flying Insect Traps (RECOMMEND) Husaco Store 2 Flying Insect Traps & 2 Cartridges - Compatible with ZEVOM364A Refill Katchy Flying Insect Trap Indoor (this product - not really) Terro Fruit Fly Traps - (RECOMMEND) I tried several products for my recent gnat/fruit fly/super tiny demons from hell infestation. I really wanted to like some, but basically overall the ZEVO was superior. Thankfully I bought that one initially, but did not realize how severe my infestation got (as I was away from home for abit). Zevo pretty immediately and quickly toned down the flying creatures, and I noticed quickly the trap filling up with more and more. A good week in it was basically all covered up. I ended up getting a total of 4 Zevo traps, in certain areas I knew would fly to at night. Night is very good at getting them. I think it helps having no other lights on either. I will mention I also got Terro fly trap, and they are just lil tiny apple looking containers that you fill with some nasty vinegar mixture. I fill it up just a small amount, because honestly that is enough and I can keep refilling it. One I had to dump because of so many dead bodies and I refilled it up. I put one of those in my fridge just incase. And some near the other traps to try to attract them faster to the Zevo's light of death. The Katchy and offbrand zevo aka Husaco store traps, just basically didn't trap as many.... Like say a week went by and I could count the flies it was a handful. They just weren't as amazing/fast for me. In terms of how many flies it caught the Offbrand zevo may have even caught more. But not by too much more. I had such a drastic reduction with 2 Zevo's and now that I got 4 going, I think they might finally be eradicated. (With the Terro assists. I liked putting them by the sinks. ---I did NOT try the idea of putting a small plate on the under side and filling it up with the terror vinegar murder juice concoction. Which seemed decent to try, and could potentially work decently.