Oklahoma Rancher Invents
Environmentally Safe Trap for Biting Flies

Imagine watching your horses graze peacefully in summer pastures, free from the torment of biting flies. Have you tried numerous fly repellents and found that none work to your satisfaction? Is your only resort to keep your cattle bitten and bloody?

Now comes a product that is effective at killing and controlling biting flies without chemical sprays! The Epps Biting Fly Trap uses a system of a deflector sheets, water and common dishwashing liquid. It's a simple product that seems too good to be true, but it works safely, effectively, and without the use of toxic chemicals. The only ingredients are three gallons of water per tray and eight drops of any kind of dishwashing liquid. The Trap is environmentally sound, avoiding the addition of toxic chemicals to the environment to control harmful insects, which also have the potential to kill beneficial insects.

The Epps Biting Fly Trap was invented by Oklahoma cattleman Alan Epps, who was frustrated at being unable to protect his steers from the painful bites of various kinds of biting flies. An engineering genius, he figured out a way to attract the flies to a simple water trap, where they would drown.

The Epps Biting Fly Trap works by using the flies' own natural behavior patterns. Many biting flies, such as stable flies, horse flies, green heads, deer flies, bull flies, and yellow flies, are attracted to large objects whose color contrasts to their surroundings. These large objects are potential hosts like cattle, deer, and horses. The biting flies then circle the potential host before actually landing to bite.

The EPPS Biting Fly Trap takes advantage of these behaviors by providing a large, contrasting surface area with transparent panels which simulate air space between an animal's legs and over its back, the areas flies would normally circle before feeding. Flies see the deflectors as open spaces and try to fly through then. They hit the deflectors and ricochet into the soapy water in the trays below where they drown. Common dishwashing soap breaks the surface tension of the water in the trays so the flies are wetted and drown faster. The trap covers an average of 20 acres and studies have shown the Epps kills one pound of biting flies per day!

The Trap works best when placed in open, sunlit areas of pastures, and the trap is easy to see from a distance. Horses and cattle generally do not bother the EPPS Trap after becoming accustomed to its presence, but it is highly recommended to place the trap out of the reach of livestock.

Maintenance of the fly trap is easy. Just scoop out the dead flies every other day with an aquarium net, add water & soap if needed and then change the water every two weeks. It's a minimum effort for maximum results for the grazing comfort of your horse (and cattle). Over 6000 farms and ranches have experienced biting fly relief.