Apparently, pouring vegetable oil on glue boards will help to release creatures that get stuck on them. I'm thinking that veggie oil would work on the yellow sticky traps that people use for insects. Sometimes they are so strong that they can catch lizards and birds too........

Linda

Yeah, we had a house wren land on one a couple of years ago. Wish I'd known the veg oil trick; DH had an awful time getting it loose. Haven't used them since.

I do not use them for the same reason.

I wouldn't use them either, but some people feel it's necessary - until they catch something they didn't mean to trap..... Since I didn't know about the veggie oil, I thought I would pass along the info.

That's a good tip!
I only use the traps indoors and fortunately, have no need to use them outside. I hate seeing innocent insects caught by accident if I have to tape something out there.

You can use SeaBright Yellow sticky traps outside and not have to worry about catching lizards, birds. If you are growing outside in Florida or any place that has lizards, all other brands imo should be banned. Seabright is much less sticky but still gets the job done with getting whitefly, leaf miners, I've even seen mosquitoes. I use one per plant or earthbox.

The cards cost more at about $1 per card, but sometimes they can be found for about $.80 a card. It's totally worth it.

The only thing that I use them for is when I want to find out if pepper maggot flies are gone for the season, toward the end of July. I put a couple of strips of yellow duct tape on an area by the covered peppers, around 7-25, or thereabouts, and brush some tanglefoot on them. Only a couple of times have I found any of the flies after that. I would never use this as a preventive measure, as I would need far too many, and it would never get all of them (with this, or anything outdoors) - I just use it to make sure they are gone, before uncovering.

So true about catching what you didn't intend. Even indoors and in the greenhouse, I've caught parasitoid wasps when I put them out. The good guys you didn't expect to be there. Wish I'd known about the veggie oil. But my past catches said "don't use this!!" ... so I don't, or very rarely and only indoors.

Please only use the Seabright labs brand of yellow sticky traps because they don't trap lizards or birds like the other ones do. They work fabulously well on leaf miner flies too, also thrips and whiteflies. I cheaped out for only saving a dollar once, on a 15 pack of another brand. A bird was stuck within an hour. I felt horrible, because it had to run away, couldn't fly when so many feathers got stuck. Back to the Seabright labs brand, and never a lizard or bird since, or before.
About the veg oil, that's the first step if the glue gets on your clothes. Rub the veg. oil in, then thoroughly scrub with soapy water. It comes out!