Katchy Duo

This review is specifically for the Katchy Duo 2 in 1 (because Amazon combines reviews for similar products but you need to know for an exact one.) For the last few years since I had moved into my apartment. Every summer (It can get over 90F and 100F here) specifically about a couple weeks into summer and carries on until it starts getting cold outside in the fall and the insects die out because of the cold. I get these annoying little Fungus Gnats, or as I call them the drunken idiot of the Gnat species since they can't seem to fly a straight line and randomly bump into everything. But they especially love to hit you in the mouth and eyes. They are worse right after a rain. I think they are coming in through small cracks under the door as I think the pine tree needles around my apart are part of the reason they are so bad here since I do not have any plants in my apartment. I deliberated for a couple of summers about buying something like this because $50 is not cheap. The first couple of summers I tried every home remedy trick I could find. From apple cider in a jar with plastic wrap, to sticky fly catchers hanging in several places one in the room with me. I even tried spraying bug killer around my apartment entrances. All of this to no avail. Nothing seemed to work. These tiny pests make you want to rage as they constantly hit your eyes and land in your drink (I literally had to stop using a cup to drink from and had to start using a sealed container.) I was always getting angry as they hit me in the face every few minutes. So this summer just a couple weeks ago as it started. I decided it's time to give this a try. I had very little expectation this would actually work for Fungus Gnats as there aren't very many people mentioning their effectiveness. And it's the only bug that seems to get into my apartment aside from the occasional fly and spider. I thought, well this is likely a waste of money but nothing else seems to work. Wow, was I wrong. It is incredibly rare that will buy something I think is expensive and assume it won't work all that well. Only to be so incredibly happy with how well it works. While yes it does not catch every single gnat right away as new ones find their way into my apartment. They don't fly around long before making their way into this bug catcher. As for how loud it is. I would say on the lowest setting it is quite than my gaming PC fan. In a totally quiet room with nothing else running you can hear it. But it's quite enough that it is easy to ignore. On the highest setting, it's only slightly louder. But still, nowhere near that of a PC fan under load. I was leaving it on automatic setting so that it was only on at night and when I am not home (blackout curtains in the room it's in). But on my days off I set it to manual and leave it on. In the picture, I am adding. You can see the sticky trap on the first night, one week later, and 2 weeks later. To think all of those gnats would be constantly hitting you in the face if they were left to fly around in your home. After using it for 2 weeks now. I can not overstate how well I like this product and how well it works. It is definitely worth the money if you have an issue with Fungus Gnats every year like I do. As for how long this product will last or how long it takes for the fan bearing to wear and become louder. Only time will tell. If you are like me and are looking for something to help get rid of these pesky rage-inducing nuisances but were having trouble finding a review that explains how well it works for this pest. Then look no further as I hope my review helps you. And no, I am not a paid reviewer, nor was I given this. I try to be frugal which is why it took so long for me to risk spending money on something like this.

Look at the many photos of how many flies and gnats are attached the sticky boards. I have two. First bought, the shorted out by water getting on the PCB board attached vertically on the side. maybe it was also the flies. Taken apart and with multimeter tried to troubleshoot and could not get it two work. So I bought a second one and kept is away from the kitchen (not happy but did not want to short it out, too. After second purchase and running awhile, I was determined to continue to try to fix the first. at least figure out the circuits and create a schematic. This time I managed to get it to work. only the fan would not adjust speed and worked only an manual. That's OK for me. I cleaned the board with 99% iso alcohol, and covered the PCB with Kapton tape and put it back into service. The one in the kitchen did not do very well katchy the flies, so I created a kind of DIY vortex with aluminum foil, see photos. It increase the brightness reflecting on the foil and works great! With the Kapton tape, I no longer have an issue shorting out the PCB board The second I repeatedly kept knocking off onto the floor and the upper light ring brok. It would not snap back on. Looking at the photo, I glued it back on with some heavy duty glue and taped it firmly secure until the glue dried. Now the sticky boards fill up with flies, the black one despite having an air scrubber directly above the Katchy. So the negative issues: 1. get water inside you may short out the PBD board. Solution DIY fix 2. In some instances the flies will fly right over and not get sucked in. Solution create a DIY vortex above the Katchy 3. Repeated dropping may pop the upper part of the light ring and will not snap back on. Solution glue back on with clamps, (or tape.) 4. Block the outer edges of the liguid cup, or the vinegar being acidic will get drawn down fast and get onto the PCB board. Solution tape or cover the outer holes. 5. don't try to save money and make your own DIY honey sticky board. in my case it just did not work and extra sticky boards are inexpensive. Both mine have been running no-stop for over a year and they catch fruit flies, gnats and even the house flies. I am happy with them, however you may have to do some DIY modifications, (Aluminum vortex and covering the outer edges of the liquids cup if using vinegar. And if fails or breaks some DIY skills will put them back into service

I really do like this Flying Insect Trap! I definitely works! We had a huge problem with Fruit Flies as we always keep a good supply of fresh fruits in the house over processed snacks. Most fruit does better kept at room temperature and out in the open vs. in the refrigerator. We especially have to do this because certain fruits like Pineapples, Mangoes and certain Berries. Setup was done in less than five minutes. It's basically Plug-and-Play. Drop in an adhesive trap disc, fill the bait resevoir with Apple Cider Vinegar (it holds about 3-4 cap-fulls). Choose your On/Off setting (Manual or Auto, and the fan speed (This depends on the size of flying pest you're trying to capture. The larger the pest, the higher the fan speed you'll need to pull it into the trap. I watched it closesly, and at a medium fan speed, they were getting sucked into the trap when they came within an inch of the top of the trap. I found it very easy to maintain as the adhesive discs that trap the insects are very easy to change with no mess. If you run it for long periods, you will find that the vinegar will evaporate faster, and you will need to top off the resevoir a bit more frequently, but I didn't find that to be a problem. When we purchased this unit, we had a SERIOUS Fruit Fly problem! They were everywhere throughout the house. Both downstairs and upstairs because, well, THEY FLY! :-D I set it up the first night. By the end of the next day, the trap had captured so many flies that I had to change the adhesive trap. By Day 3, we were Fruit Fly FREE (and also down a couple of other unlucky passers-by). Why I'm Only Giving It Four Stars The trap works! No Question about it! We are still using it with success after nearly a year. However, I did find that the LEDs are probably not the best quality. Initially, they were quite bright after dark. However, I noticed them becoming more and more dim after a couple the first two weeks of use. Now, they are still lit, but practically invisible. I tried to take a few photos for this review. However, the Ai photo enhancing capability on my phone keeps enhancing the light it does pick up, and makes it appear to be much brighter than it actually is. Other than that, I have no complaints. And, I do recommend it if you have a flying insect problem. Probably not your best choice if your "guests" are much larger than mosquitoes given the small size of the disc traps (4" dia.),

I purchased two of these, one for the kitchen and one that I could move into different rooms as needed. OK. You know how when you have a few flies buzzing around you, then you grab a fly swatter and they all just disappear until you put the fly swatter away? Well.. Went i received these (9 days ago), I unpacked them and set them up; installed a sticky pad in each, set them where they were going to be and put vinegar and a drop of dish soap in the bait trap. The entire time I was unpacking them and setting them up, I had a couple dozen gnats and fruit flies buzzing all around me. It was as if they were supervising my work. Well, it was almost dark outside, but closing my doors blinds makes in completely dark in my house; especially my kitchen. So I turned on both of these traps. The second I did, every single gnat and fruit fly disappeared. I didn't see another bug all evening. I left the traps on all night. When i woke up in the morning, I went to check the traps. I still had not seen a single bug. I pulled the trays out and there wasn't a single bug in either one of them. I left them on most of the day and the next night, still not seeing a single bug. Went to check them again and only one bug was caught in one trap. The second trap, when i pulled out the tray, a gnat flew out of it. So I turned them off and checked the sticky pads to see if they were still sticky. There was almost zero stickiness to either one of them. So I replaced the pads. I checked the bait traps, and not one bug. Less than five minutes after I turned the traps off, all the bugs came out of hiding and started buzzing all around the rooms the traps were in. So I turned the traps back on and all the bugs went into hiding again. I have been turning these on every night, tried different settings on the light and fan, and only that single bug has been caught. I think that single bug was just flying around and got a little too close. If the light was attracting it, then there would have been more bugs caught. Every time i turn these things off, all the bugs show up. Turn them on and they all go into hiding. So bottom line, these traps do not work. The sticky pads last maybe a day or two and then they are no longer sticky. I would like to return them, but i have no way to do so. I am disabled, don't have transportation, so I can't take the package to a UPS store. These "Traps" are garbage. This was a total waste of $100+.

So, I don't review much at all. But I felt I had to say something about this Katchy Duo Indoor trap. I've purchased previous similar products and felt it was a waste of money. However, this works really well. I bought this because I was getting tired of gnats floating in my beer and just overall flying around. I live in AZ and the Phx area. You would think we wouldn't have this problem, but I have a lot of citrus and it does occasionally get humid here. With that context, I can say yes, we get the bugs of the flying variety :). We keep our house clean and free of standing water, so we are perplexed as to why we have so many annoying gnats, flies and moths. Well, it's because in the winter, we mostly keep our windows and house open. Screen doors and windows only do so much before you get flying pests. So even though I've had poor experiences with similar products, I felt the need to try something. I'm really glad I landed on this Katchy Duo. You get a two-pronged approach with the light and the liquid scent pod. I just set mine to auto and it adjusts the light and fan to the appropriate conditions so you're not wasting resources. When I first got it, it says to use apple cider vinegar, but I didn't have any. So, I knew they liked my beer, so I looked it up, and if you don't have that use an IPA or stout beer instead. I eventually got the apple cider vinegar, but I could not find any difference in results. This two-pronged approach really does work. I like this so much I purchased another one for better coverage. Yes, it's a tad pricey, but I think it's worth it. I attached a pic which I was still amazed that it did so well, but prior to this there were larger bugs such as moths and house flies. I will say it takes house flies longer to figure it out, but eventually I got the one that was really annoying.

This is a device that I believe is good for a large home with a insect problem. I live in an apartment and katchy works as advertised. I just didn't know that the over light would be so bright, and the noise fan. Yet, I was going to keep it but because my cat is highly sensitive with behavioral issues and the uv light even on the lowest setting dissuaded her from being on the kitchen counter, and even on low uv light it was uncomfortable to my eyes. Yet the 3 whammy effect of the uv light, scent pod and the sticky pad I believe is the best solution and the katchy device is worth the price. This is why I say it should be purchased by a person and or pet not so sensitive if in a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment. For a home this is much more ideal even if the noise & uv light is bothersome, because it can be put in an area where there is less people and pet traffic. This is why I only give the katchy device three stars, and I will be returning it.

Even in Southern California with leaving the bedroom completely sealed all day and night we would still wake up covered in bites. Or be unable to sleep due to the buzz of mosquitos. With the lowest fan and light setting we were able to catch almost 30 of the little bloodsuckers in just under two weeks. After that it stays on auto(turning on at night only) and we may catch one every two weeks. Completely wiped out our mosquitos in the bedroom problem. Also caught some fruit flies, an aphid(plants in the room), a few moths of various types and the one random beetle. The cap for the scent trap as one reviewer on youtube put it is not difficult to operate. It's not a snap on, it's a twist lock and has indicators molded on the side. It's very easy once you realize that. We use a cotton ball on the inside to prevent spills. The noise of the fan isn't too bad as we usually have a fan, humidifier and or AC unit on. The UV light is a mixed bag. On the one hand you can't see through your eyelids when you try to go to sleep, and it's a nice night light to get out of bed for the occasional midnight bathroom break or snack( where my snack people at?). On the other hand, even on the lowest setting it will light up the room and anything UV reactive, especially if you have white sheets or blankets. Which on our personal annoyance scale is maybe a 3 out of 10(10 being unbearably annoying). Even though I consider myself very light sensitive especially when it comes to bed time, so much so that I tape all LEDs, I don't mind the black light. Red or deep amber/orange lights are ok but anything leaning towards blue or white is a no go for me. We can sleep through the 70s lightshow just fine. Bottom line. If you have a home mosquito problem and have tried everything to stop the biting, try this. I've hiked through the Sierra Navada Mountains in peak mosquito season twice and lived in the south so I understand mosquitos and I HAAAAAAATE mosquitos. But they love me. I HIGHLY recommend this product. Update. 10-15-2023. Still in love with this thing. Our kitchen, indoor plants, and garage that leads to the backyard are all right next to eachother in 800sqft and this captures all the little flying critters that bite us and our plants and hover around our food and trash. Edit: Oct 2024. It has been running nonstop since day of delivery and house is still bug free. Update Aug 2025 : My unit has been running on high fan and high light settings practically non stop(we moved, tripped a breaker, and I cleaned it once) for over 3 years now. Not one single issue or failure with the device. It has been completely covered in grease as it was running in the kitchen for awhile and after cleaning it still looks brand new. No weird light flickering. No funky fan noises. Nothing. Nada. It's been perfect this entire time helping catch indoor plant insects and mosquitoes like an absolute unit. 5 stars

I've only had this a few days and it's already working. I'm really glad I got it. It catches those tiny flying bugs that drive me nuts!

This thing actually works. Our cottage is in a wooded area and the bugs that come in when you open the door are a big problem. With Katchy turned on the bugs didn't bother me. I am ordering a second one for the guest room.

Worked fairly well and runs quietly. My complaint is being gouged for the specific stickies for this model which are a smaller size yet double the price.

Doesn't work!

This is an absolute life saver for our old farm house We live on an orchard so the fruit flies come out and every year we go to battle This this allows me to turn it on and catch them all night Works WONDERS it’s pretty gross to look at them all stuck to the tray in the morning lol definitely order more pads when you buy but I just got the knock off ones that fit and they work perfectly - just check sizes ! No more using cups with mixtures to catch them Use the little spot and stick fruit in to attract and clean it out in the morning We love love love this 10/10 recommend

Didn’t catch or attract any mosquitoes