Water to Attract Night Flying Insects

I burn a back porch light all night, every night. During the summer months, the light attracts hoards of flying insects. Even after shooing, waving and scattering the swarm, it's difficult to get into the house without at least a few getting in with me.

I read that concocting a bug juice by blending or grinding bugs with water added, produced a smelly liquid that would deter other insects. Supposedly, they don't like the scent. Well, I wasn't about to load my Seven Speed plus Purée Hamilton Beach with a cup or two of insect carcasses, even if I could catch that many.

In June, I had been working in the yard all day and evening. I was too tired to cook. I made a quick trip to Wendy's for a burger and chocolate Frosty. It was dark when I returned. Wouldn't you know, there was a plague of flying insects buzzing all around the back porch light.

I decided to try something that was so simple, I was doubtful of it actually working. It did work, and it worked very well. I took the 10 or 12 ounce plastic 'Frosty' cup, and without even bothering to rinse it, fastened it to the siding with a tiny nail near the rim. It was positioned under and as close to the light as I could get it. I filled the cup to almost full with water, leaving about 1/2 inch space at the top, then went to bed.

Insects must have remarkable brains to make any sense of what they see with compound eyes, especially when they flit around so erratically. They seem to manage quite well, though. Well, most of the time. I was surprised the next morning to see just how many bugs had mistakenly taken a lethal skinny dip in the cup of water.

On the second morning, there was a thick layer of dead insects atop the water with many more at all levels in the water, and they all started to decompose. Funny, as many times as I go in and out that door, I never noticed a scent from the cup. But apparently, there was a scent and it was noticed.

I'm thinking "Somebody's got it wrong". The flying insects weren't deterred by the decaying likes if their own kind. Quite the contrary. They were attracted to it, ridiculously so. From the summer night I nailed the cup to the house, til the onset of frost, not once did I see a swarm of insects around that light. There were never more than two or three flying around at any given time. But, there were always plenty in the cup.

I regret not having taken a picture of that cup filled with bugs. Just as well, though. It's not a pretty sight. If you have doubts about my method, I invite you to try it and post your findings here. You can bet, I will be putting up another cup of water, soon. Imagine that, something as simple as a cup of water. Just a cup of water.

Won't wonders ever cease?