Proper Handling and Use of Pheromone Lures

The most common kind of pheromone lure is a small rubber "septa" (see photo) impregnated with a species specific pheromone blend. They are used to attract insects to a trap - usually a sticky trap of some sort - for monitoring purposes. Some comments about the use and handling of pheromone lures:

• The best lures come individually in air tight packets. Bulk bags of loose lures are likely to be less effective or completely ineffective if stored for any length of time. If you buy lures from an open bulk bag, you are wasting your time and money, unless the bag has just been opened and had previously been stored properly.
  
• Lures that come in a clear plastic strip (each lure in its own air pocket) should be checked carefully before purchase to ensure that the air pockets are sealed properly.
  
• Lures should never be handled with bare hands. Use new clean vinyl gloves or have dedicated (one pair per type of lure) forceps to transfer the lures into traps. Incredibly small amounts of contaminants from other species lures can make the difference between attractiveness and repellency for your target pest.
  
• Lures should be refrigerated or frozen until the day before use.
  
• Only lures in individually sealed packages that are bagged securely and refrigerated or frozen can be used the following year with any reliability.
  
• Lures are species specific. There are no lures generally in use that cover more than one pest species.
  
• Only one type of lure can be used per trap.
  
• Lures do not last all season in most cases. Most lures are good for about 6 weeks.
  
• Traps should be 40 m apart in the field. Traps for other species should also be kept separated.
  
• Except under special circumstances, obtaining accurate trapping numbers requires 3 to 5 traps in a field, orchard, or vineyard.
  
• Pheromone lures are not the same as pheromone dispensers for mating disruption.

Pheromone lure in trap