The Easiest Way To Keep Your Indoor Bug Zapper Clean

Flies, moths, mosquitoes, and other bugs you don't want living in your home can find their way inside even the tidiest of spaces and very quickly become a nuisance. Indoor bug zappers are a great way to manage pest problems in the home before they get out of hand, and they're also one of the best ways to get rid of flies. However, if your indoor bug zapper is doing its job correctly, it's likely going to get quite the pile-up of dead bugs inside it. It's important to clean the bug zapper regularly before it gets too full, which can cause issues for the electrical system and lead it to stop working entirely. 

If the prospect of removing piles of dead bugs by hand sounds a little unpleasant, you may be wondering if there are other options for how to clean your bug zapper. Luckily, you can easily clean it out without having to get your hands too dirty by using a leaf blower to blow away all the dead bugs.

Even after the bugs have been blown away, you still may want to give your bug zapper a light wipe down, and be sure to gently clean off the grid with a soft brush. However, by this point, most of the bug buildup will have already blown off the zapper, making your job much easier. You also will likely want to wear gloves and a mask during the cleaning process to avoid touching or breathing in any of the buildup.

Before handling your bug zapper at all, you want to be sure to unplug it. Indoor bug zappers typically don't discriminate between insects and human hands, and the last thing you want is to get zapped! Now, it might sound obvious, but after you've unplugged your bug zapper, you'll want to take it outside before you continue cleaning. Using a leaf blower is likely going to cause dead bugs to go flying everywhere, which is definitely something you don't want to happen inside your house! Your best bet is to take the zapper somewhere in your yard where it's okay to make a little bit of a mess.

After you've brought the bug zapper outside, go ahead and remove the collection tray at the bottom and empty its contents. Even after dumping out the tray, there will likely still be bugs stuck on the zapper. This is where the leaf blower comes in handy — just turn it on, point it, and blow the remaining bug buildup right off. Then, you can use a brush to gently scrub the grid of any buildup that remains.

To keep your bug zapper working properly, do not use soap and water to clean it. Water can fry the electrical system and break your bug zapper. A leaf blower, a wipe down of the exterior, and a light brush scrubbing should be sufficient for cleaning. Once you've finished cleaning, reassemble your zapper, bring it back inside, and continue using it to help keep insects out of your house.