Yellow sticky traps buying guide: mount, place and pack

Updated: 17 October 2026

The flies over a damp fern are a different problem from the cloud around a food caddy, and white insects lifting off greenhouse leaves are a third case.

The flies over a damp fern are a different problem from the cloud around a food caddy, and white insects lifting off greenhouse leaves are a third case. A yellow sticky traps buying guide starts with that split, because the insect in an amazon.co.uk title is the least reliable line on the pack. You are choosing a glue card for pots or under glass, and the checks that matter are the mount, whether the card stays indoors, and how many pieces you will finish. Compare the captured packs and prices on our yellow sticky traps comparison. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Our top picks

Badge	Product	Pack size	Placement	Indoor only	Note	Price	Offer
Best overall	aonova aonova 60 yellow cards	60	Soil or flat	No	8.7	about £5.99	View offer
	Blooven Blooven 60 yellow cards	60	Into soil	Yes	9.2	about £6.99	View offer
Alternative	flintronic flintronic 30 square cards	30	Hang or soil	No	7.9	about £4.99	View offer

Best overall

aonova aonova 60 yellow cards

8.7/10about £5.99

View offer

Rank 2

Blooven Blooven 60 yellow cards

9.2/10about £6.99

View offer

Alternative

flintronic flintronic 30 square cards

7.9/10about £4.99

View offer

On this page

1.Name the fly before you trust the title
2.Match the mount to the plant
3.Keep them indoors or under glass
4.Buy a pack you will finish
5.Read kill and non-toxic lines as copy

Name the fly before you trust the title

Flies from damp compost are fungus gnats. Flies on fruit, recycling or the food caddy are fruit flies. White insects that lift off greenhouse leaves are glasshouse whitefly. A yellow card matches the first and the third as a monitor: it holds adults that land on it, and the Royal Horticultural Society treats yellow sheets as a way to watch whitefly rather than as control. It is a weak match for a kitchen source, though titles still say fruit fly or mosquito. The glue never reaches larvae in the compost. Which? points to a nematode such as Steinernema feltiae when that compost is warmer than 10°C. Houseplant flies are followed on the fungus gnat page. Thrips are the colour exception: AHDB says they come to yellow or blue, the RHS uses blue under glass, and every pack here is yellow.

Match the mount to the plant

Fungus gnats stay low. Gardeners' World says keep the card near soil level, so a pointed card or a stake suits a windowsill pot. Greenhouse cards hang just above the crop, which wants a hole and twist ties, or a hook, rather than a spike in a small pot. A tie-only pack is a poor match for six houseplants with nothing to hang from, though that tie is the better choice in a growbag you would rather not stab. Butterfly and fruit outlines here are still yellow glue cards, and where the listing says so they are double-sided. Skip a pack when the only fitting is one you will not use, even if the piece count looks large. A flat sheet with no point and no ties is how cards end up buried in the compost. Setting the height, once the mount is right, is in how to use yellow sticky traps.

Testsieger

aonova aonova 60 yellow cards

8.7/10about £5.99

View offer

Keep them indoors or under glass

The RHS does not recommend sticky traps outdoors, because they catch insects that were never the target, including ladybirds. Gardeners' World says do not hang the traps outside. Under glass you can still catch beneficials, and yellow cards can also catch Encarsia if you have released that parasitoid. Blooven's listing says not to use the cards outdoors. Several other packs still mention a garden, an orchard or a farm, which is seller copy rather than a reason to move the card outside. If you only have an outdoor border, this set is the wrong tool.

Buy a pack you will finish

There is no British Standard here for cards per pot. Super Ninja suggests one per pot and two for a large pot or a heavy infestation. Solabiol says one per plant, Green Protect says one in each pot, and MSR says one or two per medium plant. A twelve-piece pack can cover a windowsill again as cards fill up, whereas a listing of 80 is a greenhouse supply you may not finish while the glue is still useful. The amazon.co.uk prices stored for this set run from £2.99 for lnkey's 12 pieces to £7.49 for lunyoutrio, listed as 80. That is roughly 9p to 25p a piece, lower in the bigger packs, and the cheaper card only helps if you use it. Named packs are on which yellow sticky trap fits which job.

Read kill and non-toxic lines as copy

The Health and Safety Executive says a trap that is only colour plus a sticky surface, with no pheromone, may sit outside biocidal product rules if it is sold only to monitor. Kill, control, eliminate and prevent are not monitoring words. That rule is about the claim, and it does not make any pack here HSE-approved. A promise to eliminate fungus gnats overstates the glue, because larvae stay in the compost. Non-toxic is seller copy, not a UK safety test. The glue still sticks to skin and pet fur. A low card is a worse choice than a hung sheet if a pet can brush the pot.

Common questions

Are yellow sticky traps for fungus gnats, fruit flies, or both?

They suit fungus gnats from damp compost, and they suit glasshouse whitefly as a monitor, though the larvae stay in the pot. They are a weak match for fruit flies around a kitchen bin, compared with clearing the scraps those flies are using.

Should I use yellow sticky traps outdoors?

Keep them indoors or under glass, not on an open bed. The RHS and Gardeners' World warn that outdoor cards catch ladybirds, butterflies and hoverflies. Blooven says not to use the cards outdoors, and a garden line on another pack does not override that.

How many yellow sticky traps do I need for a few houseplants?

Shop guidance is one card per pot, or two if the pot is large, and MSR says one or two per medium plant. That is not a UK standard. Six small pots are about six cards at first, while a pack listed as 80 is a greenhouse quantity.

Does non-toxic mean the glue is safe on skin or pets?

The phrase is seller copy, not a UK safety test. The adhesive still sticks to skin and fur, and one aonova review described glue on a dog's tail from a card at soil level. Get help if glue is in an eye or across a pet's mouth.

When would I want a blue card instead?

Choose blue when you are monitoring thrips under glass. The RHS uses blue for that job, and AHDB says thrips come to yellow or blue. This set is yellow only, so it is the wrong colour if a thrips count is why you are buying.

What should I check on the listing before I pay?

Check the mount you will actually use, then whether the wording keeps the card indoors or under glass, then the piece count against the pots you have. The insect in the title is the least reliable line. A higher star rating, including lunyoutrio's 4.8 from nine ratings against Blooven's 4.3 from 24,917, does not tell you the glue is stronger.

Yellow sticky traps for fruit flies