The present invention relates generally to insect traps and more specifically to a trap which uses ultraviolet radiation to attract insects and a moving air stream to force them into the trap.
Of the many types of flying insect traps available in the patent art and commercially, only those without toxic chemicals are safe enough and aesthetically attractive enough to be generally acceptable for indoor use. The devices designed for indoor use have generally involved an ultraviolet lamp for attracting the insects and a trapping or electrocution element to capture or kill the insects.
Various trapping elements have been included in patented devices. U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,694 uses an air curtain to force the insects into a container where they remain alive. U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,624 traps the insects by means of a passive reflector with a sticky coating in proximity to the lamp and U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,961 uses the air stream principal to force the insects in contact with a sticky surfaced container. U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,332 uses a narrow throated passage to direct falling insects injured by over exposure to the ultraviolet radiation into a liquid wetted reservoir which completes their entrapment.
All these prior art devices have one or both of the problems which are most distasteful to the typical user. Those without blowers invariably cause an accumulation of flying insects around the ultraviolet source until the random flight patterns bring them in contact with the trap or cause over exposure to the ultraviolet radiation. Those with sticky traps require the unpleasant task of disposing of the trap and replacing it with a new sticky surface. This not only involves frequent sensory contact with well preserved insects, some of which are still alive and struggling, but also requires the cost and logistics of maintaining a supply of new trapping elements.