Glue boards: what are there & how do you use them?

The colored, sticky boards can be found in many gardens. We show which pests can be combated with glue boards and how to use them.

Anyone who has ever been to a nursery will certainly know the adhesive, colored boards that are hung between the plants. These boards are part of the so-called biotechnological plant protection, in which the stimuli of insects are used to combat or drive them away. Glue boards use the stimuli of insects, which are attracted by special colors. They will then stick to the glue boards. No pheromones are usually needed, although combining the glue boards with these can make them even more effective.

What are glue boards?

Glue boards are colored paper or plastic boards that are dyed the same color on both sides and coated with glue. The insects then stick to this glue so that they can no longer tamper with your plants.

What types of glue boards are there?

You can get glue boards in a wide variety of colors, as many types of insects are attracted to different colors.

Yellow glue boards

The most famous glue boards are certainly the yellow boards. Many insects are attracted by the yellow color, for example fungus gnats or the whitefly. You can also do this in our Plantura shop Buy yellow boards. If you would like to find out more specifically about the yellow, adhesive boards and for which pests they are used, then visit our article about yellow glue boards.

Blue glue boards

Another type of glue board is the blue board. These boards are used in particular to control or monitor thrips. More information on the use and benefits of Blue boards You will find here.

White glue boards

White glue boards are specially made for the Californian flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and also for the apple saw wasp (Hoplocampa testudinea) and plum saw wasps (Hoplocampa minuta or Hoplocampa flava) hung up. In addition, you can use white glue boards to make the raspberry beetle (Byturus tomentosus) monitor and catch.

Red glue boards

The red glue boards are used for the unequal wood drill (Xyleborus dispar). This pest is particularly common in fruit growing and viticulture and likes to attack apple trees (Malus), Cherry trees (Prunus) and pear trees (Pyrus). The beetle bores itself into the wood and lays its eggs there.

Orange glue boards

There are also orange glue boards that are used for the carrot fly, which is also the carrot fly (Chamaepsila rosae) can be used. But not only Carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) are afflicted by these little malefactors, too celery (Apium) and parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) can suffer damage from the insects.

How do glue boards work?

The insects are attracted by the respective color and then stick to the glue boards. The different colors attract them because they react to the light reflections. For example, many insects are attracted by the color yellow, because flowers that contain the nutritious pollen and nectar also have this color.

You can also reuse most glue boards by simply scraping off the trapped insects and applying the appropriate glue to the surface again.

Use of glue boards for pest control?

In general, glue boards are only used for monitoring, i.e. to monitor pest infestation, and not directly for combating them. The traps are only attractive to adult insects, but the actual pests are mostly the larvae that live in the ground. In addition, a few animals always escape the trap, so that they still reproduce. Nevertheless, the use of glue traps makes sense, because with them an infestation can be recognized early and control steps can be initiated in good time. Furthermore, the determination is easier with the stuck insects and the success can be monitored well during the control.

Tomatoes are particularly popular with aphids and whiteflies in early summer. So that you can protect your plants after the invasion is detected, we recommend, for example, our article on that Fighting tomato pests.