Most growers prefer to check them every three days. Daily monitoring of the traps is recommended if time and personnel permit. Time counting insects on sticky traps may be reduced by counting the insects within an one inch wide vertical column on the trap. Aphids and thrips tend to be caught on the bottom half of the traps. Leafminers are caught more often along the top, and leafminer wasps and whiteflies tend to be spread uniformly over the trap.
Aphids tend to be caught in the middle vertical columns.
Since insects are not distributed evenly horizontally across the trap, columns counted should be vertical towards the middle of the trap. To identify insects on the sticky traps, a 5X to 10X power hand lens will be necessary. When handling the sticky traps, it is beneficial to have some waterless hand cleaner nearby. The adhesive used on the traps is a polybutene-naphtha rubber polymer that remains viscous for long periods. It is difficult to examine the traps without getting adhesive on the hands.