Latest news with #Zevo
CNN
09-07-2025
- General
- CNN
This insect trap got rid of all the fruit flies in my apartment. I'm buying more for Prime Day
Although I love summer, one of the worst things about the season is the inevitable fruit fly infestation that takes over my apartment. Like many New York City apartment dwellers, I deal with this problem every year. I thought I had found the best fly trap — until I tried the Zevo insect trap last month. So far, it has worked like a charm, and I know for a fact that at least two other people on the CNN Underscored team swear by it, too. The best part is, the trap is currently on sale for Amazon Prime Day. This week, you can score this summertime must-have for 15% off in a bundle that includes two traps. While you're here, be sure to check out other top Prime Day deals, including beauty finds, discounts on outdoor furniture and even more summer essentials. Zevo Flying Insect Traps, 2 Bases and 2 Cartridges This Zevo flying insect trap kit comes with two plug-in bases that lure flies with their blue and UV light feature, as well as two disposable cartridges that trap the flies. It's on sale now for $32. Before I tried this trap, I used another popular Amazon insect trap for two years: the Terro trap. It's effective, and I still like it, but it took much longer to attract flies than the Zevo trap. The apple-shaped traps are pretty small, and even after I set out three of them around my apartment last summer, it still took about a week for them to trap any flies. As for the Zevo trap, I received one last year and stored it away because I didn't need it. When the number of flies started increasing in my home a few weeks ago, I pulled it out because I'd run out of Terro traps. It was super easy to install; all I had to do was peel the adhesive sheet off of the cartridge, slide the cartridge into the base and plug the base into an outlet. Once plugged in, the base emits blue light and UV light, which is what attracts the flies. I first plugged in my Zevo trap mid-June, when I got back from vacation and found my apartment crawling with more flies than I ever cared to see. I didn't expect fast results after my experience with the Terro traps. But when I looked at the cartridge after about two days, I was shocked to find that it had already caught a few flies. Nearly one month later, and I only see a fly in my home from time to time. Even when I do, I'm not worried because I know it'll eventually make its way to the trap. I've found one Zevo trap to work great for my small apartment, but I am considering grabbing another for the kitchen. This Zevo insect trap kit is the cheapest it's ever been on Amazon, so don't pass it up this Prime Day. The traps are great because they don't dispel any chemical repellents, and they're completely quiet and fuss-free. Once you plug one in, you basically forget about it and watch as the number of flies dwindles over the next few days. It does emit that soft blue light, but I like this because it functions as sort of a night light, which is convenient for late-night bathroom runs. Former CNN Underscored contributor Stacy Tornio reviewed the Zevo insect trap a few years ago, and she noted that it helps keep bugs away from houseplants. She also likes that the trap doesn't require you to insert a messy liquid solution and that it starts working within a couple of hours — features that I've noticed and like too. Now that we're deep in the middle of summer and you can score this find at a great discount, you might as well pick one up. If you have a big house, you might even opt for two kits. Grab the traps, delight in a bug-free home and thank me later. CNN Underscored has a team of skilled writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and we ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. We talk to top experts when applicable to make certain we are testing each product accurately, recommending only the best products and considering the pros and cons of each item. Associate home and gifts editor Nikol Slatinska has three years of experience covering Amazon Prime Day and has covered hundreds of home deals. For this article, she found a shop-worthy deal on her favorite insect trap.
Buzz Feed
26-06-2025
- General
- Buzz Feed
10 Gentle Bug Repellents
It's a bug's world, we're just living in it — an uncomfortable truth that's hard to ignore, especially as the mercury starts to rise. That's because warmer temperatures encourage spiders, ants, mosquitoes, bees, flies, and pretty much anything else you can think of to forage, breed, and generally thrive. Spotting them outdoors is annoying, but also par for the course. But battling them indoors? Totally different story. As a parent and pet owner, I'm extra-cautious about the pest repellents that I use in my home and prefer to use products that claim to have naturally derived ingredients (or, in the case of this light-based trap, no chemicals at all). I've put together a list of trusted options below — some of which I've tried already (with fantastic results), others I plan to use this season, and all of which are highly praised by satisfied, insect-free customers. Stem insect killer I used this spray to take care of a summertime ant infestation and was shocked by how immediately it worked — just a few quick, direct spritzes was all it took to stop the intruders in their tracks. The main ingredients are geraniol and it from Amazon for $4.98. Zevo Insect Killer ant, roach and spider spray I also used this spray while tackling my ant issue, and, like the aforementioned Stem product, it was immediately effective. This one uses rosemary oil (another natural bug-deterrent) and sodium lauryl sulfate (a common surfactant that also has insect-killing properties), but the outcome is the same. I also think its powerful rosemary scent is what helped drive out the spiders that had been making themselves very at home under my roof. Get it from Target for $10.29. Mighty Mint insect and pest control This peppermint oil-based formula promises to drive out roaches, spiders, ants and flies with 'a few sprays every few days,' according to the brand. Get it from Target for $9.99. Dr. Killigan's Six Feet Under insect killer Soybean, cinnamon, and clove oils are the natural ingredients that help make Dr. Killigan's 'safe and soooo effective for everything awful,' and when 'literally nothing else has worked.' It can be used anywhere in the home; won't harm people or pets when used as directed; and can kill 50+ insects both on contact and residually for up to 30 days. Get it from Amazon for $24.97. BugMD pantry pest control If moths are your problem, customers say these discreet, scent-free traps 'are a marvel.' They're small, easy to assemble, and made with extra-strong, pheromone-infused glue that attracts damaging moths and keeps them stuck. Each pack comes with six traps, and the brand also makes a version for clothes it from Amazon for $19.49 (available in three colors). Zevo flying insect trap Per one reviewer, this plug-in trap 'works really well and has the advantage of being artistically eye-catching at night and very inconspicuous during the day.' It's basically an insect-killing accent light — keep it plugged in 24/7, and its calming glow (a combo of blue and UV light) will attract and trap all manner of flying critters. It's odorless and silent (no moving parts), and you can buy refill cartridges to keep your defenses up year-round. Get it from Target for $25.99. STEM electric fly fan trap This plug-in device has blue light to attract bugs (mosquitos, house flies, and fruit flies), a quietly whirring fan to pull them into its chamber, and an odorless, chemical-free glue trap to keep them there. It's 'a relief and a difference maker,' according to one very happy customer, who says they can finally 'sleep better at night now without those mosquitoes biting.'Get it from Amazon for $35.97. Katchy indoor insect trap Fruit flies, gnats, and mosquitos are no match for this electronic trap, which uses a powerful combo of glowing light and liquid bait to lure bugs in, and a powerful fan and glue board to keep them there. Its glowing neon ring also makes it look very space-age chic. Get it from Amazon for $32.99+ (available in three colors).
Tom's Guide
17-06-2025
- General
- Tom's Guide
I tried 3 ways of getting rid of fruit flies on Amazon — and there's a clear winner
Fruit flies were once the bane of my existence. No matter how many traps I left out, more flies would always spring into action as soon as I thoguht I'd quelled the plague. In the end, it was this 5-step routine that banished the pests for good from my kitchen, but while I fine-tuned my new house rules, I went through a lot of Amazon's top-selling traps. So, I decided to put three different methods head-to-head in order to see if it really matters which fruit fly trap you buy. Spoiler alert: it does. Here's how Amazon's 3 top-selling fruit fly traps performed when I compared them in my own home. The winner really surprised me. 1. Super Ninja Fruit Fly Trap The Super Ninja Fruit Fly Trap retails for $6.99, with the price per unit decreasing the more you buy. It's the cheapest and most simple option I tested, using small containers pre-filled with an unspecified liquid (my money's on some kind of vinegar) and capping the lid with a trap that allows the flies in, but won't let them out. Leaving them to drown in a delicious vinegary soup. You get the picture. 2. Zevo Flying Insect Trap & Cartridge Retailing for nearly $20 at Amazon, the Zevo Flying Insect Trap & Cartridge is a more expensive option, but you'll be able to top up on the refill cartridges for less once you've bought the base unit. This option uses blue light to attract bugs, and a sticky adhesive pad to trap them once they've been drawn in. Unlike the Super Ninja, it draws in a range of bugs including mosquitoes and gnats. I also killed an unsuspecting moth when testing this option, which I'm not mad about after discovering the carnage they've wreaked on my cashmere sweater. 3. Katchy Indoor Insect Trap The Katchy Indoor Insect Trap caught my eye for a while, but at an RRP of $40 (it's currently down to $32), I wasn't sure I could justify it. But in the name of science (and out of sheer desperation) I decided it was worth a try. This option also uses blue light to draw in flies, but it works a little like an air purifier, drawing in bugs using a suction fan and trapping them on a sticky pad, like the Zevo. In fact, it's basically what would happen if you stuck the Zevo pad to a tiny hair dryer. Like the Zevo, the sticky pads are relatively cheap to stock up on once you've purchased the base unit. My methodology was simple: I left all three traps in my kitchen for a number of days, and waited to see which lured the most fruit flies into its trap, and out of my kitchen for good. It's worth noting off the bat that both blue light options were a little irritating because they require access to a power socket. I test kitchen appliances, which means my counter space is permanently cluttered with gadgets, and power sockets are at an absolute premium in my home. The light from these gadgets is also non-stop. I'd walk bleary-eyed into the kitchen to make my morning coffee and be met by two ultraviolet pools of light in different corners. To add to that, the Katchy makes a constant, low-level whirring noise. It's similar to the sound a hand fan makes on a gentle setting, and it's not enough to deter me from using it if it were to come out on top, but it should be a consideration factor if that would annoy you. After all, you'll need to leave the device running constantly if you want to eliminate the pests for good. As for the Super Ninja? The obvious downside is that it's unsightly. You'll watch it fill with fruit flies over the course of a week or so, and if you knock it, you'll spill the aforementioned unspecified liquid all over your countertops. I opted to put it on a windowsill to avoid this, and its appearance didn't bother me too much. The Super Ninja Fruit Fly Trap is the clear winner in my head-to-head testing. It's affordable, discrete, unobtrusive, and captured many more fruit flies than its more expensive alternatives. I was more than a little surprised to find that the cheapest and smallest option I tested did by far the best job of catching fruit flies in my kitchen. Sure, fruit flies are partial to a little blue light, but whatever liquid Super Ninja puts in this trap is their clear preference. I'm not going to post the photo results of my fruit fly massacre here, but I'd guess that the Super Ninja captured about three times the number of flies caught by the Katchy and Zevo combined. By the end of the week, the liquid was thick with dead flies and I rushed to order a replacement on Amazon Prime. If it's not just fruit flies you're concerned with, both blue light options did a respectable job of stopping both fruit flies and other pests such as gnats and moths in their tracks. I've left the Zevo in my bedroom to hopefully trap some of my detested wardrobe moths. But if you're battling a fruit fly infestation, you should look no further than the Super Ninja. A fruit fly trap is essential if you want to keep these pests at bay, but because they lay eggs before they enter traps, it won't be enough to completely stop the problem. The thing that made the biggest difference in my routine was to pour boiling water down my drains every evening. Fruit flies often lay eggs in drains, where remnants of food can accumulate, so this effectively flushes any future infestations out before they can emerge.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Zevo's EV-only car-share fleet is helping Tesla owners make money
Hebron Sher remembers daydreaming in 2019 when Elon Musk promised Tesla's cars would become robotaxis, capable of going out in the world to make money for owners. Sher was already a user of the car-sharing platform Turo, and the idea of turning a Tesla into an even bigger moneymaker was an attractive proposition. But as years went by, Musk failed to follow through on that promise. So, in 2021, Sher assembled a small team and brought on co-founder Saimah Chaudhry to start his own company. 'Hey, we're just going to do this ourselves,' he thought at the time. What they built was a new peer-to-peer car-sharing startup called Zevo, which is broadly similar to Turo, but focused exclusively on electric vehicles. The Dallas-based startup has been in operation for around 10 months, and on Friday it announced it has raised $6 million in funding as it looks to expand across more major U.S. cities. Sher told TechCrunch that Zevo is already tracking over $8 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR), and has a wait list of more than 3,500 customers — all with essentially no marketing to date. On the renter side, an overwhelming portion of that interest is coming from gig workers, Sher said. Some 90% of people using Zevo to rent an EV are doing so to ferry passengers on Uber or Lyft, or make DoorDash deliveries. Sher said he thinks Zevo has 'the secret sauce on how to make car sharing very lucrative for the host and very affordable for the renter.' So what's the secret sauce? 'It's gonna sound crazy, but the secret sauce is not raising hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to build something that can be a powerful marketplace,' Sher said. 'We very intentionally raised private capital. We rejected VC capital for that reason. I didn't want to be on a 12-month to 18-month runway of 'send, spend, spend, spend,' which is how corporate America likes to do things in this world.' Bootstrapping Zevo allowed Sher to gather good engineers, develop a strong go-to-market strategy, and cause 'true disruption,' he said. By keeping things focused, Sher said Zevo is able to send more money to the vehicle owners than they'd get on platforms like Turo. Sher also talked up Zevo's 'contactless' process, which allows owners and renters to share a car without having to hand over keys or key cards. That's not novel — plenty of other car-sharing services have adopted a similar contactless process. But Sher argued that Zevo's contactless nature is front-and-center because the service only uses EVs, which tend to be more technologically capable and therefore easier to integrate in a smartphone app. This connectivity also makes it easier to integrate other important pieces of the car-sharing equation, like commercial insurance, Sher said. Removing red tape like that is what has made the platform so attractive to gig workers, he said, especially since many of them don't have the credit scores required by larger car-sharing or rental services. Sher said one user likened Zevo to the MetroPCS of renting cars. 'There's [usually] a lot of red tape: insurance cards, incidentals, tolls, supercharging, invoices, reimbursements. We've been able to really automate all of that,' he said. Add in that EVs tend to require less maintenance — which means more uptime — and it's easy to understand why gig workers are interested. The result of all this is that, in the early going, Zevo is seeing a median rental of around 80 days. Hosts, meanwhile, can make back between 35% and 65% of the cost of their car in just a year, according to Sher. Since 90% of the vehicles on the platform are Teslas, that has Sher feeling pretty confident that he's been able to find a different way to deliver on Musk's promise from 2019. Of course, Tesla is now finally on the precipice of launching a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and potentially other U.S. cities later this year. There are many unanswered questions about how that service will operate, whether Tesla's self-driving software will perform safely, and how easy it will be for owners to put their cars on the network. But it does seem like Tesla is closer than ever to putting Musk's vision to the test. That doesn't worry Sher, though. He said Zevo is laser-focused on disrupting car-sharing, and doesn't want to mess with the ride-hailing piece that Tesla is after. He thinks Zevo can break $100 million ARR with a staff of just 30 people and minimal future investment. Even if Tesla were able to eat into the gig economy with a fleet of robotaxis — which remains a very big if — Sher said Musk would need to find a way to make millions more cars than it already does to meet the total demand for rides and deliveries. 'There's enough for everybody here on the table,' he said.
TechCrunch
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- TechCrunch
Zevo's EV-only car-share fleet is helping Tesla owners make money
Hebron Sher remembers daydreaming in 2019 when Elon Musk promised Tesla's cars would become robotaxis, capable of going out in the world to make money for owners. Sher was already a user of the car-sharing platform Turo, and the idea of turning a Tesla into an even bigger moneymaker was an attractive proposition. But as years went by, Musk failed to follow through on that promise. So, in 2021, Sher assembled a small team and brought on co-founder Saimah Chaudhry to start his own company. 'Hey, we're just going to do this ourselves,' he thought at the time. What they built was a new peer-to-peer car-sharing startup called Zevo, which is broadly similar to Turo, but focused exclusively on electric vehicles. The Dallas-based startup has been in operation for around 10 months, and on Friday it announced it has raised $6 million in funding as it looks to expand across more major U.S. cities. Sher told TechCrunch that Zevo is already tracking over $8 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR), and has a wait list of more than 3,500 customers — all with essentially no marketing to date. On the renter side, an overwhelming portion of that interest is coming from gig workers, Sher said. Some 90% of people using Zevo to rent an EV are doing so to ferry passengers on Uber or Lyft, or make DoorDash deliveries. Sher said he thinks Zevo has 'the secret sauce on how to make car sharing very lucrative for the host and very affordable for the renter.' So what's the secret sauce? Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW 'It's gonna sound crazy, but the secret sauce is not raising hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to build something that can be a powerful marketplace,' Sher said. 'We very intentionally raised private capital. We rejected VC capital for that reason. I didn't want to be on a 12-month to 18-month runway of 'send, spend, spend, spend,' which is how corporate America likes to do things in this world.' Bootstrapping Zevo allowed Sher to gather good engineers, develop a strong go-to-market strategy, and cause 'true disruption,' he said. By keeping things focused, Sher said Zevo is able to send more money to the vehicle owners than they'd get on platforms like Turo. Sher also talked up Zevo's 'contactless' process, which allows owners and renters to share a car without having to hand over keys or key cards. That's not novel — plenty of other car-sharing services have adopted a similar contactless process. But Sher argued that Zevo's contactless nature is front-and-center because the service only uses EVs, which tend to be more technologically capable and therefore easier to integrate in a smartphone app. This connectivity also makes it easier to integrate other important pieces of the car-sharing equation, like commercial insurance, Sher said. Removing red tape like that is what has made the platform so attractive to gig workers, he said, especially since many of them don't have the credit scores required by larger car-sharing or rental services. Sher said one user likened Zevo to the MetroPCS of renting cars. 'There's [usually] a lot of red tape: insurance cards, incidentals, tolls, supercharging, invoices, reimbursements. We've been able to really automate all of that,' he said. Add in that EVs tend to require less maintenance — which means more uptime — and it's easy to understand why gig workers are interested. The result of all this is that, in the early going, Zevo is seeing a median rental of around 80 days. Hosts, meanwhile, can make back between 35% and 65% of the cost of their car in just a year, according to Sher. Since 90% of the vehicles on the platform are Teslas, that has Sher feeling pretty confident that he's been able to find a different way to deliver on Musk's promise from 2019. Of course, Tesla is now finally on the precipice of launching a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and potentially other U.S. cities later this year. There are many unanswered questions about how that service will operate, whether Tesla's self-driving software will perform safely, and how easy it will be for owners to put their cars on the network. But it does seem like Tesla is closer than ever to putting Musk's vision to the test. That doesn't worry Sher, though. He said Zevo is laser-focused on disrupting car-sharing, and doesn't want to mess with the ride-hailing piece that Tesla is after. He thinks Zevo can break $100 million ARR with a staff of just 30 people and minimal future investment. Even if Tesla were able to eat into the gig economy with a fleet of robotaxis — which remains a very big if — Sher said Musk would need to find a way to make millions more cars than it already does to meet the total demand for rides and deliveries. 'There's enough for everybody here on the table,' he said.
