Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do you know your "trap" is not just attracting more mosquitoes?
By KimS from Russellville, AR
They do attract mosquitoes, that's their job. They attract the females (which are the biters), and thus there is a cumulative impact on decreasing the mosquito population as successive crops of females are wiped out.
We use CO2 traps and live on the water on the Texas Gulf Coast. We have mosquitoes up to 12 months a year and I can attest to their efficacy.
The key is knowing how to use them. Never put them near your outdoor seating areas, they attract mosquitoes. Seems self-evident, but people who complain about traps usually have them too close to their areas. About 30 feet away, preferably upwind, seems to work best for us.
If I'm on the lee side of the house working in the yard or garden, I'll wear a DEET repellant, but for everyday mosquito control; sitting out in the morning with coffee, hanging out in the hammock during the day, or sitting on the deck for happy hour until after dusk, the CO2 trap works.
Give it a try, how cheap and easy is it? Much cheaper than the propane powered SkeeterVacs, which also work wonderfully, when used correctly. If you don't like it or it's ineffective, you're out a 2 liter bottle and a package of yeast.
How do the mosquitoes die? Can it just drink it and fly away?
By RJ I. from Manila, Philippines
Here in northern Canada, we have lots of mosquitoes, and let me tell you that so called "mosquito traps" do not work. The only repellants that work are those with Deet. Nothing else works. However, the new products by Off that are the clip ons you wear on your belt, or the Off Lamps, that have little pads that are heated with a candle also work.
The same type of thing is available here in a product called a Thermocell, which heats the pad with a butane heater. This is good for using in places where you can't burn a candle. The coils that one burns are also pretty effective, but the other products are better. Do not waste your time, effort, or money on anything else, because other products do not work.
They drown in the water, so its important to keep the water level up to the original mark, about half way up the bottle. From experience with my fly trap the black painted area tricks them going further down the bottle to try and get out, they head towards the light.
They cannot fly out and die quickly. We have several restaurants in Hawaii where these are used and work quite well!
Do not believe this chemical head. Use the traps. There are lots of natural repellent. Dont put cancer-causing chemicals all over your body.
I've used 2 liter bottle traps for years and YES mine work well. Most people don't know the tricks. Most Mosquitos will vanish in the mix so counting bodies don't work. I carry a couple to the woods when I'm working and I can assure you mine work. First the mix may take a day to ripen. Brown sugar and water. Hot water kills yeast so if the water is hot the mix is bad. Next they cut the bottle wrong. Fill empty bottles with water cap then stick a knife into the bottle at the lable top line.
Do the dead mosquitos leave an odor when dead in large quantity like in fly traps?
How do you build a mosquito trap?
By Karilynn from Lambert, MT
I did an internship with the Entomology Dept at UC Davis, many moons ago. I assisted with mosquito research. I recall our mosquito traps were about the size of a small coffee can, with a bottom, and a tapered top.