Wanted: Reviews of mosquito trapping devices

I have seen many brands of mosquito trapping devices (such as Mosquito Magnet) this year. The devices cost several hundred to over a thousand dollars. The common response I hear from dozens of people I've asked about it (who do not own one) is: It's expensive, but if it worked it would be worth it.

Consumer's reports said they do work. Reviews on the Internet say they work or don't work. A co-worker's friend has a Mosquito Magnet Pro and says it works great. The reviews I've seen on television say those devices do not work.

If anyone has direct experience with the mosquito traps, could you post a response here if they work, or do not work?

Thank you!

Dave Minnesota

Reply to
Dave
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In article , snipped-for-privacy@aol.com says... :) Consumer's reports said they do work. Reviews on the Internet say they work :) or don't work. A co-worker's friend has a Mosquito Magnet Pro and says it :) works great. The reviews I've seen on television say those devices do not :) work. :) :) If anyone has direct experience with the mosquito traps, could you post a :) response here if they work, or do not work? :) I have a posting from another forum by a Renee Anderson who is with Cornell University who basically states that the machines should attract mosquitos, which is the way they have been collecting mosquitos for years in the field for research. The question is do they attract enough mosquitos in a given area to ever be an effective way of mosquito control, in which there hasn't been a true study on that aspect. My personal experiences is that of all my customers that I know who have bought the various "traps" none have been satisfied, but I will come across just as many people who say they have a neighbor or relative that has them and they work great. If you want the whole posting of Ms Anderson let me know and I'll email it out...it is very long.

Here is a bit of her post.

To: Extension Educators with Horticulture responsibilities Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 09:26:48 -0400 From: Renee Anderson Subject: Mosquito traps

My name is Renee Anderson. I have joined Laura Harrington's lab as an extension associate in medical entomology. A number of people have been asking our lab and the insect diagnostic lab about mosquito traps. ... ............ There are a number of traps currently marketed for the consumer to "control" mosquitoes although in some of the advertisements the word "trap" is used instead of "control." The commercial traps marketed for use by the public utilize a combination of CO2, heat, moisture, octenol, and/or linalool just to name a few of the attractants or inhibitors currently on the market. The traps work by attracting mosquitoes to the devices and are then drawn into the traps through the use of a fan into a collecting net, a killing device, or are trapped on boards that are coated with sticky material. Based on the available scientific literature that is currently available, these traps do indeed do what the manufacturers claim, if placed properly and maintained, the traps do collect mosquitoes. To collect adult female mosquitoes, mosquito biologists have used these very same attractants for decades and for good reason because they work so well! So ....................... ......................Based on the scientific literature to date, the term "control" seems to be too strong of a statement. There is nothing in the peer reviewed scientific literature to support the "control" statement. Whether these devices will reduce the potential for bites or disease transmission still has not been published............. ................Basically, the potential for controlling mosquitoes is there but studies need to be designed that actually addresses this research question. It also may require additional design modifications on the propane traps. A few hundred to several thousands females trapped in a single night is impressive, but whether that actually puts a dent in the millions that are present in a given area remains to be verified ................................. ............................there highs and lows in the population. Some species only produce one, maybe two generations per year. In warmer climates, there may be several generations per year. It would not be unreasonable to expect that various mosquito species follow a 3-6 week population cycle depending on environmental conditions and climate. I have yet to see a peer reviewed scientific research paper that shows a reduction in mosquito population due to the trap and not due to the natural population fluctuation over time.

The bottom line: The traps do indeed collect mosquitoes, scientific peer reviewed literature has demonstrated that propane- powered traps collect host seeking female mosquitoes. Currently, the scientific peer reviewed literature to support the claims that propane- powered traps control mosquito populations or reduce/prevent bites is lacking.

If you have any other questions/concerns please feel free to contact me.

Renee

Renee R. Anderson Medical Entomology Extension Associate

Department of Entomology

3136 Comstock Hall Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14853

Telephone: (607) 255-7153 Fax: (607) 255-0939 E-mail: snipped-for-privacy@cornell.edu

Reply to
Lar

I believe they do what they claim. Attract and kill mosquitos. Who wants to attract mosquitos?

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Based on my research the answer is...sometimes. :)

There are a number of devices out there. I've focused on two -- the Mosquito Magnet line and the Mosquito Deleto.

The concepts are basically the same -- create heat and carbon dioxide, couple it with octenol, then capture the mosquitoes. The Mosquito Magnet uses a vacuum whereas the Mosquito Deleto uses the rough equivalent of fly paper.

Since I don't have the bucks to get a Mosquito Magnet (although it would have been my first pick) I went with a Mosquito Deleto. To date the performance has been impressive.

We had not gotten around to picking up a canister of propane this year until about a month ago. Any time we took a step in the back yard we were instantly under attack. We hooked up the Mosquito Deleto and I think I've been bitten twice since. The one thing commonly noted about this device though is that there are never any mosquitoes on the sticky paper. I don't know where they get all those skeeters in the commercials, but I never see any on there. I had a garter snake get on there once though. :)

Simple fact of the matter -- without that thing going we're eaten alive, with it running they leave us alone. That's good enough for me.

Coleman also makes a Mosquito Inibitor. This gives off a citrousy scent and uses little foam inserts soaked in an oil repellant. FWIW, these things are great for patios to drive away any others -- we have one in the front yard and never get bitten when we have it out. Only down side is that the cost of refills is nearly the same as the whole unit.

So, FWIW....

James

Reply to
JNJ

This is 'Mosquito Week' on one local TV station. The weathercritter has been presenting 'facts' each day. One is that mosquitoes rarely travel more than a mile (from their homes?). Around here (SE VA, yclept 'Tidewater'), the public service messages urge preventing mosquito breeding by removing sources of standing water. If they, indeed, only fly a mile, a determined effort to eliminate breeding sites should be fairly effective. Maybe Minnesota mosquitoes have different habits.

Another point is that (here) the critters are most active around dawn and dusk. I can verify that from personal experience. So a late afternoon/early evening outdoor activity is likely to be the *worst* time for people.

I have no clue about mosquito magnets. One point that has been brought up about Japanese beetle pheromone 'traps' was that they did indeed trap the bugs, but also drew more bugs *to* the traps and surrounding area. 6 of one; half-dozen of another.

Reply to
Frogleg

Well, in my opinion, they don't work and I formed my opinion by experiencing it first hand. Our neighbor has one which he paid upwards of 600 for and I saw mosquitoes on arms, around people seeking out the carbon dioxide in our breath. A much better thing to use is citronella candles, rosemary or eucalyptus oil, Avon Skin So Soft, and get rid of any possible standing water. Even a small plastic bag with a tiny bit of water will hatch mosquito larvae.

You can also buy it provided they have a return policy and try it out for yourself. If it doesn't work, return it. I believe Sam's Club sells one and I believe they have a 90 with receipt return policy, no questions asked.

Reply to
animaux

we got one for my mothers house (uphill from a swamp) where it is impossible to be outside during the day there are so many. the concept behind the "magnets" is one of attrition. kill off enough females, even delay the females from finding a blood meal long enough by confusion with the heat and CO2 and she will drop dead/wont lay eggs that make more mosquitos. the device is placed well away from were humans are, to draw them off the device must be run 24/7 all summer long it states quite clearly it takes weeks in heavily infested areas to crash the population. surprisingly enough, the people who said it was working did not find many skeeters in the bags. altho I dont know how long a "body" would last being desiccated and shoved around in a bag. the people who were saying it didnt work were usually looking in the bag for bodies, and had not been running it very long before they returned it. Ingrid

"JNJ" wrote: The one thing commonly noted about this device

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Reply to
dr-solo

We had the Blue Rhino Skeeter Vac from Sam's club and really tried to make it work for a couple of months. We returned it after making no difference in the skeeter population. We use the Ortho skeeter killer spray now (once a month) and the yard is much more usable...

Jon.

Reply to
Jon Foster

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