Because mosquitoes are attracted to the CO2 we breathe out, I started looking for ideas that used CO2 as the bait for the mosquito trap. I did think of dry ice but it does dissipate fairly quickly.
I found a cached link on Google here. It seems to be active again now. I've rewritten the instructions some and hopefully it will work as well.
Thanks to the students for their hard work on this project. I've used some of their photos for illustration.
Take a 2 liter soda bottle. Cut off the top right below where it starts to narrow for the top, invert and place inside the lower half.
Make a simple sugar syrup.
Bring 1 cup of the water to a boil.
Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water.
Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 2 cups cool water, stir well.
Check the temperature of the syrup to make sure it is no hotter than 90 degrees F, if hotter, let cool to 90 degrees F, add 1 tsp. active dry yeast, no need to mix. Put syrup in the bottom part of the bottle, using the cut off neck piece, leave in place.
Be sure to seal the two parts of the bottle with the tape. The fermenting yeast will release carbon dioxide. Put black paper around the bottle since mosquitoes like dark places and carbon dioxide. This mosquito trap will then start working.
TIPS: Put the trap in a dark and humid place for 2 weeks, you'll see the effect. You'll have to replace the sugar water + yeast solution every 2 weeks.
By twinheart13
How do you know your "trap" is not just attracting more mosquitoes?
By KimS from Russellville, AR
By BaysideDiva
05/12/2012
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. We don't have to spray pesticides on us or our wetland marsh. We don't want to kill the dragonflies and butterflies, etc.
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.
I get that the small opening makes it hard to leave. But, can't they get a free meal and fly out the same way they got in?
By Jenny M
Editor's Note: Here is the post that Jenny is referring to.
By JessicaJSage
04/15/2013
They are attracted to CO2 but feed off of blood. There is no way they would get a meal out of this contraption. *facepalm* A fair number of them would probably down in the syrup in the bottom of the bottle.
How do you build a mosquito trap?
By Karilynn from Lambert, MT
By sking18
06/15/2011
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. We would hang them from tree limbs, and put a piece (about 3x3 inches) of dry ice in the can. The carbon dioxide would attract the mosquitoes and we would get plenty of samples in out traps.
Do you put pepper inside the container?
By Michi
By christinafeil
04/25/2013
Black paper, not pepper. You wrap it around the out side of the bottle. I read it the same way at first. :)
When is the pepper added and how much?
By Sandy L
By christinafeil
04/25/2013
Black paper, not pepper. You wrap it around the out side of the bottle. I read it the same way at first. :)
Does anyone know if a mosquito type trap will also work on biting flies?
By John
 |
 |
 |
 |
Do you have a tip, recipe or craft to share?
Making a Mosquito Trap