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| Making A Mosquito Trap |
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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 to http://www.diyhappy.com/quick-and-dirty-mosquito-trap/ It seems to be active again now. I've rewritten the instructions some and hopefully it will work as well.
They got their information originally from http://tw.class.urlifelinks.com/class/?csid=css000000001173
Thanks to the students for their hard work on this project. I've used some of their photos for illustration. The originals are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/naruwan/151675034/
Supplies:
- 1 2 liter soda bottle
- A sharp knife
- Black paper
- Tape
- Candy Thermometer
Take a 2 liter soda bottle. Cut off the top right below where it starts to narrow for the top.
Make a simple sugar syrup.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups cool water
- 1 tsp. active dry yeast
Directions:
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.
Turn the top upside down into the rest of the bottle. Cover the bottom of the bottle with dark paper and tape the top edges (the bottom part of the bottle, the top part pointed down and the paper) so it is sealed.
The mosquitoes are attracted to the CO2 from the yeast developing. They go in and can't get out.
Mosquitoes fly around the corner, so the best place to place the trap is in some dark corner. Put the trap in some dark and humid place for 2 weeks, you'll see the effect. You'll have to replace the sugar water and yeast solution every 2 weeks.
Source: The idea is from a school class in Taiwan. They invented the trap through trial and error. See links above.
Another idea is to use a similar structure as above but put small pieces of dry ice in the bottom. The CO2 attracts the mosquitoes. This wouldn't last as long but might be great for a picnic or outdoor gathering. Put them on the perimeter of the gathering to catch them before they get to the group.
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