Question:
I am posting this message to relate my experiences with the Mosquito
Magnet that some of you have discussed in the past on this list. This
is the machine that is propane powered and uses a stream of carbon
dioxide to attract mosquitos and then sucks them in to a holding bag
where they eventually die. It is manufactured by American Biophysics.
It has been advertised in some in flight shopping magazines.
I own one of these devices; I purchased the "residential" model,
priced at $800. The residential model is supposed to cover up to 1/2
acre. There is also a larger model which sells for $1300, which
supposedly covers 1 acre.
Here is my opinion on this device.
First of all, I have had my machine for about 2 months. I am on my
third tank of propane with it. The manufacturer claims it can attract
mosquitos from some distance away, but must be upwind of the
mosquitos. In fact, the manufacturer says "placement of the mosquito
magnet is critical". They also say "never move the mosquito magnet
with the propane tank attached". The problem then is to effectively
use the mosquito magnet, you must reposition it whenever the wind
changes. This is time consuming, since you must shut it down, remove
the propane tank, then start it up. This can take 15 minutes! One of
the stranger things about the mosquito magnet, is that you are
supposed to "shake" the fuel cell of the machine before you start it.
This is very difficult and awkward since the fuel cell is attached to
the machine, and in order to shake it you must shake the entire
machine! I have tried my machine all over my yard, and it really does
not catch many mosquitos. At the most it catches 3 to 5 in a two day
period. This is a far cry from the 1500 per day the manufacturer
claims it will catch.
The biggest problem I see with the mosquito magnet is that the suction
is not strong enough. Mosquitos can be right inside the "catcher horn"
part of the machine and get away! This may just be a problem with the
residential unit which has "slightly less" suction than the
professional unit.
The fit and finish on my machine leaves alot to be desired, and I
wonder if this affects its performance. The top of the machine is in
two halves and these can be difficult to fit together to get the
machine closed. The quality of this closure affects the ability of the
fan to suck air, and capture mosquitos. This part of the machine is
made in China, a country that is not really known for precision
manufacturing.
Thus I cannot recommend the MOSQUITO MAGNET from AMERICAN BIOPHYSICS.
When I purchased it, I had visions of my family sitting in the
backyard, undisturbed by mosquitos. The sad reality is that it sits
there humming away, and we are still getting eaten alive by mosquitos.
So we are back to using the old standby products like OFF! repellent,
mosquito coils, and citronella candles.
Sorry folks, but this one was just too good to be true!
Answer:
-I read something a while ago where scientists determined that mosquitos
have a two-part detection system. The first was a carbon-dioxide detector,
which allowed the mosquitos to get a rough fix on you. The second was a
lactic acid detector, which allowed them to zoom in on you.
-Reprints from local weekly small town newspaper, from 1950's.
Man reports that he is inventing a new device to capture mosquitos,
he put a tub(galvanized wash tub) in his back yard, with two 150 watt
spot lights over the tubs with coal oil(think they mean mineral sprits)
that what my grandmother called anything that had a petrolem based
smell, he claims that he sets up the thing at night and every mosquito
comes from miles around into the TRAP, they come to the light and fall
into the oil. This was before the city and counties were into the
mosquito control business, we would have to scratch and use the OFF and
other stuff and come home and use a fly swatter on the ceilings of the
house and this was with sccreens on all windows. now days we dont have
any as the mosquito control people are into it with planes, etc.
sure beats the magnets for mosquitos......
