Do you have experience with CO2-based mosquito traps?

September 5, 2024 12:23 PM

I am considering buying an expensive mosquito trap. If you have any experience with these products, I'd love to hear it!

These traps are conceptually sound. They use CO2, heat, moisture and other well-documented attractants to draw mosquitos near, then suck them up. Because of this combination, there should be very little by-kill, and that should be mostly other mammalian parasites. The company says Extensive evidence from independent research studies as well as data testimonials from the USDA, U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard, the Centers for Disease Control, numerous universities and state mosquito control agencies, health departments, and independent nationally-renowned entomologists around the world have verified the efficacy of the Mosquito Magnet® product.

I've skimmed through a 2006 research paper in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association that discusses some pretty dramatic results, e.g. an entire foreleg becoming covered in mosquitos within 15 seconds, to no repellent needed a few weeks later.

However, I have some causes for concern. 1) The website seems like a janky drop-ship company. If they link to any of these data and testimonials, I haven't found it. I believe it's a real company with a real product, but it's not really instilling the trust I'd like to feel before spending >$800. 2) The Amazon product reviews are highly bimodal, with 37% five-star but 31% 1-star. Many of the 1-star reviews indicate the things breaking quickly or not working, though to be fair one of the positive reviews stresses following the instructions carefully and suggests many of the unhappy people aren't using it right.

So, has anyone owned one, knows someone who does, or even seen one in use? Are you aware of any direct competitors (i.e. that use CO2)? I have not seen any. Please note this question is about one type of trap. I know plenty about other types of mosquito control in theory and practice. I have and will pursue other methods, but I'd like to hear any experience with this one.

Thanks!

posted by SaltySalticid to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Consumer Reports has an article that talks about mosquito traps and approaches for controlling them, and their take is that CO2 traps are more effective than things like bug zappers since they target specifically mosquitos (and other mammalian parasites), but the effectiveness depends on a lot of other factors like if you've got a lot of still water for them to lay eggs in nearby.
posted by Aleyn at 1:57 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

People in our neighborhood get from these company which are alot cheaper Biogents. I would say people say nothing really workst hat well except spray which kills everything but this and dunks do reduce them..
posted by sandmanwv at 4:20 PM on September 5 [1 favorite]

I saw a video a while ago, unrelated, but they briefly showed their mosquito trap, full of mosquitos here (from 10:39). It looks like a different model / company, but it's definitely trapping a lot of mosquitos. From a google search I think it's from "Carbon Zorro."
posted by Sar at 3:38 AM on September 6 [1 favorite]

Colin Purrington is an entomologist whose social media and blogs are all about mosquito control. He has a list of 15 mosquito control strategies that don't work and has written extensively about products that supposedly use yeast and sugar to make CO2 to attract them that absolutely don't work. I can't find anywhere he has talked specifically about products using propane to make CO2 instead.

(He also has recommendations for diy projects including this trap that he says is most effective that does not need CO2.)
posted by hydropsyche at 4:04 AM on September 6 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks all!

I'm a bit skeptical of claims that they yeast traps don't work at all, having personally removed hundreds of dead mosquitos from one. And I also couldn't positively ID any non-mosquito insect, though it's possible I missed one or two. I don't believe that they cause mosquitos to "explode", but I have seen them be attracted to the trap and die within it. I believe that they aren't necessarily reliable or consistent, but my experience seeing dead adults after careful CO2 trap placement is what led me to check out the propane trap. I will indeed pursue the bucket style ovitraps! Purrington's trap page is a great resource I will be distributing widely :)
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:23 AM on September 6

I thought the risk for all the CO2 traps is that they kill mosquitos and attract mosquitos, so the dead mosquitos you see might not have been in your yard at all if the trap weren't there.
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 3:07 PM on September 7

Response by poster: That's a real risk for Japanese beetle traps, they use pheremones that can draw beetles in from long distances.

I think CO2 works more on a range of a few meters, not hundreds of meters. Also I am in my yard emitting co2. The traps all say to place them relatively far from where you plan to be for these reasons.

So it's a good thing to consider!
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:22 AM on September 8