# Mosquito death traps—are any worth it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654 "2011-04-25T15:19:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/1 "2011-04-25T15:19:40Z")
I’m fairly certain this is an annual question around here, but hoping for updated or specific information. We have a sizeable yard surrounded by woods. Given the landscape, draining standing water or dropping mosquito-kill-em is impractical. Any issues in the gardens are taken care of by our gardener, but with the amount of woods and varied terrain on the property, a light rain adds innumerable breeding sites. We applied for permits to nuke them from orbit, but with the recent chaos in Japan it looks like those will be put on hold for a while. We’re in downstate New York (about an hour outside the city), if location makes a difference. We’re willing to spend for a contraption if it’s worth it—summers in the garden would be much nicer if we didn’t smell of bug spray or get eaten by tons of gnats and mosquitos. There is the [MosquitoMagnet](http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/), the [MosquitoDeleto](http://www.mosquito-zapper.com/mosquito_deleto.htm), a few similar gizmos, and those charming old-school bug zappers. Local bat population has been decimated, so putting up houses isn’t necessarily going to be effective. Given the environment (particularly the surrounding woods), will any of the gadgets make a reasonable dent in the bug population? Anyone with experience in their yard? Thanks, Rhythm ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/2 "2011-04-25T15:43:08Z")
I have a similar situation to yours, with a house surrounded by heavy woods. I bought a Mosquito Magnet a few years ago. I left it running for two or three weeks, then went out in the yard to empty what should have been a bag full of dead mosquitoes. As I walked up to it, I must have had 50 of them swarming around me. I can’t even relate my disappointment to see that the bag had about a dozen mosquitoes in it. Fortunately, the nice folks at Home Depot gave me a full refund with no hassle. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/3 "2011-04-25T15:51:21Z")
You might see if there is any way to attract bats to your property. They will probably do a better job of controlling the mosquito population than any gizmo you can buy ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/4 "2011-04-25T15:53:10Z")
MosquitoMagnet and similar traps will catch thousands of mosquitoes if properly used and placed. But they won’t put a sizable dent in the standing mosquito population. You will still be bitten just as much, and you’ll be out several hundred dollars. Invest instead in a $3 bottle of DEET-based repellent. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/5 "2011-04-25T17:08:52Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > You might see if there is any way to attract bats to your property. They will probably do a better job of controlling the mosquito population than any gizmo you can buy Concur that it’s time to send up the bat signal. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/6 "2011-04-25T18:04:31Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > You might see if there is any way to attract bats to your property. They will probably do a better job of controlling the mosquito population than any gizmo you can buy > > > [@Sailboat](#): > > > > Concur that it’s time to send up the bat signal. Unfortunately, white-nose syndrome has decimated the local bat population. Friends of ours work for the state DEC and have been lamenting this for a while. Not that we won’t put out nice, comfy bat houses, but until the population (hopefully) bounces back, it may not be the solution it once was. [QUOTE=mozchron] But they won’t put a sizable dent in the standing mosquito population. You will still be bitten just as much, and you’ll be out several hundred dollars. [/QUOTE] Are you saying that the likely mosquito population covers X meters (egad, _kilometers_?!) but the traps only cover Y meters–and X\>Y? Any chance if the trap is on the opposite side of the yard, it will tend to draw those hanging out in the yard thataway–thereby decreasing the mosquito-per-cubic foot of air around the patio? What about the mosquito’s henchmen–the gnats. Any chance it will reduce the overall gnat population in the localized area? Even that would make a huge difference in comfort. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/7 "2011-04-25T18:57:46Z")
Bug zappers kill [very few mosquitos](http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/Pests/zappers.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/8 "2011-04-25T19:02:28Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Unfortunately, white-nose syndrome has decimated the local bat population. Friends of ours work for the state DEC and have been lamenting this for a while. Not that we won’t put out nice, comfy bat houses, but until the population (hopefully) bounces back, it may not be the solution it once was. If it [ever was](http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/proprom.htm): > [@](#): > > Every so often, a well-meaning conservation group promotes bats to eliminate mosquitoes from areas where nuisance has become intolerable. This undoubtedly leads to rediscovery of research conducted in the 1950s indicating that bats released in a room filled with mosquitoes could catch up to 10 mosquitoes per minute. The research was conducted to measure the effectiveness of echolocation in insectivorous bat species. The results have been extrapolated to suggest that wild bats can consume 600 mosquitoes per hour. Using that figure, a colony of 500 bats will remove 250,000 mosquitoes each hour and theoretically afford mosquito control for an entire neighborhood. > > Research since that time has shown that insectivorous bats are opportunistic feeders and that mosquitoes make up a very small percentage of their natural diet. Bats’ behavior when locked in a room with nothing to feed upon but mosquitoes has no bearing on their behavior in the wild. Bats feed on the same insects that turn up in bug zappers and are no more effective for controlling mosquitoes than their electronic equivalent. Providing habitat to enhance bat populations is an admirable activity for conservation purposes. Using mosquito control as the reason to initiate public interest is misleading at best. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/9 "2011-04-25T19:03:08Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > …Invest instead in a $3 bottle of DEET-based repellent. This is always the right answer. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/10 "2011-04-25T19:13:06Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Are you saying that the likely mosquito population covers X meters (egad, _kilometers_?!) but the traps only cover Y meters–and X\>Y? > > Any chance if the trap is on the opposite side of the yard, it will tend to draw those hanging out in the yard thataway–thereby decreasing the mosquito-per-cubic foot of air around the patio? > > What about the mosquito’s henchmen–the gnats. Any chance it will reduce the overall gnat population in the localized area? Even that would make a huge difference in comfort. Just that the standing mosquito population can number in the Many thousands. As a grad student I used CO2-baited traps (not mosquito magnet, but the principle is the same) to collect mosquitoes. I could get thousands of mosquitoes per trap, and have 20 traps in the area. But I still got the shit bit out of me. The density of mosquitoes (i.e. "mossies per cubic foot) isn’t a constant - sure the trap will tend to attract mosquitoes close to it, but there are plenty that will still be close to you. Mosquitoes fly. Some mosquitoes will get caught, but many more will still get you. You won’t notice the difference. Same goes for the gnats and any other blood-feeding insect that is attracted to CO2 or chemical baits. Anecdotally, I have noticed that they will prefer you to a trap given a choice - they may be stupid, but they are exquisitely evolved to seek preferred prey. Buy the DEET. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/11 "2011-04-25T19:15:20Z")
[Lasers to the rescue!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKm8FolQ7jw) ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/12 "2011-04-25T19:57:50Z")
I am a big fan of a chemical that I now buy by the gallon. Malathion. You put it in a sprayer that attaches to your hose, and spray the areas you want to use. (Grass, woodlines, garden, etc) It kills the mosquitoes, and makes the area usable. It’s pretty amazing stuff, and accepted as safe once dried. (Takes an hour or so). You use it more at the beginning of the season than at the end, because it kills off the mosquitoes, which don’t travel very far from where they are born, and as a result, they aren’t breeding nearby. I have about 5000 ft^2 in my backyard, and an application a couple times a week in the beginning of the season, or after a heavy rain takes care of the bug problem. By the end of the season, I’m doing it maybe once a week, or once every two. If I don’t spray, the bugs will take small children away in minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/13 "2011-04-25T22:25:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > [Lasers to the rescue!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKm8FolQ7jw) I was really excited when I heard about that idea last year. So when can I expect to buy this as a commercial product? ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/14 "2011-04-27T04:00:10Z")
Until my short stint in Louisiana, I never thought I would be happy that a truck spraying poison was driving down the street. “Quick! Close up! The mosquito truck is coming!” I don’t know much it helped, I still itched constantly for two years, but then I am a human mosquito magnet. Little fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/15 "2011-04-27T10:52:55Z")
I’ve had a Mosquito Magnet for several years. It catches quite a few mosquitoes in May and June, if I use the “octenol attractant” in addition to the CO2. I do notice a sharp drop-off of the catch (and the population) after 4-6 weeks, but it’s hard to say if it’s due to: 1. All the females having been caught and a full reproductive cycle having run its course, as the manufacturer says; 2. Mosquito season being over; 3. The spring ponds and marshes in the forested part of the lot having finally dried out. I do get some satisfaction in throwing out 100-200 dried out cadavers every week. But I’m still not sure if it has an effect, and I’m uncomfortable in emitting CO2 if it’s useless. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquito-death-traps-are-any-worth-it/579654/16 "2011-04-27T11:23:05Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > I’ve had a Mosquito Magnet for several years. _ **It catches quite a few mosquitoes in May and June…I do get some satisfaction in throwing out 100-200 dried out cadavers every wee** _k. Heh. Take it from me (professional mosquito expert) 100-200 mosquitoes a week is less than peanuts. I have caught many 10’s of thousands of mosquitoes in a single trap in a single night (all in a pint cup - you couldn’t see through it, it was completely black), and had many similar traps out there. The next day, we were bitten just as heavily, and had made no difference in the mosquito population. This gets a bit into demographic theory (some of which I’ve helped develop), but counter-intuitively, killing adults has very little effect on depressing the mosquito population size (if you are VERY efficient, you may see a temporary minor dip, but you won’t get that from a backyard trap). This is because even if you could magically wave a wand an kill every adult mosquito in the area, there is a huge population of immature mosquitoes (probably several orders of magnitude bigger) just waiting to make more adults. In the business, if you want to suppress population levels, you kill the larvae, not the adults. Killing larvae/pupae reduces the number of new adults produced, reducing population levels. Killing adults can have a very strong effect on the probability that the mosquitoes will transmit pathogens for other reasons than I won’t go into here.