Question:
I have seen many brands of mosquito trapping devices (such as Mosquito
Magnet) this year. The devices cost several hundred to over a thousand
dollars. The common response I hear from dozens of people I've asked about
it (who do not own one) is: It's expensive, but if it worked it would be
worth it.
Consumer's reports said they do work. Reviews on the Internet say they work
or don't work. A co-worker's friend has a Mosquito Magnet Pro and says it
works great. The reviews I've seen on television say those devices do not
work.
If anyone has direct experience with the mosquito traps, could you post a
response here if they work, or do not work?
Answer:
-If you go to groups.google.com and do a search there, you should find an old
thread about this subject. I can remember reading it, but I can't remember
the exact date.
-I have a posting from another forum by a Renee Anderson
who is with Cornell University who basically states that
the machines should attract mosquitos, which is the way
they have been collecting mosquitos for years in the
field for research. The question is do they attract
enough mosquitos in a given area to ever be an effective
way of mosquito control, in which there hasn't been a
true study on that aspect. My personal experiences is
that of all my customers that I know who have bought the
various "traps" none have been satisfied, but I will
come across just as many people who say they have a
neighbor or relative that has them and they work great.
If you want the whole posting of Ms Anderson let me know
and I'll email it out...it is very long.
Here is a bit of her post.
To: Extension Educators with Horticulture
responsibilities
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 09:26:48 -0400
From: Renee Anderson
Subject: Mosquito traps
My name is Renee Anderson. I have joined Laura
Harrington's lab as an extension associate in medical
entomology. A number of people have been asking our lab
and the insect diagnostic lab about mosquito traps. ...
............ There are a number of traps currently
marketed for the consumer to "control" mosquitoes
although in some of the advertisements the word "trap"
is used instead of "control." The commercial traps
marketed for use by the public utilize a combination of
CO2, heat, moisture, octenol, and/or linalool just to
name a few of the attractants or inhibitors currently on
the market. The traps work by attracting mosquitoes to
the devices and are then drawn into the traps through
the use of a fan into a collecting net, a killing
device, or are trapped on boards that are coated with
sticky material. Based on the available scientific
literature that is currently available, these traps do
indeed do what the manufacturers claim, if placed
properly and maintained, the traps do collect
mosquitoes. To collect adult female mosquitoes, mosquito
biologists have used these very same attractants for
decades and for good reason because they work so well!
So .......................
......................Based on the scientific literature
to date, the term "control" seems to be too strong of a
statement. There is nothing in the peer reviewed
scientific literature to support the "control"
statement. Whether these devices will reduce the
potential for bites or disease transmission still has
not been published.............
................Basically, the potential for controlling
mosquitoes is there but studies need to be designed that
actually addresses this research question. It also may
require additional design modifications on the propane
traps. A few hundred to several thousands females
trapped in a single night is impressive, but whether
that actually puts a dent in the millions that are
present in a given area remains to be verified
.................................
............................there highs and lows in the
population. Some species only produce one, maybe two
generations per year. In warmer climates, there may be
several generations per year. It would not be
unreasonable to expect that various mosquito species
follow a 3-6 week population cycle depending on
environmental conditions and climate. I have
yet to see a peer reviewed scientific research paper
that shows a reduction in mosquito population due to the
trap and not due to the natural population fluctuation
over time.
The bottom line:
The traps do indeed collect mosquitoes, scientific peer
reviewed literature has demonstrated that propane-
powered traps collect host seeking
female mosquitoes. Currently, the scientific peer
reviewed literature to support the claims that propane-
powered traps control mosquito populations or
reduce/prevent bites is lacking.
