Let’s see how to get rid of annoying mosquitoes with a homemade trap, easy to make and extremely effective.
The wetlands around our property are the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. When the summer sun sets, hordes of these hungry pests turn a cozy evening on the patio into a nightmare. To combat attacks by these insects, we often light citronella candles and spray insect repellent. But have you ever thought about making a homemade mosquito trap?
Mosquitoes find their victims by following the carbon dioxide we exhale. Many commercial traps attract insects by burning propane to produce carbon dioxide, which attracts the insects. Since carbon dioxide targets mosquitoes, they are likely to find the place to bite thanks to the heat. Mosquitoes often choose areas of the body where blood is close to the surface. These are areas such as the forehead, wrists, elbows and neck.
But there is another method of making a mosquito trap that creates a flow of carbon dioxide that attracts and traps them.
How does this homemade mosquito trap work?
Yeast and sugary bait are placed in the bottle to create a flow of carbon dioxide that attracts insects into the trap.
What do you need:
- An empty 2-liter plastic bottle or similar sized container.
- Razor.
- Scotch tape.
- 1/4 cup brown sugar.
- 1 cup hot water.
- 1 sachet of active dry yeast.
Method: .
With your knife, cut the top of the bottle just below the area where the neck of the bottle widens to meet the main part of the bottle. Once you cut the top of the bottle, you have two parts that can be rearranged to create the trap: the lower cylinder and the neck of the bottle. Remove the cap from the neck of the bottle. Turn the neck of the bottle upside down and insert it into the cylinder like a funnel.
Don’t push the funnel all the way into the bottle; leave enough space between the neck of the bottle and the bottom to add about a cup of liquid and an air space between the surface of the liquid and the lowest point of the funnel.
Prepare mosquito bait: .
Add 1/4 cup brown sugar to 1 cup boiling water. Mix thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool to 50°C. Be careful, if it is too hot, the high temperature will kill the yeast. When the sugar mixture has reached the right temperature, gently stir in the yeast. Pour the mixture into the bottle (the inverted funnel makes the operation easier) and the mosquito trap is ready.
Operation: .
The yeast and brown sugar create a flow of carbon dioxide that draws insects into the trap. The hungry mosquitoes follow the trail into the bottle and descend through the funnel. When they realize there is nothing to eat, they fly along the surface of the brown sugar mixture until they reach the sides of the bottle. At this point the cockroaches fly towards the side of the bottle, but their escape is blocked by the inverted funnel (hence the reason for sealing the edges with tape). The little cockroaches are trapped!
Mosquitoes get tired and fall into the liquid to drown. Sure, a few lucky mosquitoes can make it through the narrow entrance of the funnel and reach freedom (and bite again another day), but most insects that enter the trap die there.
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