Customer Reviews

Blue Rhino SV3100 SkeeterVac Mosquito Eliminator, 1-Acre Coverage

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Well engineered and easy to assemble. Am confident that there won't be rust or weathering issues.

Bought and am using it now with success. Items that might be useful to your purchase decision are propane (16 days to replacement ($19.60 per tank)), supposed to replace tak-trap (approx. $8) also, plus every 30 days the manual suggests replacing the octonal (fine tune) at $17 each, making the monthly price you will be bitten by is approx. $35 per month in maintenance. Its worth it to us, but with an 8 month season (Florida), it isn't cheap. We find it useful to purchase two tanks and get refills both at once to cut down on tank transfers.

Have tipped it over once (backed into it with the golf cart quite fast) and it broke the plastic retention and cover holder into about three pieces and with some super glue, repaired it and it still works.

You'll also need zappers to be rid of flies and other insects since it doesn't seem help with them.

You'll hear some fan type noise but negligible if over 20' from unit.

All together, satisfied with its operation.

I bought a SkeeterVac and I'm very happy with it. I live in Wy. surrounded by farm lands and irrigation canals and before I bought this unit I was unable to go outside in the morning or evening. It hasn't totally eliminated the mosquito problem but has made it so I can use my deck again. I had a problem with the motor restarting when I changed the propane bottle and the company was VERY helpful. Good product and good company.

I purchased this after looking around on amazon and reading some bad reviews of other models. I finally settled on this one after reading reviews for this model on other sites. We live on a lake so it's worse at night, and we have woods behind us. It definitely makes a difference compared to last year. We're outside all the time watching baseball/football and in the lake. I would recommend this model over other models. Comparable models in Home Depot/Lowes are $450+ for the 1 acre unit. The sticky paper replacements and the attractant can get expensive, but at least we can enjoy our yard/the lake now. You won't be disappointed.

I have no doubt that this works for some people, depending on the species of mosquito, but here in North Idaho it is worthless for mosquitos. I have tried everything for a month now, and I estimate that it has captured maybe two dozen mosquitos, and most of them on the sticky trap. The screen captures a few gnats, mostly. On the other hand, it has captured nearly every other type of flying insect on the sticky trap part - especially noseeums. In fact there wasn't a square centimeter that didn't have several bugs stuck to it after the first week. But I bought it to control mosquitos and I wish I could have my money back! The breed of mosquito in my area appears to be the culex pipiens, and the little buggers are completely unimpressed with my skeetervac sv3100.

Like a lot of people I HATE mosquitos. I moved from the city to the burbs about 5 years ago and simply couldn't enjoy being outside because of all the flying, blood sucking little bastards. I'd get half a dozen bites each time I tried heading out.

That first year I bought a "Mosquito Magnet". There are a bunch of different models & I bought the higher end "Liberty" model for somewhere around $500, hoping it'd be the best one. It was good, caught a lot of mosquitos but it was a bit finicky and sometimes wouldn't start up- I got a lot of error lights and getting it to work was hit or miss. A few months later I saw a cheaper model of Mosquito Magnet (the "Defender") for around $299 and decided I liked the idea of possibly killing twice as many mosquitos running two units (I really do hate them).

The "Defender" actually proved to be a much better unit. It was more reliable, was easier to clean and reset and actually caught more mosquitos than the Liberty. I really enjoyed going to the trap to find a whole set of dead skeeters.

The following year my "Liberty" wouldn't start up at all. They tell you to buy these air cartridges to clear out the lines, which I did to no avail. The unit would begin the cycle to start up, but then flash an error light and never get going. After numerous attempts I gave up on my poorly invested $500. Luckily my "Defender" was still going strong, but I still wanted to run two at a time as it really helps make a difference in keeping the yard free of the buggers. One day I'm in Target and come across a Blue Rhino "SkeeterVac" on sale for just $199 and had to go for it.

When I got it home I was both happy and skeptical about the fact it didn't need to be plugged into an electrical source like the Mosquito Magnet models. It's lower price also made me wonder if it would perform well. Those fears were unfounded as it caught almost as many biting bugs as the "Defender". The fact it didn't need a power cord allowed me to place it anywhere in the yard I wanted. I was impressed.

This past year the MM Defender started doing the error light thing like the Liberty had done before. After reading online about the MM models, it seems there are a lot of complaints regarding their only lasting a couple of seasons before breaking down completely. You'd think with all the money they charge for these things, you could at least use them for more than a couple of years.

Thankfully my SkeeterVac was still working- after two years it looks weathered and beaten up but after a little cleanup I managed to get it started. Needing to replace the Defender, I decided not to buy any more Mosquito Magnets and went for another SkeeterVac b/c of its reliability & being tether-free. Got it on Amazon for $308 with free shipping. It arrived in less than a week, I hooked up the propane, set the bait and within three days my trap was almost full. The sticky surface also had about 300 mosquitos stuck to it. It's a beautiful sight that just put a huge smile on my face.

(...did I mention I hate mosquitos? :)

First night on the job it caught like a thousand mosquitos. About half got sucked in and the other half stuck to the sticky paper. So far so good. I think this model encompasses all the possible lures to get mosquitos to come to it, (heat, co2, octenol, lactic acid, suction, blinking lights, sticky paper). It seemed to be the most recommended over the others from my internet searches.

Edit: Second night on the job, it caught about the same number in the same spot. Where do these blood suckers come from anyway?

Saw items like this at Lowes for over 700 bucks but found this one with great reviews. Shipping was fast and the wife put it together with no problems since I was out of town. The bugs here in Alaska must be on steroids but this worked awesome. We can go outside with our toddler and defintley notice a reduction in bugs.

It became evident that my garden had been seriously compromised by the Asian tiger mosquito. I live on Long Island, NY, midway from either shore. Every visit of three minutes or more left several bites. Yes, other methods --Mosquito Beater and canned foggers -- worked, but only for a short time and the mosquitos were well-entrenched. Personal repellants were not fully effective. I wanted to avoid broadly-toxic solutions --especially in a vegetable garden.

The Blue Rhino SkeeterVac SV3100, is solidly built, and it worked best for me when located in a least-windy spot --also the spot the mosquitos seemed to favor. When established in a spot for a week or so, you can actually see mosquitos swarm the unit. They're not all instantly getting stuck on the sticky striped wrapper or getting sucked into the trap, but evidence shows that many, eventually, get caught.

If you have the Asian tiger mosquitos, use the Lurex3 lures. They're frequently mentioned in tandem with the Mosquito Magnet, but they fit perfectly in the SkeeterVac SV3100, placed sideways. I caught on to the alternate lure, late in the season, so I can't give a comprehensive review.

I like that the Blue Rhino SkeeterVac SV3100 works night and day with no power cord, needs no maintenance except propane and lure replenishment, and it's safe, quiet and outdoor-hardy. A subtle flashing light attractant feature let's you know from a distance at night that it's still functioning. I wish I would have gotten it in the beginning of the first breeding season, rather than late in the season. I expect it to be a long-term solution.

Now that I have one complete season with this thing, I thought I'd pass along what I've learned. Living in East TN, we've become inundated with the Asian Tiger Mosquito. By itself, with no attractant, the Vac will only snag a few Tigers (maybe one or two a night). I can stand beside the thing in the evening and have a dozen Tigers swarming my legs, but they won't go near enough to the trap to be sucked in (they're stronger fliers than other species). I increased my success when I purchased the Lurex bait, which is actually made for the Mosquito Magnet. Why the makers of the Vac don't offer a Tiger attractant I have no clue. After that addition my catch rates went to 10-15/night. Not great, but acceptable. There is no holder on the Vac for the Lurex, so I dropped the canister into the catch screen. Seems to work well enough in that location.

The FineTune bait that is made for the Vac will help with Culex and other species, but not with Tigers.

The sticky trap (the black and white triangle design you see on the unit in the product pictures) seems to catch most everything other than a rare mosquito. Beneficial insects like lacewings take a big hit. Plus, after catching an inquisitive wren on it, I was furious with myself for leaving it on as long as I did. I would not advise using it as it does far more harm than good.

Bottom line: if you don't mind spending the money for propane AND baits, this is a tolerable purchase. Just keep your expectations in check.

First off, I live in the woods of NH, and I've read the success of these machines will vary depending on where you live. I owned the Flowtron MT-275 for 3 yrs. It did work and caught maybe 200 mosquitoes a month. Being my first ever trap I thought this was good. The unit finally stopped working after 3 yrs. I replaced the fan according to their support with no success. Flowtron support was clearly guessing at the problem and I decided to throw this unit out before spending any additional money trying to fix it. What a great move this was!! Advice to all....throw your Flowtron out if you own one regardless if it is working or not! I recently bought a Mosquito Magnet MM3000 Liberty and a Blue Rhino SV3100 SkeeterVac. One was put on each side of my 3 acres. Within 2 wk both of these units caught more mosquitoes than the Flowtron did in 3 yrs!! After 3 months now, the Magnet Liberty is by far superior at catching mosquitoes, but that is all it catches, and it does it well! I empty a full bag every wk, which must be 1000's. The SkeeterVac catches about 1/3 the mosquitos of the Magnet, however the TacTrap (sticky paper on the outside of unit) is excellent at catching other biting bugs, like the large black and green flies I have up here. After every 2 wks the TacTrap looks like a fully loaded pizza of bugs...very cool! The other nice thing about the SkeeterVac is that its cordless. However, the TacTrap and Fine Tune Biting (Octanol) will add to the monthly operational cost vs the Magnet. So far, following the advice of previous posters, I have not had any clogging problems. I replace the propane before it runs out so the units are not running on empty...which seems to be the main problem with these units. Bottom line, I like having both the Magnet and SkeeterVac units, and will never by a Flowtron again!