Customer Reviews

Mosquito Magnet 1100MM Pro

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Purchased a MM Pro in the summer of 2000. Worked great for two years, then in July of 2002, it wouldn`t stay on. Called customer service a few times, did everything they told me to, but eventually they sent me a new power unit under warranty. That lasted a little more than one year; in 2003, we started having problems with it again. Called customer service today (July 5, 2004 -- no wait for service rep). Did what they asked. Appears that the muffin fan is dead. Asked about replacing it -- they don`t have any parts information. Not under warranty, must replace head for $350 or "upgrade" to Pro 2004 for $600. I asked them about reliability -- they said the new Pro is more reliable; don`t know if I want to spend $600 to find out.

I also bought a Defender last year from Home Depot. Still working this year. I use a bicycle pump instead of a CO2 cartridge on the quick-clear valve. Works every time.

Well, it's 2005 now, and the Defender won't run for more than 6 hours or so. Forget these things. Get a fogger.

Overall I give the concept 5 stars -- when they're running, these guys suck up lots of mosquitoes. But I give the implementation one star -- when they go on the fritz, which at least the Pro units seem to do in one or two years, they're an expensive lawn ornament.

This worked great for us for 2 years, but now it has a problem. Everyone I know with one of these has problems with their ignition needing to be replaced, and parts haven't been sent quickly. Meanwhile-- the mosquitos continue to breed. Customer service always seems to have a 10+ minute wait time- very frustrating. Of course it is hard to troubleshoot over the phone, but when I have looked at others' comments, everyone has had similiar product failures. If this happens while under warranty-- I suggest that you return the unit and get out while you can.

I have three Mosquitio Magnets that I bought last year. They worked great for a few months then only give "fault" indications thereafter and won't work. This is a defectively designed or manufactured product. I have never submitted Amazon reviews before this product. I feel so cheated that I want to warn others about it. Three bad devices for me, and many other reviews reporting the same problems, means that you purchase this product with great risk.
Thankyou.

Yes, this product is GREAT when it works. We used it successfully for two years, here in mosquito-plagued Vermont. But like some of the other reviewers, our fan did not work this year, and we have received no help from American Biophysics, except that we could spend $600 for a newer version of this product ...!

With many competitive products out there, at less than half that price, there is no way we will buy from American Biophysics again. (Any we also have tried to be in touch with the people who run this company, through personal contacts. Well, they didn't even acknowledge our emails and letters)

5 stars - it really does catch 'em
1 star - didn't last more than one summer...read on...

This is a review of the older version PRO model (1 acre coverage) which I purchased back in '02 while living in MA. I give it 5 stars b/c back then during the summer when west nile was rampant, it really did catch every single mosquito in the neighborhood!

My friends like to take my wife and myself along on camping trips b/c we are their mosquito repellent - bugs just love us for some reason. I've been on week long fly fishing trips where I've sustained 100's (YES, I've counted) of bites on my arms and neck and my buddies had NONE! Even walking the dogs in the evenings, out in the yard would leave me ridden with bites.

After purchasing (reluctantly, given the (...)) the unit, life changed that summer as we didn't get one single bite. Life was good and our neighbors even thanked us b/c they too noticed a difference.

BUT, since that summer, the unit has had difficulty starting and for the past year and a half, has been inoperable here in VT. Visiting the American Biophysics website tech support area for information and examining their new models which incorporate a quick-clear cleanout feature has made me realize that these 'orifice obstructions' were so prevalent, a design change was warranted. Unfortunately, my 'older' model did not have this feature and since it was not under warranty, I would have to pay about $400 to get a refurbished unit!

Now, after having paid $1200 for a bug catcher, this infuriated me. To make matters worse, my wife has just received her first set of bites and has threatened to dismember my extremities if our newborn baby gets bit!

So, while I await a response from the president of the company, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I just spent 5 hours taking the 'power pack' apart, cleaning every orifice and conduit and after much swearing and bruised knuckles, managed to get the darn unit operating again! I just spend 10 minutes outside (got about 15 more bites) to make sure the 'suction' was working. I will know tomorrow if it actually was fixed.

So, my summary:

The science behind the product is sound - it really does catch every biting pest out there. I've saved the season's catch in a large glass jar and just about disgusted every person I showed it to.

Given the tiny orifice (I mean smaller than a needle point) used in the combustion chamber and the 'dirty' nature of propane fuel, there is a tendency to have claudications that may compromise function.

Out of warranty repairs are costly - the options given by customer service appear to favor upgrading to a new machine - makes you feel terrible that all your hard earned money has gone to waste.

Taking the power pack apart is quite difficult (I do not recommend this unless you are adept and comfortable with tools) especially when the fasteners are of odd sizes, likely to thwart tampering by persons like me.

The newer models that incorporate the quick-clear feature may perform better but uncertain of product support if a failure was to occur. Most of the newer models also incorporate a better ignition system - the older one required holding down a button for about 5 minutes before the machine was operational - any accidental release (say, if your thumb went numb) would usually require starting the procedure over again.

Despite the limitations, I hope to purchase another unit - just too many mosquitos in VT!

Cheers!

Dave.

Bought one of the Pro units 5/02 amid great hype and expectation. This unit's fan ceased functioning after only 2 months. A helpful support person diagnosed the problem, and was able to send out a replacement powerpack. So I had to take the old one apart, and reassemble with the new power unit. Everything seemed to finally work.

Well, come the 2003 season and I was hopeful of a better summer. The new unit from the previous year added an intake line that needed to be cleared with every propane tank replacement. I found that once the unit was "cleared", it was extremely difficult to restart. On the third tank of the season, the unit would not start; it was kaput.

I tried to get it working this spring only to discover that it would still not start. Tech support told me that since the unit was already more than a year old, the warranty was void, and there was nothing he could do, except sell me a brand new unit at full retail price. What a guy!

I Fed-Ex'd a letter to the president of American Biophysics expressing my displeasure with their product. He has not taken the time to respond.

These units are not manufactured to last. What's more, their executive management apparantly doesn't believe in responding to their customers.

Buy at your own risk!

The good news is when it works, it works well. The bad news is it is a buggy design, no pun intended, and customer service is slow and ineffective. I own 2 older Defender units that work year after year, plus the new Pro. The Pro is an expensive item and it hasn't worked properly from the beginning. The problem I've been having is that the unit keeps trying to go through the start cycle and then eventually gives up with the "flame icon" error. I spent many wasted weeks dealing with customer service with all of the typical Mosquito Magnet troubleshooting tips (i.e. CO2 flush, turn the gas on slowly, use the reset tool, try these new side panels, blah, blah, blah). The unit would work on and off and finally, after almost 2 years of frustration, I was able to get the company to agree to exchange the unit. I was instructed to "remove the net and the battery" and to "ship only the upper unit", which I did. 2 weeks later, I receive the replacement, but it is missing the entire hinged lid and solar panel. Oddly enough, they included a new net and battery, the two items I was told NOT to send with the RMA. So even though they originally sold me a defective unit, and even though they messed up on the RMA, they could have saved a customer by taking responsiblity and making it right. They did not. I spent a significant portion of today arguing with them. They're telling me that the lids are on backorder and that I will have to wait another 2 to 4 weeks. When I suggested that they send my RMA'd lid (because that portion of the unit was fine), they refused to bother with it. When I asked for a new unit, no dice. When I asked for my money back, also no dice.

I believe that American Biophysics has a patent on the propane gas conversion process for this application and even though I have invested over $3,000 with their company, I'd recommend looking into an alternative brand that uses compressed CO2, attractant, and light.

We purchased the freedom model (now discontinued) which was the 2nd from the best. It worked GREAT the first year, virtually eliminating all mosquitos and no-see-ums from our yard. But 4 months later the unit was dead, it simply would not ignite. I called support (we got them right away) and they decided to send a new head unit. It arrived in 10 days and we just put the old one in the box, stuck the supplied label on the side and called UPS to pick up the return - very easy. The unit worked great until the end of the season (3 months after the replacement).

Next season the unit worked for 3 weeks then died. We could not get it to ignite no matter what we tried. We brought the unit into our garage to let it "dry out" according to tech support. No luck. But now the unit was no longer in warranty, 13 months after our original purchase. Our only option was to upgrade to the Pro model (the new units were not out yet) for $400!! Ouch!

We did upgrade and I must say that the Pro model is much better construction with a heavy-duty catalyst (power pack) system. It also has the quick-clear system for the propane lines, which seems to work. No problems so far this year & the unit starts every time. We are now halfway through the second season with the Pro model & are happy so far.

Note that this is the PREVIOUS version of the Pro model with the stainless steel power pack on the side. It seems to be a more heavy-duty construction than the new unit, but supposedly the new units have improved power packs & appear to be contained in the main housing to cut down on contimination from weather (rain, leaves, etc.).

I would recommend this unit, and hopefully the new generation (2004 models) have remedied some of the reliability issues of the past versions. BTW, the other reviews here also seem to be of older models.

Commercial PRO worked for 2 short Manitoba seasons ( paid two thousand)- it quit after three days this year. Customer support consists of a sales pitch to "trade up" to a new and improved magnet or a reconditioned for just under five hundred (usd)and my responsibility to ship the defective one back to them...to "recondition", I suppose, and sell to their next victim...STAY AWAY - buy a fogger or invest in screened in a screened in room. Very disappointing.

Inital unit purchased 6/04, now on third warranty replacement unit. First two had solar/battery issues culminating in battery failing to hold a charge after two weeks of operation. The most recent replacement will not operate unless the propane tank is completely full and thus shuts down after 12-15 hours operation. The company has been decent about warranty replacements but my patience with this expensive, tempermental device is wearing thin. I cannot recommend this problem plagued Pro model.