Mosquito Magnet MM4000 Defender Mosquito Trap

Having recently seen a TV interview with a West Nile Virus victim that was nearly killed I felt a strong need to eliminate this risk to my parents, who are at greater risk because of their advancing age.

My father likes to sit outside on the patio for hours reading the paper and smoking. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes make it difficult to sit there sometimes. Even so, he is the type of person to brush off the risk and refuse to wear repellent. A prime candidate for West Nile should there be virus present.

I had a Defender shipped to their address and was anxious to set it up and start sucking in huge quantities of mosquitoes. I was hoping for spectacular results because I knew they would find out how much the unit cost and question my decision to purchase it.

We assembled the unit pretty easily but we did have to purchase a new propane tank before starting. The MMD appears to be a solidly built unit designed for constant exposure to weather.

Determining the correct location for the trap is important and the method is detailed on their website. You must also place the trap within reach of an electrical outlet. The cord is quite long but you will need an exterior outlet or a way to run the cord into your house.

Upon startup there is a brief warm up period where the status light on the power switch blinks red. When fully operational it turns to a solid red and stays that way until the unit runs out of propane. You can hear a quiet hum from the fan(s). The unit blows a downward plume of warm carbon dioxide and simultaneously vacuums up the air near the source of the plume. The warm CO2 and an Octenal cartridge (included) attract the biting insects. The insects hover around the mouth of the machine and make a number of passes at it until they get caught in a mild vacuum and sucked into a metal-screened net assembly. The air stream is strong enough to prevent them from flying out and they struggle to stand up in the net until they dry up and die. The open net is visible from the exterior of the machine through a clear plastic access door. You can check the contents of the trap without touching the machine. The net assembly is easy to empty and is sturdy enough to rinse clean and reuse many times. You're supposed to leave the MMD run 24/7 to maximize its impact on the mosquito population.

In the first couple of hours of operation my unit caught a few mosquitoes and a bunch of no-see-ums. The next couple of weeks were about the same. I wanted to see hundreds of mosquitoes but got a couple of dozen. The propane tank ran out after about three weeks and I had a few dozen mosquitoes, a bunch of no-see-ums and a tiny spider that crawled in to eat on the dead bugs. Not exactly a justification for purchase. But there simply were not many mosquitoes present in the yard at that point in their reproductive cycle.

It turned out to be a mistake to measure the machine by the number of mosquitoes in the net. As the previously laid eggs hatched the MMD then captured many of the newly hatched young. Now I am in week five (end of July) and the unit has captured about 50-100 mosquitoes in just the last 3-4 days. They appear to be newly hatched young. I am excited to think of all the offspring these insects WON'T be having and I am reassured that the MMD actually works in the presence of mosquitoes.

And this is the key to owning one of these machines. They are most effective over a period of time. Unlike a vacuum cleaner which does it job in just one pass, the Mosquito Magnet takes in the insects a few at a time and prevents them from reproducing hundreds more for the future. Mosquitoes do not migrate so once you've knocked down your local population it is difficult for them to recover. Having spent a lot of money, the temptation is for wanting a spectacular, instant return on your investment - but that is unlikely. The MMD does catch mosquitoes and probably does so better than other products. But the results are not instantaneous.

The real test will be after two or three seasons. If the MMD can create a mosquito free zone for multiple seasons it will probably have paid for itself. Of course, the more you dislike mosquitoes, the more valuable it will be.

The downside is the cost of the unit. Is there a cheaper way to do the job? Chemicals are probably cheaper, but those have a downside too. The MMD works constantly and with no effort on your part for three weeks at a time. It is easier, cleaner and safer than chemicals.

Unlike Citronella and DEET, which temporarily repels the mosquitoes only for them to return to bite another day and unlike poison which wipes out the entire spectrum of insects, the MMD selectively kills only biting insects. It permanently eliminates them in an environmentally conscious manner. Other insects are simply not attracted to the machine. The ease and cleanliness of the operation are appealing.

I would recommend the Mosquito Magnet Defender because it is promising over the long run. Its design and principle of operation are logical. It does seem to capture a large proportion of the mosquitoes that it comes into contact with and so far it appears to be a good investment.

But only time will be the final judge of its cost effectiveness.

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My husband and I own a house in Connecticut on a 1/2 acre with lots of trees; brush; gardens etc (moquito and gnat heaven). When we want to use our backyard in the evening we would have to start lighting about 6 or 7 of the Off table top and hanging lanterns about 1/2 hour before and make sure we went inside just as they started to go out (about 4 hours later) or risk getting eaten alive.

During May, I could not plant flowers in our gardens without spraying myself from head to toe with bug spray and having 2 tabletop "OFF" lanterns near me to keep the vicious little critters away. They were like little flying piranhas.

I had been seeing these units advertised and thought that they were just another expensive gimmick (the unit for the 1/2 acre was $300 plus another $30 for a propane tank and $50 for additional attractants and catcher nets). I compared it to the cost of the (OFF) 3 pack of candles and repellant pads at $4 to $5 per pack and we were using 2 packs each night and averaged to 6 nights a week during the months of July and August and 3 to 4 nights in May; June and September. In addition to doing basic yardwork and chores, we have a pool and 2 children.

My husband and I hooked up the unit which required very little assembly (slide the post and "U" shaped foot into the stand; put the top of the unit ontop of the post; hook up the propane tank; slide the attractant in the holder underneath and put the net catcher inside). No tools were required.

The only confusing part, is the note in the instruction manual which states that (due to Federal Regulations) the CO-2 cartridges are not shipped with the product. In reading the directions, it sounds as though this cartridge is required to start up and operate the unit.

I spent quite a bit of time looking for these cartridges (similiar to those used in paint pellat guns only with a screw type top) only to find out that these are not required to start the unit but are only required after the 1st propane tank is empty and every 2nd tank refill after that. Apparently this cartridge allows you to clear out dust etc. from the inside of the unit to keep it working properly

I called their technical service phone # and spoke with a customer service representative (on Friday morning July 4th!!) who informed me that the directions were poorly written and the company was working to fix that. The CO-2 cartridges were only needed after the 1st propane tank refill etc. and these can be found in a bike store as they use them to fill bike tires. The representative I spoke with, specifically stated that the screw top is required to make a tight seal and a 12 to 16 gram cartridgeis required.

We started the unit and at first all we heard was a slight whirring/humming from the fan and saw the blinking light on the "ON" switch. I was not even sure it was working but about an hour later we went back to check and sure enough there were bugs which had been caught.

The directions state that the unit will start catching immediately but in order to see a marked improvement it needs to run 24/7 as soon as the temperature starts to be consistently 50 degrees for 4 to 6 weeks so the breeding cycle is broken.

If you read other reviews which state that the unit did not work, I am willing to bet that they did not read this part and this is why they are upset that the unit did not immediately clear their backyard. These units are not a vacuums and take time to do what they do.

Obviously purchasing this product as "late" in the season as we did, there was very little expectation (after reading the 4 to 6 weeks blurb) that we would see any improvement but I was wrong. We were able to sit outside without bug spray or OFF Lanterns within a few days.

I would like to mention that you need to make sure that the propane tank is turned all the way on or the unit will shut down. When my husband originally turned the gas on, he only did it 1/4 to 1/2 turn and I don't think the unit was getting enough fuel. We found this out the hard way, I would come home and when I checked the unit the red light was blinking on the power switch (it goes to a solid red when the unit is working). After resetting the propane tank and regulator with the special tool provided I slowly turned the gas on and have not had a problem since.

At this time I feel that this was a worthwhile investment. We don't even know that the unit is there - no noise; smell (the OFF lanterns worked fine except for the fact tht they only worked for 4 hours; they cost a lot and I was beginning to wonder if the smoke/smell emitted from the repellant pad was really something we should be inhaling) or mess etc.

I hope that you find this review helpful.

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