Advanced design mosquito trap., July 24, 2003

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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