Mosquito Trapping Information
Frequently Asked Questions
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Our traps use a combination of known attractants to lure mosquitoes to the traps. Once inside the trap, a fan will suck the mosquitoes into the trap and where they will eventually dehydrate (dry trap) or drown (wet trap).
Like many other insect traps, our mosquito traps come with UV tubes that attract positively phototactic insects (insects that are attracted to light such as mosquitoes, flies, and moths). Unlike other insect traps, our main feature is the use of attractant cartridges which contain a combination of lactic acid and octenol.
Lactic acid is produced in our muscles and octenol can be found in our breath. These are two of the more prominent chemicals produced in our human bodies that makes us attractive to mosquitoes. In our dry traps, lactic acid and octenol are in powder form and are slowly dispersed into the air by wind created by the fan. In the wet traps (Mosquito Slayer), octenol is in powder form whereas lactic acid is in liquid form. Dispersal is done similarly (wind created by the trap fan).
Yes. The dispersed chemicals are meant to closely resemble the concentration and volume emitted by humans.
For large spaces such as living rooms, the MosTrap is more suitable.
For smaller areas or if you need the trap to be quieter, the M1 trap is more suitable.
The outdoor mosquito slayers attract directionally and are recommended to be placed on the perimeters of the premises, facing inwards. This is so that mosquitoes within the premises will be attracted outwards to the trap and to prevent attracting mosquitoes from outside the premises. Each mosquito slayer is recommended to be placed 15-20 meters apart. Call us for a free consultation and we can recommend the best placement for your outdoor traps.
Generally, indoor traps have a stated coverage of 100 sqm and effectiveness is lower further away from the trap. Similar to air conditioner units, you can’t expect one mosquito trap to provide protection for the entire house the same way you can’t expect a single air conditioner system to cool an entire house. That is why we will typically recommend a trap in each room.
The best place to put your traps would be near windows or doors that are opened the most in a highly visible location. This is to intercept any entering mosquitoes.
Note that mosquitoes have positive phototaxis (attracted to light) so making sure that the trap is high enough so that its light is unobstructed by objects will help attract the mosquitoes to the trap. Mosquitoes also prefer to fly low so make sure the trap is not placed too high. Try to strike a balance between the two criterias. If the trap cannot be placed in such a way to fulfil both criterias, it is better for the trap to be placed higher than lower.
Mosquito traps are meant as a way to control the mosquito population and not eliminate them completely. Even if you ensure that there is no breeding in your premises, the tropical climate and vegetation in our country ensures that mosquitoes will always be close by. That said, while a trap will not completely eliminate mosquitoes, they will still reduce the population so that instead of having an increasing number of mosquitoes bite you every day, you will be controlling/reducing that number to a more tolerable level.
Additionally, the traps use at most a combination of 9 characteristics that attract mosquitoes. Humans emit a combination of over 400 different compounds, most of them which are still being studied. Furthermore, we are a lot bigger than traps meaning that we will always be a preferable target over mosquito traps. Placing a trap next to you only serves to attract mosquitoes closer to you before they decide to switch targets. If you want fewer mosquitoes biting you, put the traps across the room away from you to draw them away. Traps work best by intercepting mosquitoes.
The outdoor slayers use lactic acid to trap and drown mosquitoes. Any freshly caught mosquitoes can be seen floating on the surface of the lactic acid but will eventually dissolve and break apart before sinking within an hour or so.
For the indoor traps, the more accurate way of monitoring caught mosquitoes is to take a white piece of paper and banging the catch tray upside down on the piece of paper. Newly caught mosquitoes will be intact and quite obvious. Day old mosquitoes will be shriveled and shrunk. While they may look like tiny flies, most of them should in fact be mosquitoes. The constant vortex from the wind and eventual deterioration of mosquitoes will cause them to lose their limbs which is why they may be commonly misperceived as flies. The reason why you should bang the tray is that most insects will be stuck on the grill of the mosquito trap due to force of the wind pushing them against the grills. It is harder to get an accurate count of trapped mosquitoes simply by looking at the catch box, especially if the catch box is black.