You can spray your skin as much as you want to repel mosquitoes from your body, but what about the general jurisdiction? They rule the outdoors this time of year, guzzling on everybody’s blood like it’s happy hour.
Sadly, not many of us are immune to the skeeter’s bite. Not babies, pets, or adults. People usually fight back with prevention sprays or citronella, but sometimes you’ve got to go harder. It’s time to take the fight to the little monsters. This trap just might be the answer.
An old soda bottle becomes a death trap with this DIY setup from the SF Globe. The materials used in this project create a carbon dioxide magnet. Since mosquitoes are attracted to the CO₂, the idea is to bait them to this contraption where they’ll be doomed.
Mosquito Trap
Materials
- 2-liter plastic soda bottle with cap removed
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 gram or ¼ teaspoon yeast
- 1 cup hot or warm water
Instructions
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Cut It
Using a large serrated knife, cut the bottle in half.
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Dump It
Dump the brown sugar into the bottom half of the bottle.
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Pour It
Pour in the warm water, then add the yeast last.
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Invert It
Invert the top half of the soda bottle so the neck fits into the well of liquid bait.
Watch the video to see how to mix up and assemble your mosquito magnet. Once you’ve made the trap, you can place it anywhere in the yard where you know mosquitoes like to gather. Ideally, you don’t want to put the traps too close to your hangout spots, but instead around the perimeter.
The gist is that when they a catch of whiff of the carbon dioxide, they’ll slide down the funnel into that sweet, yeasty water. Hungry and without a nice bloody meal, they’ll look for a way to escape the bottle, and after giving up, they’ll tire and perish in a bath of bait water. Very few masterminds will exit the same way they came in, so appreciate the small victories.
At least that is the goal. It’s a good idea to tape the bottle’s edges to prevent any potential escapees from climbing up the sides and out. That also helps with sealing in the chemical reaction that’s taking place in the water.
Stay on top of your extermination efforts by swapping these traps out every two weeks with a fresh liquid mix. If you want to make your traps less bulky, you can use smaller plastic drink bottles and cut them with a box cutter or utility knife. Make sure to leave enough space between the water line and the top of your inverted bottle.
This trap is inexpensive, low maintenance, and easy to replace. You may still see mosquitoes so if you want to use these traps in conjunction with other bug-fighting methods, do so! A multi-pronged attack is best to repel and kill these bugs.
Have you ever tried to make a mosquito trap before? Do you consider yourself or your yard a mosquito magnet?
