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May 30, 2006
Killing Machines
The mosquitoes have claimed our yard. As of about 3 or 4 weeks ago, the kids have stopped going outside, and Mom and Dad have become hyperactive about the door being open for more than 5 seconds. "Close the door. Close the door! CLOSE THE DOOR!"
We have a nearby neighbor that does not mow, and has a V8 engine hanging from a tree branch. I image the mosquitoes over there, hanging out poolside in various cans and cylinders planning their next meal at the gourmet restaurant that is our back yard. "Mmmm, three-year-old forehead... tasty!"
There are machines for this problem. They run in the hundreds of dollars price range, but if they can really knock out the mosquito population, they are totally worth it. Two years ago, when I first looked into them, the only one I could find was the Mosquito Magnet, but there was a pretty obvious pattern to the consumer reviews. People who had just bought it loved it. People who had owned one for more than one year hated it. Three hundred dollars is great if I can kill most of the mosquitoes in my yard for 5 to 10 years, but it's too much for just one year.
From left to right, the Mosquito Sentinel available at Lowes ($199), which is too good looking to possibly work, the Mega Catch ($179) only available online, and the troublesome Mosquito Magnet ($1,250).
The idea of a greedy, evil, devil-mosquito landing on my precious and not-yet-born daughter has pushed me over the edge, so I bought the Mega Catch Premier today.
Posted by David at May 30, 2006 10:14 AM
Comments
Weird. I researched this very topic last night! I couldn't believe how uniformly bad the comments were for the Mosquito Magnet products. Did you notice that all the models that Amazon sells are marked "while supplies last?" These things cost way too much money to be just a one-season product. I bet Amazon gets a lot of customer complaints.
I'm anxious to know what kind of results you get with the Mega Catch Premier. We live in Allandale near Shoal Creek and I think we're getting mostly Asian Tigers.
In addition to the Premier, I am looking at the Mega Catch Ultra, which Costco.com sells for $399. A 20# CO2 cylinder (filled) costs an additional $169 at AirGas, and refills cost $12 after that. Pricey, but as you say, if this thing works for 5-10 years, then I'm comfortable with the investment.
Incidentally, we have a "precious and not-yet-born daughter" due on July 3rd. I wonder if I can add a Mega Catch Ultra to the baby's gift registry? :)
Posted by: Kevin at May 30, 2006 02:08 PM
Congratulations! That would be an ideal baby registry gift.
The thing that made up my mind on the Mega Catch was a comment on Amazon from a person who had bought Lurex, which is made for the Mosquito Magnet, and used in his Mega Catch.
"I use the Lurex 3 attractant made by Mosquito Magnet, and lay it next to the collection cup, inside the Mega Catch. Since we did not get bit at all after setting up the Mega Catch, I assume it is working."
That seems to be the winning combination for Asian Tiger mosquitoes. The confusing part is that there are two different Premiers no the market, the 2003 model and the MCP400. It’s hard to tell which is which, and I never found good information about the difference.
Posted by: David E. at May 30, 2006 02:45 PM
Bats eat mosquitos. Maybe not an immediate fix, but a bat house is easy and cheap to build. It might take a year to lure the bats to your yard but it sounds like you've got plenty of food for them!
Posted by: ben at May 30, 2006 09:19 PM
We have the same refrain of CLOSE THE DOOR (or more often GET OUT OF THE WAY SO I CAN CLOSE THE DOOR!). HATE those bugs. I'll be anxious to hear if the contraption works though I have heard they are quite hit or miss depending on your exact microclimate/topography etc.
Posted by: Amy at May 31, 2006 05:17 PM
oh my...reading this made me, once again, thrilled that we left our homestate of Nebraska. Granted, Oregon gets rain, but oddly no mosquitos. I can't remember the last time I was bitten...I think I was bitten once while camping. I wonder why there are no mosquitos in Oregon? Hmmm....
Posted by: Laurie at May 31, 2006 10:43 PM