Summer’s here and the coolest gadget team are turning their attention to barbeques, parties and mosquitoes. As many of you will know, mosquitoes can ruin those warm summer evenings for some, and be a serious threat to the health of others.
I’m sure you’ve heard of a million gizmos that claim to repel mosquitoes with chemicals, ultrasound etc. Here we’ve found a couple of contrasting approaches to mosquito control, depending on your budget!
The hi-tech solution (shown on the left hand side picture!) is the Mosquito Mega-Catch from Hammacher that uses flashing LEDs, pheromones, and ultra violet light to lure the blood-sucking insects towards the machine. As they get close, they’re sucked inside by a negative airflow. It’s been claimed that one of these machines devoured 1200 mosquitoes in a single night, and at $200 dollars this gadget’s not overly expensive.
Of course there are people for whom 200 US is unthinkable, and these are most likely to be the people whose lives are threatened by the malaria parasite. The low-tech solution, developed and perfected by schoolchildren from Taiwan, uses a 2 litre soft drink bottle, filled with a sugar solution, to which yeast is added. The yeast ferments the sugar producing CO2 gas that acts as a magnet for the mosquitoes. If the top of the bottle is cut off and replaced in an inverted position, the insects are trapped. The yeast will continue to produce CO2 for two weeks.
I’m definitely going to try the low-tech solution, because we have a baby this year and I’m worried that the chemicals produced by our (very effective) mosquito repellent device will harm him. If that doesn’t work I could afford $200, I suppose, but I have to say I’d feel a little uneasy about doing so.
DIY mosquito trap found via Neatorama.
Mosquito Mega-Catch found via Ohgizmo and Uncrate.
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