Black Hole - mosquito trap

[STUDMEYER]

Bought one of these the other day. Went BIG and got the automatic version for the extra 500 baht. 2500 total.

Initially I was not impressed with my purchase as the only thing attracting the mossies is the light. It surely is not worth 2,500 baht. But it does come with a one year warranty.

The theory is (as far as i can tell) they are attracted to the light, then they are sucked into a metal screen lined trap where they die. No CO2, no pheromones, no incentive to fly to their death but a stupid blue light.

So i set it up and this is the haul from the first night: (see pic)

I guess thats OK. If this is running every night for a few months im sure it could possibly make a difference.

It seemed to catch more of the tiny ankle biter types than the bigger ones. Some im not sure are even mosquitos as they are so small its hard to tell what they are.

Note:

Walking around bushes near trap causes clouds of mosquitos to rise up and attack. The trap only catches mosquitos that are in the direct vicinity. Mosquitos will be 2-3 feet away and not fly in. If this trap was hanging beside you and a mosquito happened along, its still biting you.

Not sure if I will keep it. Homepro said i have a 14 day window to return or exchange. If this thing had pheromones or CO2 im sure it would fare better.

Anyone got a better option to buy locally in CM? Not sure I want to spring for the big gas powered one. Is there somewhere i can buy some CO2 bait or pheromones?

Thanks

SM

[mikebell]

I had the expensive Black Hole trap. Whilst it is gratifying to note that trapped mosquitoes die of starvation/old age it didn't do much to protect me. Eventually the light failed & I buggered it up trying to fit a new bulb. I bought a cheap plug-in electric light killer that was more satisfying as you could hear the occasional crack as an insect flew to its death. To make it more effective I place an open container of yeast + sugar which bubbles away producing CO2. According to stats its mosquito kill rate is 5% among 100 insect corpses. I figure taking out 5 a night is OK as the other 95 killed makes the local lizard population work harder.

[CMKiwi]

I use the electric zapper type machine and it's quite effective but one downside is that the little house lizards sometimes get zapped too.

Similar or same principle of using black light as the attractant.

[Tywais]

Carbon Dioxide - Baking Soda + Vinegar.

[Nice Boyd]

Blue Light does not attract mosquitos,Try Lemongrass or those Expensive Mosquito killers

[Oscar2]

"Not sure if I will keep it. Homepro said i have a 14 day window to return or exchange." i think you will find that applies if not opened or used. you'll never get your money back now that you have used it.

they don't work very well.

[STUDMEYER]

I know everyone is on the edge of their seats, so heres the latest update after 2 more nights of running this thing w/o cleaning it (see pics)

3 big striped mosquitoes

20 little mosquitos of different breeds

In the middle and right, moths beetles, random bugs

As i was sifting through the remains (and fighting off the ants that had found this new food source) i was still getting harassed by mosquitos from the adjacent bushes.

To be fair though, the ants were pulling whole moths out of the trap, so there may have been even more mosquitoes before i checked.

Wife is coming home with some yeast and sugar later.

Rgs,

SM

black hole for sale, like new, PM me for details

[NancyL]

You would have done better to take one of those electric tennis racket thingies and waved it around a bit. Esp, if the mozzies are buzzing about around the bushes. You can beat the bushes with the racket.

[CMKiwi]

Yes Nancy those racquet things are great. Even more fun when someone accidently touches the metal grill while it's on....They produce a nice shock!

[Dellboy218]

Ultra violet light attracts insects. Co2 also attracts mossies. For the U.V. The attraction is on the amount of light. For the industrial / food industry there is a formula which if I remember correctly is something like 1 Watt per 3 cu.M. You can Google it to make sure. You can pay a fortune for a bug trap / killer but unless it has sufficient attraction it is not going to do much. Try the 20W 2foot fluro U.V. cheapo bug killer 600B in Amorn.

[NaiGreg]

Check out Biogents. They have a distributor in Pattaya (not me.) I have two units because they actually work quite well on dengue mosqitos. That is an understatement. They work incredibly well. The scented baits are 600 baht and last about 2 or 3 months. Right now one of my traps has hundreds if not a thousand dead, dehydrated mossies.

[masuk]

Blue Light does not attract mosquitos,Try Lemongrass or those Expensive Mosquito killers

Blue light certainly attracts the mosquito as there's a bit of UV in this.

I got dozens each night when I first installed it.

cost 600baht at Makro.

[brommers]

NaiGreg is correct. The units from Biogents are far superior to anything else. I have been using one for over 2 years and it collects vast quantities of mosquitos and nothing else. Blue lights attract lots of other insects and very few mozzies which are attracted to darkness not light. And as the various types of mozzie are active 24/7 the Biogents unit is highly effective day and night.

[jko]

I have a lot of bushy plants around the house.

I discovered that if you spray deeply into the the vegetation with a light insect killer aerosol (not the variety that kills cockroaches and heavy stuff) it reduces the mozzie population considerably.

For best effect, do it just before daybreak and at dusk. You don't need vast quantities, just short bursts

Nips the little buggers in the bud.(actually on the bud!)

[BKKdreaming]

Mozzies are a problem worldwide , you would think there would be more studies about them,

Maybe thats too simple and each kind of Mozzie is attracted by something unique ,

They like me and I am always angry to get to my Hotel and finding Mozzies in my room,

i have to do a "hunt" and try to find them before going to bed ,

I wish there was something that attracted them ( light, smell, sounds ? ) that I can put in the Bathroom and then I could go on a killing spree !

[LivinLOS]

I wish there was something that attracted them ( light, smell, sounds ? ) that I can put in the Bathroom and then I could go on a killing spree !

CO2 and dark spaces..

[STUDMEYER]

"Not sure if I will keep it. Homepro said i have a 14 day window to return or exchange." i think you will find that applies if not opened or used. you'll never get your money back now that you have used it.

they don't work very well.

Thanks for the advice on HomePro. I didn't find any problems with their returns policy. I've already returned it and got a full refund.

Me thinks I'll try the Biogents next.

Rgs

SM

[piewarmer]

I have a different on made by House Worth, A thai company, 2 blue lights , it catches many mozzies day and night.

Available only in Bangkok 1500B. I think its catching the majority of the blighters, I keep it in a dark corner near an open window.

[grin]

I only spray outside the house as I don't like chemicals inside the house. But we do have screens on all of the windows. I've been alternating between Demand CS and Cy-Kick CS just to make sure the mosquitoes don't build up resistance. I bring these in from the U.S. usually in 16 oz. containers. I add 1 oz. to 1 gallon of water and use a hand pump sprayer on all of the plants in the yard. So far it has been working quite well. Sometimes it takes 6 to 8 weeks for mosquitoes to come back and then I just spray again.

Grin

[Arkady]

I had the expensive Black Hole trap. Whilst it is gratifying to note that trapped mosquitoes die of starvation/old age it didn't do much to protect me. Eventually the light failed & I buggered it up trying to fit a new bulb. I bought a cheap plug-in electric light killer that was more satisfying as you could hear the occasional crack as an insect flew to its death. To make it more effective I place an open container of yeast + sugar which bubbles away producing CO2. According to stats its mosquito kill rate is 5% among 100 insect corpses. I figure taking out 5 a night is OK as the other 95 killed makes the local lizard population work harder.

Why not tip the corpses outside and give the lizards a free lunch?

[JaseTheBass]

Easy and cheap:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Plastic-Bottle-Mosquito-Trap/

[haybilly]

The Plastic Bottle, with Yeast solution has been proved many times to be pretty useless.

[KMartinHandyman]

A black five gallon pail down low or any bucket with a black plastic trash liner will attract many mosquitos. I think this had been said before. It works to the tune of 100 critters in the morning.

What to do with them after is the catch.