Mosquito Killer -- Mosquito Trap -- Mosquito Zapper

There are several different methods to control mosquitoes. They boil down to two basic methods -- killing or repelling them. This page will discuss only methods of killing mosquitoes, not repelling them.

A mosquito killer is a device that actually kills mosquitoes instead of just trying to repel mosquitoes.

There are two major types of mosquito killer devices -- mosquito trappers and mosquito zappers.

Both of those types of mosquito killers rely on what mosquitoes are looking for. They want to suck your blood. More precisely, it is the femme fatale (females) that want to suck your blood. (I just the other day happened to watch three film noir movies -- evil females and hapless males.) The male mosquitoes are kinder, gentler creatures and live on flower nectar.

So, what do women want -- I mean, what do female mosquitoes want? They want blood. Where does blood come from? Animals. And humans are animals, despite religious wackos' opinions to the contrary. Now, what might animals regularly do that might, over millions of years of evolution (again, discounting religious wacko opinions), result in mosquitoes becoming able to detect potential blood feasts?

Well, animals breath, and they are warm. (They also poop and urinate, but that is only occasionally. They breathe all the time.) Assuming they are living, animals are warm, and they breath out warm and moist air, including lots of carbon dioxide (CO₂). That is what the mosquitoes home in on -- local “hot spots” of CO₂. Then they look (feel) for a nice warm patch of skin to snuggle up to.

So, a mosquito killer works by fooling the mosquitoes.

The mosquito zapper type of mosquito killer works by attracting the mosquitoes with ultraviolet light -- UV light -- blacklight. I have no idea of the evolutionary basis of that attraction. Anyway, as the mosquito flies towards the UV light inside the bug zapper, it hits an electrified grid. This grid is charged to a very high voltage (typically 5600 volts), which electrocutes (zaps) the mosquito. The now lifeless crispy critter then falls into a collecting tray for disposal later.

There a few disadvantages to the attraction type mosquito killers:
1) They can attract mosquitoes to the area which they might not have otherwise noticed. And not all of them are going to get to the zapper. They may get to you first, instead.
2) The zapping sound and harsh blue light can be annoying.
3) The zapping grid, depending on the design, can get more or less bits of mosquito carcasses stuck to them, that have failed to fall into the collecting tray. The grids need to be cleaned periodically. A grid with lots of mosquitoes stuck to it can actually sometimes cause a short-circuit. And/or the grid can be so blocked that the attracting power of the blacklight is blocked.

The mosquito trap mosquito killer depends on the attraction factors first mentioned above -- warm moist exhaled air with CO₂, and body heat. The mosquito traps mimic those, to varying degrees, depending on the type and design. They emit carbon dioxide. Some types require buying and refilling canisters with CO₂. This is inconvenient for most. More popular are traps that use more readily and easily available propane. The mosquito trap device burns or catalyzes the propane to generate CO₂ and warmth. Some may also heat water to provide moisture.

So we have carbon dioxide, moisture, and warmth. When the female mosquitoes come seeking a meal, they buzz around and then into the machine, whereupon a fan sucks them up. They are trapped in a net or stuck to a sticky plate. There they are stuck until they dehydrate and die. (Promise not to tell PETA?) It's a good thing for us that mosquitoes depend on their chemical sensors rather than on vision. If they depended on vision, the devices would have to be much larger and appropriately shaped and textured to work.

The advantage of a mosquito trap is that it is much quieter than a zapper. The fans are relatively quiet.

The main disadvantages of mosquito traps are
1) They can attract mosquitoes to the area which they might not have otherwise noticed. And not all of them are going to get to the trap. They may get to you first, instead.
2) They require either a direct source of CO₂, or propane to generate it.

Another method to kill mosquitoes is misting or spraying. Sprayers are set up in an area to be controlled. A typical area that can be covered is 300 square feet, perhaps that of a patio or deck. At programmed, preset times the sprayers are activated. One type uses a daylight sensor to detect and spray at dusk and dawn, the times when mosquitoes are most active.

A common insecticide used for sprayers and misters is Pyrethrin, which is a safe botanical derived from chrysanthemum daisies. Mosquitoes are killed on contact.

Sprayers are good for clearing out an area for a time, not just during the spraying time; there is a few hours residual effect. A zapper or trap type of mosquito killer in addition would provide even more protection. Let them suck somewhere else, on someone else.