Propane fired Mosquito Killers

[IllMarty1]

Anyone have any experience with these? With the cool wet spring and now wet summer in Wisconsin, my place is super infested.

 

[MrJimi]

We live in Florida and the bug zappers work good, get ya some
early mornings and early evenings are primetime for them here

 

[bmac]

I read a thread about these on another site and one guy had mixed feelings. He thought his Mosquito Magnet was very effective, but was displeased that it quit working after 1 season.

A dealer joined in on the discussion and talked about the need for regular maintenance (like many things) to keep them running.

In the end, the guy bought a Skeeter Vac to see if it was as effective as the Mosquito Magnet and, hopefully, more reliable. While he has only had the Skeeter Vac for a few weeks, his subjective opinion is that it seems to be as effective as the Mosquito Magnet. Too early to comment on reliability.

A key consideration (in addition to costs) is the fact that they take about 3-4 weeks to reach maximum effectiveness. So don't think that if you put one out this afternoon that you will be mosquito-free this evening. You may need repellants / foggers until the propane unit has had time to work.

 

[Phils]

...Wisconsin, my place is super infested.

I've been to Wisconsin many times and always thought the state bird was the mosquito ;-)

Are you saying this is unusual or an especially bad year?

Phil

 

[3RRL]

I too am interested in those type units, so hopefully someone else will share more information about them.
Like what brands or type works best, etc. and what to expect as far as performance.

 

[mahlers]

At one point, I had five Mosquite Magnets running on my property, and they do "OK" when placed in a good location. Three of mine went completely inop, though, and dealer support was horrible. And, with the cost of propane these days, I found it just wasn't worth it. Spraying myself with DEET is a lot cheaper and more reliable.

What I have found works really well are the mosquito dunks that you can get at Home Depot or online. Just pop one in each small body of water, and the larvae die off in a few days. It's totally safe and sound -they have some kind of bacteria in them that is lethal for mosquito larvae but don't hurt anything else. Since using them, I've noticed a HUGE decrease in the mosquito population around here.

If you don't have bodies of water around where the mosquitos obviously breed, you can use five-gallon pails full of water set strategically around your house. The mosquitos will lay their eggs in them and the larvae will then die off. It really works.

 

[forgeblast]

I worka second part time at dicks sporting goods, (for the discounts and goodies) and we used to sell those large mosquito killers. it seemed that everytime we sold one it would come back. for some reason there was a design flaw not sure what but we dont sell them anymore. You could go and buy the bio dunks that you throw in standing water. They have a virus that messes up the life cycle of a mosquito but doesnt harm us.

 

[shvl73]

I've got a SkeeterVac. It's about 4 yrs old. I can swat more mosquitos than it catches. I tried moving it around to different locations with no real improvement. After a $20 20lb cylinder of propane, I'd expect to see more than a couple hundred mosquitos killed.

 

[schmism]

what works really well is off the shelf malithion spray concentrated for a screw on hose sprayer.

Spray around the yard/ woolly area's and enjoy a marked reduction in the skeders for a week or so.

reapplication is easy and cheep.

 

[IllMarty1]

I've been to Wisconsin many times and always thought the state bird was the mosquito ;-)

Are you saying this is unusual or an especially bad year?

Phil

Phil,

We have had a few good dry summers and I got spoiled. When those things are attacking all during the daylight hours, its time to take action.

 

[streamin]

I had a skeeter vac and it worked 1 season and quit. When it was working it did catch mosquitoes but not enough to make a dent!

 

[BobRip]

I have a Mosquito Delito. I have used it for about 4 years. Almost every year at the beginning of the season, I have to take the hose fitting apart and blow air into it to get it to work. If I am outside within 50 yards of it I don't get bitten. I live next to a swamp. I go over to my neighbors (he is further from the swamp) and I get bitten every time. It does not catch a lot of mosquitos, but my measure of not being bitten is what's important. It is well worth it to me.

 

[yzbdsbp]

I can tell you these work...no exceptions!!! It is only a small area...but this is the best thing ever made for personal repellent

ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent

 

[AlanB]

My dad, in Florida has used the mosquito delito thing for the last couple years and say's it works well for him.

On last years Mosquito thread this stuff was brought up.

Mosquito Repellent | Tick Repellent | Natural Mosquito Control by Mosquito Barrier

We may order some and try it.

May do the mosquito deleto thing as well,

We currently use the dunks in the standing ponds.

Right now you get ate up at my house in the evening.

I still have not done the Bat houses I promised the wife, just the thought of the things eating their weight in mosquitos daily makes me smile.

 

[mjfox6]

I used a Coleman Mosquito Deleto 2500 system for a couple of years. It caught mosquitoes and tons of gnats but it wasn't worth it as far as I am concerned. The unit was expensive, and you have to replace the lure and propane. I probably paid $1/mosquito killed. The happiest it made me is when someone gave me $50 for it!

 

[Luremaker]

You could build a few bat houses. Bats eat lots of mosquitoes and they don't require any propane.

How to Build a Bat House

 

[Skerby]

i grew up and lived in NJ for many years, know for it's mosquito problems. i've vacationed in Maine more than i can count. My first year in Indiana and i have "never" seen as bad a summer as last year in my life! I'm told it is rare here that they are sooo bad. I'm also told that last years drought was the worst since like 20 some years and maybe i'm just a jonah or something? anyhoo, i understand that the propane one work by creating carbon dioxide which attracts the mosquitos, like our breathing does. i personally use DEET and get it on clearance in the winter at walmart for the following season.. soooo cheap that way.. i also spray a perimeter around my home using malithion... seems to work pretty well.. i'd be interested in any feedback on people using the foggers?

 

[Tororider]

You could build a few bat houses. Bats eat lots of mosquitoes and they don't require any propane.

How to Build a Bat House

I was about to start building bat houses when my wife stopped me. She is a doctor and apparently rabies is so prevalent in bats that if you are around them at all, not even bitten, you are supposed to get a series of 5 injections. I guess even saliva and stuff can transmit. With rabies having a 50% mortality rate, it isn't worth it.

 

[shvl73]

Irabies is so prevalent in bats that if you are around them at all, not even bitten, you are supposed to get a series of 5 injections. I guess even saliva and stuff can transmit.

I've never heard that but, If you contact bat saliva, you're alot closer than I'd care to be.
I've heard that bats are after larger insects than mosquitos and that the amount of mosquitos they eat is rather small. Could easily be wrong though.

 

[Tororider]

I should also say I don't know if this is local to MI or nationwide. I thought the same thing about saliva, but she said if they are living around at all you have to be careful. I was really bummed because I was hoping to eliminate, or at least lessen the mosquitos around our place. I am thinking of just getting some minnows/mosquito fish/goldfish to throw in our marsh to eat the larvae. Probably not goldfish as they will be easy pickings for water birds. I am following this closely to see if anyone has anything that works.