With the threat of West Nile virus as well as to avoid being bitten at all  it is prudent to take steps to reduce the number of mosquitoes in your yard. As you can see on the Leon county web pages,  one way is to keep open containers of water emptied as much as possible.

    Biological controls they suggest include: bat and Purple Martin houses, mosquitofish (if you have a garden type pool), and Bacillis thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) if you have a bird bath. This last product is obtainable from at least Home Depot as "Mosquito Dunks" ($8.83 plus tax) and comes in packages of 6 "doughnuts,"each of which could treat up to 100 square feet. Small chunks broken off such a doughnut last a long time in a birdbath.

    Other thoughts are to try to eliminate as many as you can. Four neighbors on and near Sterling drive purchased a Mosquito Magnet "Liberty" from Home Depot last year and it seemed to do its job. This is to trap mainly the female mosquitoes that bite, and thus decrease the number of eggs being laid to continue the population.  By the end of the summer they had few mosquitoes generated locally, but of course they blow in from other areas. It is supposed to attract mosquitoes over a one acre area.

    When Consumer Reports did their tests in May 2003 they found that the Liberty and Lentek Mosquito Trap MK01 did well, while the Applica SonicWeb ICH500 trapped far fewer. They did not test Coleman's Mosquito Deleto, possibly because of the recall done July 2002 for dangerous and defective valves. One of our neighbors purchased a Deleto last year but was not impressed with its performance.
CU also reported: "Bug zappers, the ultraviolet-light devices that slay insects with a reassuring "zot!" are one option. In our tests, however, a zapper killed barely more mosquitoes than lodged on a nearby piece of sticky paper."

    Coleman now has a new model out which remains untested. These can be found at Lowe's in prices for different models of $160, $249 and $300. Coleman reports tests on their web pages done by FAMU which shows at that time that the Magnet outperformed their prototype in catching about a third more mosquitoes. In this test both the Sonic Web and Lentek did poorly.  If anyone knows of recent test results including those including their latest models, please pass on to the neighborhood.
   
    Mosquito Magnet prices now at Home Depot are $295 for the Defender (1/2 acre), $495 for the Liberty (1 acre with electrical connection needed), and $695 for the Liberty plus (one acre with no need for electrical connection). Amazon.com seems to have some used units for sale also.

We encourage you to consider these because the more such devices operating in the neighborhood, the more effective is the coverage for all. Since the more expensive units cover a large area, joint purchase by those on adjoining lots is an effective way to decrease the initial and operating costs.





Last updated 7 July 2004