The mosquito threat exists for a significant part of the year. The only respite is the late autumn and winter seasons. In some regions, bloodsuckers are active for almost 8-9 months.
Both rural and urban residents can encounter mosquitoes.
Although to a lesser extent, there are also plenty of insects in densely populated cities and megalopolises. There are several ways to deal with them at home. Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?
Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?
Review of popular models, rating, operating principle. Is it worth taking?
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The simplest, cheapest and most popular is to use repellents and fumigator devices. The fumigator allows you to solve the problem indoors. The products that come with such devices kill mosquitoes over an area of up to several tens of square meters. There are portable analogues for use outside the home.
However, the question arises as to how safe such devices are and whether they can be used without special precautions. In fact, harm is quite possible, especially if used incorrectly.
Let's try to figure out what's what and what to do.
What is the job of a fumigator?
Fumigation is the destruction of harmful insects by exposing them to toxic fumes. The word comes from the Latin verb “fumigare”, which means to fumigate or smoke. The chemical used to carry out this procedure is called a fumigant. It’s easy to guess that a fumigator is a device that allows you to spread substances that are poisonous to insects.
The fumigator device consists of the following key elements:
- a heating element;
- insecticide in the form of a plate, spiral, tablet or wick.
The principle of operation of the fumigator is to ensure the evaporation of a chemical substance that kills pests, but is safe for humans and pets. In addition to insecticides, non-toxic repellent substances are used in the fight against annoying insects. These are pyrethrins extracted from plants and synthesized pyrethroid components. Such substances help, through fumigation, to get rid of midges in the kitchen and scare away “bloodsuckers” from the children’s room.
Important! The answer to the question of how a fumigator works against mosquitoes directly depends on the substance used in the device. The insecticide works to destroy, while pyrethrin and pyrethroid simply repel.
Replacement options
You don’t always have this wonderful remedy at hand, and then you urgently need to figure out what can replace mosquito repellent tablets. Instead, you can use mosquito repellent liquid. They are in no way inferior to conventional plates, but exceed them in operating time.
If the tablets themselves are there, but the fumigator itself does not work, you can try to heat the plate in any other way - the effect will be the same.
Important! When heating the plate using improvised means, do not leave it unattended. The optimal heating temperature is 30-40 degrees. Heating above the specified values is not recommended.
We looked at the options when you have mosquito repellent liquid on hand or the device itself is simply faulty. But what to do if there are no mosquito repellent tablets? Of course, you will have to turn to folk remedies.
Device classification
Modern science has developed a wide range of specialized chemicals to control pests, from insects to rodents, using the fumigation method. A universal fumigator that works in all directions is just a dream. There are various types of specialized fumigators on sale. The most popular ones are anti-mosquito and anti-midge devices. Less common from flies and cockroaches. And if you try, you can find a fumigator against mice or other harmful living creatures: bedbugs, moths and even fleas in the apartment.
The devices also differ in form factor. Electric fumigators can be battery-powered or powered from household power. Depending on the conditions of use, there are outdoor devices, for residential and office premises, portable portable fumigators that help out when fishing or in camping conditions. On sale you can find a special fumigator for a car and even devices with additional functions: a night light or a fumigator heating pad.
Regardless of the type of fumigation substance and form factor, all devices offered on the market according to the heating method are divided into two classes:
- electrical;
- pyrotechnic (smoking).
In an electrical device, solid (tablets, plates), liquid (in a bottle) or combined forms of the substance can be used as a fumigant, depending on the model. The heat source in the device is an electric heating element.
To activate a pyrotechnic device, the coil/wick must be ignited and immediately extinguished to initiate the smoldering process, through which smoke is released into the air, affecting pests.
Folk recipes
Even if you don’t have any of the devices listed above at hand, try looking in your first aid kit, cosmetic bag, or inspecting the beds. Knowing what substances negatively affect mosquitoes, you can easily prepare a life-saving folk remedy. The table will tell you exactly how to do this.
Table - Folk methods of fighting bloodsuckers
| Method | Features of application |
| Camphor | - Make a water bath; - pour 100 g of camphor into the vessel; - evaporate |
| Elderberry branches or tomato tops | — We form a bouquet of branches; - place in a vase in a well-ventilated place |
| Cedar oil | — We drip into the aroma lamp; — enjoy the aroma, destroy mosquitoes and cockroaches |
| Essential oil of eucalyptus, anise or basil | — Dip cotton wool into oil; - put it on the windowsill or on the table |
| Caucasian chamomile | — We lay out bouquets of fresh or dried flowers on the windowsills; — we live without mosquitoes for a week |
A smoke bomb is considered a universal remedy for small bloodsuckers. Its basis is pyrethrin, already known to us, which in the form of smoke penetrates even the most inaccessible places. You can light the fuse of a checker both indoors and outdoors. However, during the period of smoke, the premises, as well as the cultivated land, must be left. After the smoke has dissipated, you can calmly enter the house - with full confidence that mosquito tricks in the coming days will not cause poor sleep and an itchy body.
If you prefer natural remedies, lemon and cloves will help repellent mosquitoes. Cut the citrus fruit in half and insert eight to ten dried cloves into each half. The same one that you use to prepare mulled wine and meat. A powerful natural repellent placed near your bed will protect you from insects. You can enhance the effect by dropping the essential oils of these plants onto lemon pulp.
Video on the topic
Rules for operating devices of different classes
To avoid harm to health, you should adhere to the following rules for selecting and using fumigators.
- When purchasing a device, check for instructions and a fire safety certificate.
- Before using the device, read the instructions on how to properly turn on the fumigator with liquid, for example. Operate the product strictly following the instructions.
- Do not leave the device plugged in unattended.
For electrical structures, it is important to avoid moisture. In enclosed spaces, you can turn on the device only for 2-3 hours in the place where household members are least likely to be. For large premises, it is allowed to use several devices of the same class, located in different zones. In children's rooms, models that use repellent substances are recommended. The same remark applies to rooms where pregnant women are present.
It has been noted that aquarium fish cannot tolerate the effects of fumigants, so a fumigator cannot be used in rooms with an aquarium.
Remember that only regular operation of fumigators will not cause harm to humans.
Are there any disadvantages
There are no downsides to mosquito repellent tablets as such. True, people often forget that a standard fumigator is designed to work in a room with an area of 12 m2. Of course, it can handle 20 meters, but the efficiency will noticeably decrease.
The second point is ease of use. Most people are used to simply turning on the device at the head of the bed all night. And this is fundamentally wrong. According to the instructions (which we still encourage you to read), the device should only be turned on when there are no people in the room. After about 30 minutes, the room needs to be ventilated, and only then can you stay in it.
The best mosquito fumigators
In the variety of offers, it is difficult for buyers to decide which mosquito fumigator is best. The review below shows popular fumigators that are quite effective in controlling mosquitoes.
"Raptor" device line
Models of this brand use the mosquito-killing substance “Etok” in liquid form or in the form of plates. This fumigant, when used correctly, will not harm the health and well-being of humans and pets. When heated, the substance evaporates and paralyzes the nervous system of mosquitoes. The same substance will effectively help cope with flies, fleas and bed bugs.
Important! You should only leave the device turned on overnight with the window open. The bottle lasts for 40-60 nights, and the plates for the desired effect should be changed every 8-10 hours of active use.
The cost of models of the brand in question depends on the format of the substance used: plates or a bottle of liquid. Prices for the kit (device + fumigant) vary from 350 rubles with plates and from 500 rubles with liquid.
Fumigator Raptor on Yandex Market
Electrical devices "Raid"
Fumigators of this brand are available in two versions:
- a conventional, manually switched on and off device;
- a device equipped with a shutdown timer.
The brand's assortment includes products with a liquid form of a fumigant in a bottle (for 30-40 nights) or an active substance in the form of replaceable plates (for 8-10 hours). The price of the kit, depending on the model, starts from 250 rubles.
Fumigator Raid on Yandex Market
Mosquitall devices
Universal Mosquitall devices work with both plates and liquid fumigant. This device is equipped with a mosquito repellent. The device can be used as a children's mosquito fumigator. The set can be purchased from 250 rubles.
On a note! The range of Mosquitall brand products includes not only simple devices, but also versions with additional functions: a fan and a timer.
Fumigator Mosquitall on Yandex Market
...and for the dacha
Country protection from bloodsuckers often requires mobility. When relaxing outside the city, a person is often in the open air. In addition, power outages often occur in summer cottages, which makes it impossible to use mains-powered fumigators.
Thermacell device
The Thermacell mosquito repellent is based on the principle of fumigation, but the device does not require connection to an electrical network. This makes it universal for use outside city apartments - where there is no current, or connecting to the network is inconvenient for a number of reasons. For example, while fishing, hunting, hiking, or just at a summer cottage outside the house. The mosquito repeller comes with one gas cartridge and three replacement plates.
- Active substance. The basis of the device is allethrin, a chemical analogue of natural pyrethrin.
- Radius of action. The device operates within a radius of 20-25 m2. Therefore, by attaching it to your clothes, belt or backpack, you can be sure that the bloodsuckers will no longer bother you.
The leaders in pyrethrin content are representatives of flower flora. In particular, the substance is produced by garden white chrysanthemums.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound devices are also mobile and easy to use outside the city. Their operating principle is simple. When turned on, the device begins to transmit ultrasound, simulating the sounds that male mosquitoes make when they detect danger. Females, hearing the signal, fly away from the place from which it comes. The range of the device depends on how powerful the signal it emits. There are models made in the form of bracelets, powered by batteries. They are convenient to put on your hands when working in your summer cottage, going to the forest or to the river.
Plastic bottle trap
You can fight mosquitoes in your summer cottage without the help of chemicals or ultrasound. Even a schoolchild can make an intuitively simple and understandable device from a plastic bottle in four steps.
- Add water. Cut off the top of the vessel. Pour about a glass of warm water inside the large part.
- Stir the sugar. Add three tablespoons of sugar to the water and stir until completely dissolved.
- Add yeast. Place 2 g of yeast into a common vessel without stirring the resulting mixture.
- We set a trap. We turn the neck over, having first removed the cap from it, and cover the larger part of the bottle with the smaller one. It turns out to be a kind of trap
A plastic bottle trap will release the smell of sweet water and yeast. This “aroma” will lure insects inside the vessel, but the bloodsuckers will no longer be able to fly back out.
A modern alternative is the electric trap. In the center of this device there is an ultraviolet lamp surrounded by an electrical grid. The lamp attracts mosquitoes with its glow. Flying towards it and falling on the net, the insects instantly burn.
