Review of the best mosquito traps: from electric to propane mosquito killers

Author: Michael Potter Updated: April 15, 2020

Mosquitoes are one of the most annoying enemies of humanity. It is not surprising that you can find so many products for killing these insects in stores. Manufacturers compete in ingenuity and come up with more and more new types of mosquito traps. Today we will talk about them.

We have thoroughly studied all types of traps that are on the market today and will help you choose the most effective ones. We’ll tell you about the most famous manufacturers and their best products, and most importantly, find out what experienced users think about all this.

Among the proven manufacturers of electric traps that you can trust, I will highlight: Tefal Mosquito Protect, Flowtron, Mosquito Magnet® and electric insect traps from the manufacturer EcoSniper.

As a rule, all mosquito killers operate on the same principle. The device lures the mosquito into the trap space, from which it can no longer get out - and inside the insect dies from poison or dehydration. Mosquitoes love human smell, warmth and water. This is precisely the principle of operation of all traps. In different traps, the bait may be one or several “mosquito weaknesses”. The mosquito associates all this with food and reproduction - and it flies in the direction of the trap without looking back.

Well, then the differences begin. By type, electric traps are divided into CO2- (carbon dioxide that a person emits when breathing) and propane traps . In some models you can find heat and even light as bait.

Electrical CO 2 traps imitate human breathing. Insects sense the gas released into the atmosphere tens of meters away and perceive it as a trace of human activity.

Propane mosquito killers work on a similar principle - the most powerful, expensive and effective mosquito traps. However, they can only be used outdoors! We devoted an entire section to this type of trap at the very end of the material. The trick with propane is that when it oxidizes, this gas forms moisture and CO2. Both attract mosquitoes! And at the same time – and some other winged insects.

We will separately highlight indoor traps , since most of us still live in apartments and we need safe and non-toxic traps. Electric traps are equally effective outdoors and at home: in this case, carbon dioxide acts as both a bait and a destructive medium. They are purchased much more often than propane analogues. Largely due to a more affordable price and good performance.

With heat and light, everything is clear: light attracts and hypnotizes almost all winged insects at night, and, again, they perceive heat as a factor in reproduction and food.

What types of mosquito traps are there?

But the differences between specific types of traps do not end there. Designers and inventors came up with many tricks that made their product unique. We have selected 6 of the most common types of mosquito traps for this review. These are heat and water traps, CO2 and UV traps, homemade traps and propane traps - there are a lot of options! But what are their fundamental differences?

1. Heat traps (as the name suggests, attract insects with heat). As a rule, these are massive units that can be used outdoors or in a large house.
2. Water traps are quite effective outdoors and at home. The main trend in this direction is the combination of the capabilities of “water hunting” and CO2. All such traps are equipped with a special tray for water and make it easy to dispose of destroyed mosquitoes. They cost an order of magnitude cheaper than heat traps.
3. CO2 traps . But carbon dioxide is not used only in these traps. Manufacturers of other “anti-mosquito devices” also install it as a bonus on their designs. The simplest carbon dioxide traps are inexpensive. The most stressful thing about working with them is buying gas cylinders! But the photocatalytic method allows us to avoid these problems (we will talk about this in more detail below).
4. UV traps for the home – these traps will protect your family from unpleasant gases and odors. They destroy insects using light. And “light traps” cost quite a bit. Make sure that replacement light bulbs are available in stores in your city or immediately buy several lamps in reserve - these components will definitely come in handy.
5. Propane traps, such as the Mosquito Magnet® mosquito killer. You definitely can’t do without cylinders here. This is definitely not a cheap solution for the street. It is time-tested and enjoys constant popularity among consumers.
6. Natural and homemade traps . Homemade traps are extremely affordable, but not as effective as we would like. However, if you are a fan of ecology and budget solutions, then why not try it?

Operating principle and varieties

Electric mosquito traps are highly effective against most flying insects, and they are harmless to people, animals and the environment. They operate primarily from mains power, but some operate from rechargeable batteries.

Types of traps:

• To attract midges and mosquitoes, they use ultraviolet radiation using a special lamp, which does not harm people, but serves as a light bait for flying pests;
• insect killers that have a built-in fan that sucks them inside with a stream of air;
• devices that emit carbon dioxide to simulate the warm body of humans and mammals and their breathing.

All traps are designed in such a way that after getting inside they touch a metal mesh under high voltage current, and the insects are shocked by an electric discharge and die.

Repellers

They are fumigators. This method of controlling mosquitoes has shown to be highly effective indoors, but devices for outdoor spaces are also on sale. Portable devices ThermaCell, Raptor, Xiaomi have proven themselves well.

How they work

The principle of action is similar to repellents, but repellers use other active ingredients - insecticides. Most often it is allethrin: in the format of a bottle with liquid, or plates soaked in it. Fumigators are equipped with a heating element powered by mains power, a battery, batteries or a portable gas cartridge.

Portable gas-powered ThermaCell repeller. Photo from the manufacturer's website

The surface interacting with the insecticide heats up and the poison evaporates. The vapor concentration is harmless to humans and animals, but not to insects. Allethrin disrupts the functioning of the nervous system, causing spatial disorientation, hyperactivity, prostration, and paralysis. Indoors this ends in the death of the bloodsuckers; in the open air they try to get away.

Advantages

• Suitable not only for individual but also group protection. You can hang it on your belt or put it in a gazebo while relaxing - there will be no mosquitoes within a radius of 5 meters.
• Duration is limited by the life of consumables and power supply. The repeller will work quietly all night.
• The devices are universal - you can take them with you fishing, on a hike, or even turn them on at home.

Flaws

As soon as the device stops working, the mosquitoes will return. Hungry and angry. And if you left the range, they are already waiting for you. In general, repellers will help you spend a couple of relatively calm evenings at the dacha, but, alas, they are not able to destroy mosquitoes on the site.

There are ultrasonic mosquito repellers on the market. We did not consider them in the article for two reasons: firstly, many studies were conducted that did not confirm the performance (not to mention the effectiveness) of such devices; secondly, if we assume that ultrasound has a negative effect on insects, then there may be unpleasant consequences for pets. Whatever one may say, the idea looks dubious.

Advantages and disadvantages of electric traps

Electric traps for flying insects
The main advantage of an electric trap is its cost-effectiveness: having purchased the device once, you will no longer have to spend money on other mosquito repellents. Their electricity consumption is low, although they can work around the clock: during the daytime they attract flies and wasps, and at night they attract mosquitoes and midges. For ease of use, the device is equipped with a removable container for dead insects, which must be cleaned periodically.

On a note!

An electronic mosquito trap is a reliable, ergonomic and absolutely safe device. Usually it is installed on the territory of a summer house or personal plot, stuck into the ground with a special peg in any place, or hung on a tree and gazebo, hooked onto a handle or other fastening.

Such devices are designed and manufactured from high-quality materials, taking into account all technological requirements, and have certificates of conformity. The body is made of heat-resistant plastic, and aluminum coating is used for its strength.

Mosquito light bulb

An ordinary light bulb that can provide light in a room, but also kill mosquitoes. Base type E27. If you don’t want to screw it into the chandelier, you can get a socket for it from the same seller and use it as a night light.

Service life: 10000 hours. 2 types of use: only ultraviolet, and light plus ultraviolet to kill insects. To switch to another mode, just turn off the light bulb and turn it on immediately.

Buy: aliexpress.ru

Scope of application of traps and exterminators

As application experience and customer reviews show, it is advisable to install destroyer lamps and electric traps in the following cases:

• in cafes and restaurants, on terraces, warehouses, in office premises or in the kitchen;
• on livestock farms to protect animals from midge bites;
• at dachas and personal plots to reduce the number of mosquitoes, gadflies and other flying garden pests;
• in warehouses to combat food moths.

On a note!

Unfortunately, outdoor traps and exterminators have absolutely no effect on cockroaches, fleas and crawling insects, even when installed on the floor. UV light does not attract them, but rather scares them.

Radius of action

Room traps for rooms are usually made in the form of a night light. Consequently, their damaging power will be limited to only one room. These mini electric shredders can be placed on a table, hung on a wall, or mounted on the ceiling. The effect of their work begins in about 20 minutes.

But street traps are made more powerful. Their range of action can reach 50 meters. Accordingly, the working area can exceed 300 m2 for the most powerful models. They are installed on solid surfaces or suspended.

Electric exterminators act not only on mosquitoes, but also on midges, butterflies, moths and other types of insects. Their effectiveness depends on power, quality, and correct use. Powerful catchers do not need to be installed indoors: a night lamp will be enough to ensure a relaxing rest.

With constant use, the effect is observed after a few days. If there are a significant number of mosquitoes or midges, even the most powerful exterminator may be ineffective.

If you have to choose a specific device for killing mosquitoes, first of all you should pay attention to the range of action. It is this parameter that is decisive in choosing the appropriate model.

Mosquito Trap MT-200

A Chinese-made mosquito killer, midges and mosquitoes, operating on the basis of a UV lamp that imitates human odor. For proper operation, the device must be suspended at a distance of 40-60 cm from the ground and a gas cylinder must be attached to it. The electric trap operates from a regular network (220 V) or from a car battery (12 V).

Characteristics:

• effective area – up to 2 thousand square meters. m;
• dimensions 25x25x35 cm;
• weight 2 kg;
• the body is made of metal;
• The kit includes a cylinder with carbon dioxide CO2 (food grade).

Operating principle: the lamp heats the body, releasing heat, mosquitoes are attracted by carbon dioxide (human odor), after getting inside they are sucked by a fan into a special compartment made of a metal mesh, from which they can no longer get out and die.

Price – about 12 thousand rubles.

The best bait is a person

Scientists have conducted many studies to understand what various insects value most about us. It turned out that this is not our beauty or sharp mind. Everything is much more prosaic. Most of all, mosquitoes and other biting creatures are attracted to us by our breath.

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For us, exhalation is just exhalation, but for insects it is a promise of warmth and food. Every time we exhale not only used air, consisting of carbon dioxide. We exhale moisture, warmth and hope. Remember how freshly baked bread smells? You can hear this aroma tens of meters away. And when you pick up a warm, fresh-from-the-oven loaf of white bread... There is no way not to pinch off a piece. So our breath for mosquitoes is exactly the “aroma of freshly baked bread.”

It is this “aroma” that they most often try to imitate in their work, installations for the destruction of mosquitoes. A little carbon dioxide, moisture and heat - and now the female mosquito, abandoning everything, flies to the trap.

And more complex systems imitate the smell of human skin, which also awakens the appetite of many insects. To recreate it, attractants are used, in particular Octenol. In nature, it is naturally produced by microscopic fungi. You and I (fortunately) don’t know, but these mushrooms are found on the skin of any warm-blooded creature. And it is their smell that is so sweet for mosquitoes. People are not able to smell Octenol, but for all those who like to sting, it is a real magnet.

All of these tricks, together or separately, work great. Not only mosquitoes fly into the trap, but also many of its friends: midges, horseflies, gadflies, etc. And decent insects, like butterflies and bees, fly past these devices and calmly fly about their business.

Terminator 4 QK889

The trap and killer of mosquitoes and flies is made in China, has dimensions of 210x315 mm, and is shaped like a lamp that can be placed or hung. Equipped with a battery (charges within 10-12 hours), designed for 12 hours of operation, which allows you to use the mosquito repellent outdoors, and is also connected to the mains. The kit includes an AC adapter for charging the battery and a brush for cleaning the mesh from dead animals.

Operating principle: an electroshock exterminator that lures midges and mosquitoes using a built-in UV lamp, and then destroys them when they hit the grid with a current discharge at a voltage of 1200 V. Used only in rooms with a roof to prevent moisture from getting inside. Price 4200 rub.

Mosquito trap SITITEK STILL

The device is designed for 100 sq. m, power supply 220 V, dimensions 292x205 mm in the form of a lamp, weight 750 g. Price - about 4000 rubles.

Operating principle: the lamp lures mosquitoes with UV light and heat; the flying specimens are drawn by the fan inside the trap, where they die. The SITITEK Sadovyi-M mosquito exterminator works similarly.

Smart fumigator XIAOMI MIJIA SMART MOSQUITO KILLER 2

Why is he smart? Because it opens up to its fullest with the application in the owner’s phone. In Mi Home (if you select the China region), you can set a work schedule and view the charge percentage. Although on the body of the fumigator itself there is a power button and an indicator.

This product was released in 2022 and is different from its predecessors. It can be powered either by 2 batteries or by the cable that comes with the kit. Batteries will have to be purchased separately. Battery life is 135 nights or 1080 hours, as stated by the manufacturer. It connects to the phone via Bluetooth. This device is small enough (about the size of a palm), so it can be transported without problems.

Buy: aliexpress.ru

Mosquito trap Angara-40 (Russia)

Killer of flying insects is small in size (65 cm), plastic body, there is a fan inside, mosquitoes die when they hit the energized grid, action area is 40 sq. m, works from the mains, price - about 2000 rubles.

As can be seen from the above devices, the range of brands and models of mosquito traps is very large and varied; in each line there are devices from 1500 to 12 thousand rubles. Therefore, it is better to choose based on the place where the device is used (indoors or outdoors), the area covered and the availability of connection to the power grid.

A little about security

In both outdoor and indoor electrical traps, current passes through a metal grid. The grille is hidden behind a protective plastic structure. Therefore, when used correctly, the risk of electrical injury is minimized. If contact with current occurs, the person will usually feel numbness in the body area or tingling. This injury resolves without serious health consequences.

Nevertheless, following safety rules, it is recommended to install the shredder in the form of a night light at a distance of approximately 5 meters from a person. Wall-mounted or hanging devices are attached in accordance with the attached instructions. It is necessary to periodically clean the traps of dead insects. Before cleaning, be sure to unplug the device. The tray is cleaned, put in place, and only then connected.

The risk of electric shock increases significantly if:

• incorrect placement of the device;
• moisture getting into it;
• access to the device for children.

You should definitely buy the device in specialized stores that sell certified products. There are a large number of counterfeits on the market produced by unscrupulous entrepreneurs.

Related articles: Mosquito repellent devices

Reviews

1. “We bought Mosquito Magnet last year. We ourselves are the owners of a small cafe. We care about our clients and our reputation, which is why we decided to try installing traps. We are 100% satisfied with the performance of this Mosquito Magnet mosquito killer; it catches mosquitoes. The main indicator is the peace of mind of clients, and visually cleanliness is observed. We've been using it for two years now. I sincerely recommend this type"
2. “Several years ago, children were relaxing at a camp, and there were Mosquito Trap MT 200 UZ hanging around the territory. The main result is that there was no one on the territory at all.”
3. “The most terrible sight is a baby bitten by mosquitoes. I feel very sorry for the little one. He worries constantly. I also don’t want to keep my baby at home, and all protective equipment is not suitable for the delicate baby skin. We bought Mosquito Trap MT-100. Now it’s good for both the little one and us. We can barely fight off our friends who want to relax with us.”

Portable USB fumigator

You can connect this small fumigator to your laptop or smartphone power adapter. The manufacturer recommends not keeping the device close to food, heat or flammable materials. Also, do not touch it with wet hands or other wet objects. Fumigator plates are available in any household chemicals department, so you don’t have to waste time on delivery (although they are also sold on AliExpress).

Buy: aliexpress.ru

Solar veranda lamp

Another gadget that will help your area get rid of insects. Due to its size, it is not as effective as the previous one, but it looks nice. It can be used as a garden light, and killing mosquitoes will be a nice addition. The device runs on solar batteries, so you don’t have to worry about charging either. The battery will charge all day and work at night.

Buy: aliexpress.ru