In case you are looking for a way to kill mosquitoes without sprays, here are three types of traps that kill pregnant (gravid) mosquitoes that are searching for water in which to oviposit. Each is filled with water and decomposing plant matter (hay, compressed rabbit food, or leaves), then equipped with special lids (and sticky cards) that prevent females from escaping once they get inside. In addition to killing the females, any eggs that the female might lay are also prevented from developing by the presence of screens that trap the emerging mosquitoes from escaping. All of this happens passively, 24/7, all summer long, without the use of chemicals.
I have two from Biogents, two from BioCare (which look like these), and one that I made (instructions). They all work great but the DIY one seems to catch the most mosquitoes so far.
Every homeowner should have them. Coupled with other preventative measures (eliminating stagnant water, reducing excess vegetation, etc.), you can knock back mosquito levels and enjoy your yard again. Five units is probably sufficient for an average yard but I plan on making a few more this summer just to make sure.
Ideally, everyone on your block should have them, too, so if you are planning on ordering some you should first send a note to all your neighbors to see whether you can make a bulk order. E.g., if you order a lot of Biogents you can shave a few dollars off of each unit (e.g., Amazon has bulk-order option). Buying a bunch might seem like a lot of money but compare it to the cost (~$700) of having a company like Mosquito Squad spray your yard with pyrethroids every several weeks (every year). Using these passive traps also saves all the pollinators that are killed by those pesticides.
Thank your for these tips. I am very allergic to mosquitos so I have plenty of traps inside and outside my home, but will definitely take these into account.
This is what I have been using this year. I put it in bowls all over my property and either refill as needed or redo every few weeks. It does work and says it is harmless to animals and fish. It does look gross and I saw hundreds of mosquito larvae eventually die. Summit Mosquito Bits, 30 oz. I got it from tractor supply. I even gave some to my neighbors and if everyone did this in summer it would reduce the population of these Asian mosquitoes. They attack day night not like what I grew up with they only came out at night. These new ones are tiny and aggressive.
That’s a fantastic strategy. And wonderful that you can get your neighbors on board.
Where do you get the “sticky cards”?
Most big-box hardware stores and garden centers will carry them, but you can also order online. E.g., Bio-Quip sells them.
Hey! Cool blog! Some things you’ve wrote are pretty humorous too! I’m having a hard time finding where to buy an AGO (besides the Biogents one on amazon which is kind of pricey). Can you tell me where you purchased your SpringStar AGO trap? I also see how the Catchmaster Ovi-catch can be found on the forestry supply page but they do not sell the replacement sticky element. You’d really think it would be a lot easier to find these things. Must be “big chemical pesticide” hiding this greener and more logical option. I’m trying to supply my neighbors (who are currently using a pest company to spray their yard) better options before I go speak to them about the concerning side effects of said chemicals. Thanks!
The place I’d purchased my SpringStar AGOs no longer sells them so I googled around and found the following:
https://www.forestrydistributing.com/ovi-catch-ago-mosquito-trap-catchmaster
https://www.mosquitocontrols.com/ovi-catch-ago-mosquito-trap-catchmaster
https://oldhamchem.com/catchmaster-ovi-catch-ago-mosquito-trap
https://www.bfgsupply.com/order-now/product/0/527362/springstar-ago-mosquito-traps-2ct-retail
https://www.treehelp.com/ago-mosquito-traps/
https://shop.target-specialty.com/products/products/shop-by-partner/catchmaster/catchmaster-ovi-catch-ago-mosquito-trap
I make my own sticky cards by buying those yellow ones (e.g., on Amazon), and making partial cuts on two and then fitting them together to form an X. I like this better than what they ship with because the yellow allows me to better see the mosquitoes I’m catching (I like the instant gratification).
Best of luck with your neighbor. My role model in all of this is a researcher at Rutgers named Dina Fonseca. For an overview of her pitch and results, see this slide show. I really like the community approach and the “take back your yard” slogan. If you have an area of town where everyone is on board with using these traps AND with getting rid of stagnant water, it can work.
I looked at one of these online and it says it’s just effective for certain types of mosquitoes. Will it work for the mosquitoes in my back yard in central Ohio? Thanks for your blog and great information!
I checked iNaturalist and you seem to have multiple species of Aedes in Ohio so it would be worthwhile to give these traps a try. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) is a particularly bad one and tends to like container traps like this. In case of interest, here‘s an article that discusses use of the traps in a neighborhood.
Thank you!
I used mosquito squad and we have two pet turkeys. Since they did the first spray – their behavior has changed and they quit laying eggs, no longer eat very well and are very lethargic. Do you think the spray caused it (the first spray was on a Thursday morning and they started behaving differently 2-3 days later. The happy one is not eating and seems to have trouble seeing. I am praying that they get better soon. Thanks
Hmm. My guess would be that the issues are coincidences. But I have zero experience with turkeys so heavy lifting for “guess.” I did a quick internet search and see that vision problems in turkeys is a thing and that it can be caused by lots of different pathogens, plus plain aging. Sorry I can’t be of any help.
Hey Colin where do you live. Im in PA and was wondering about these Autocidal Gravid Ovitraps and if they work up north like in PA. The CDC tests were done in Porto Rico. I was going to use alfalfa pellets for rabbits. Is it also possible maybe to add other baits inside that would attract them maybe if not mating.
My roommates got a zapper for the back yard and say it works, I dont like them because of the noise and I feel that it kills other bugs. I feel that the zapper only works because they add a bait inside. How does the AGO traps go about killing, does it just prevent them from leaving? It would be nice if I could find a way to add bait inside on top of the alfafa and water.
I live in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. I’ve used rabbit pellets in the past but now just use leaves from the yard. My absolute favorite bait is to find a container that has mosquito larvae in it, then pour them all in. That does two things, at least in my mind. It ensures that mosquitoes found the water in the container attractive enough. And the larvae themselves, I’ve read, are olfactory cue for gravid females.
And, yes, the traps are true traps in that females that enter are killed. Slowly, though, simply because they usually cannot escape.