Spartan Mosquito Eradicators are selling like hotcakes around the country so I bought two and thought I’d share some thoughts. The devices are plastic tubes filled with water, sucrose, salt, and yeast that you hang in your yard. Per the company, mosquitoes are lured to the devices by the CO2, volatiles, and heat produced by the yeast, crawl inside (through holes in the cap), drink the liquid, crawl back out, then eventually die when their guts rupture (because of the salt and CO2). Company claims that up to 95% of a yard’s mosquitoes are killed for up to 90 days. The box also says that the mosquito population will “suffer dramatically” in the first 15 days.
Below is an infomercial on the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator featuring Jeremy Hirsch, one of the inventors. Ten more videos are available on YouTube.
Did they work?
No. I failed to notice any drop in the numbers of mosquitoes in my yard. I also went near the devices regularly to see whether I would see the promised cloud of mosquitoes that are supposed to be attracted, but I never noticed a single mosquito on or even near them. I checked the devices several hundred times during the summer.
My Spartan Mosquito Eradicators did kill a lot of insects, though (see pics). In fact, after several weeks the liquid inside became a bubbling, stinking, charnel pit. I even found fly larvae writhing around inside (video below) — the devices were apparently producing flies for my yard. When I poured the goo out and sorted through all the carcasses there wasn’t a single mosquito in the mix.
Why didn’t they work?
In my opinion, there are four reasons why the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator is unlikely to kill a single mosquito unless it falls from the tree and lands on one.
First, the device clearly doesn’t attract mosquitoes. One likely reason is that they don’t produce sufficient amounts of CO2 to mimic what a bird or mammal produces. It turns out that you’d need a lot more sugar to achieve that level of CO2 production (Saitoh et al. 2004, Smallegange et al. 2010, Obenauer et al. 2013, and Jerry et al. 2017). And even if the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator had a 1-gallon reservoir (instead of a ~1 1/2 cups), the fermentation process would likely be complete after 48 hours or so, leaving the device useless for the remaining 88 days (its advertised life is 90 days). Here’s a visual mock-up how there might be a small amount of CO2 after you first add water, but then no CO2 production for the bulk of the remaining 90 days:
Indeed, the company admitted to pesticide regulators in Indiana that the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator does not produce enough CO2 to attract mosquitoes (see page 4 of this PDF).
Another reason it’s probably unattractive to mosquitoes is that the tube smells like rotting insects after a week, not a nice piece of fruit or flower crammed with nectar. Mosquitoes are not attracted to rotting insects.
It’s noteworthy that Spartan Mosquito’s website doesn’t show a single photograph of a mosquito arriving at (or resting on) one of its devices when set up in a yard. And, similarly, the company doesn’t have a single video of a deployed Spartan Mosquito Eradicator with a swarm of mosquitoes trying to get in. The lack of photographs and video is an indicator, to me, that the owners know fully well the device does not attract mosquitoes.
Second, the fermentation reactions inside the tube are not likely to generate enough heat to make the device a thermal target for mosquitoes. Again, even if there was a slight temperature spike on the first day (when there is plenty of sugar), that increase will not last for three months. And, again, nowhere on the company’s website is there any documentation of a temperature increase. Again, I’d bet good money that the company knows that the tubes are not heating up from the fermentation.
Third, there’s nothing inside the device that would kill a mosquito even if it went inside and drank the fluid. Here’s what the company says happens:
“When a mosquito ingests the Sodium Chloride (salt), its crystalline structure ‘cuts’ their stomach, causing it to rupture. The fermentation process also continues after mosquitoes ingest the mixture, and CO2 production in the mosquito also causes the stomach to rupture.”
There is no scientific literature that supports either of these things happening. Salt, for example, is not in a crystalline form when dissolved, so there are no sharp crystals at all. It’s idiotic to assert otherwise. And it is well-established by science that salt solutions are not fatal to adult mosquitoes (Yee et al. 2020). Indeed, the ability of mosquitoes to easily deal with saline solutions is demonstrated every time they drink our blood.
It’s also worth noting that mosquitoes have been drinking fermenting liquids (nectar and rotting fruit) for tens of millions of years without exploding from the carbon dioxide produced by yeasts. Mosquitoes always have yeast in their guts. The owners just made up the “mosquitoes can’t vent CO2” phrase because it sounded dramatic. I’d again guess that the owners know full well that this isn’t true.
Fourth, the holes in the cap are likely too small (5/32″, 4 mm) to allow mosquitoes to enter, at least with regard to mosquitoes in search of rotting fruit. There’s not a huge literature on what size holes mosquitoes can crawl through, but Dickerson et al. (2018) found that only 1 out of 100 female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes went through an 8-mm hole after 1 hour when presented with a host. Although a hungry female mosquito might squeeze itself through a small hole in search of a warm mammal (Bidlingmayer 1959), I doubt that they would do the same merely for some rotting sugar water. And I think it’s even more improbable that clouds of mosquitoes would find this hole acceptable even if there were mice stuffed inside the tube.
I think a fundamental problem of the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator is that in a typical yard mosquitoes have plenty of nectar and fruit sources already. So even if a mosquito could be coerced to enter a small hole under laboratory conditions of starvation, it is simply not going to do that in the real world. For an experiment that underscores this issue, please see Beier et al. 2012.
The owners view the critique above as slanderous and like to show videos of mosquitoes going through the holes. But the conditions the company uses are artificial: they put the devices inside small aquaria with several hundred, starving mosquitoes. And, apparently, only several mosquitoes ever stumble through the holes. There’s zero evidence those mosquitoes ingested anything while inside.
The ultimate test, of course, is to put these tubes outside under natural conditions and measure the number of mosquitoes after a set number of days, and then compare those numbers with controls. That’s now been done (Aryaprema et al. 2020), and the authors conclude that Spartan Mosquito Eradicators do not work.
In summary, peer-reviewed scientific research has showed that salt does not kill mosquitoes and that Spartan Mosquito Eradicators do not work.
What should be done?
All of the above are good reasons why nobody should waste their money on Spartan Mosquito Eradicators. But I can’t simply end my review there. This device puts people at risk of contracting mosquito-borne diseases. I.e., because many people apparently think they are protected from mosquitoes if they have Spartan Mosquito Eradicators set up in their trees, they might fail to use CDC-recommended repellents. And some percentage of these people will contract one of the many diseases that are present in the United States.
So the remainder of this post highlights where I think the company has violated FTC and EPA rules. If the sections seem overly long, that’s because I wanted to convey the very real sense that the company has been getting away with a lot, and for many years. These persistent and egregious violations warrant, I think, fines as well as immediate stop-sell orders.
Lack of trustworthy efficacy data
I’m fairly sure that Spartan Mosquito has misled governmental regulators about the effectiveness of the device for years. For example, here’s the graph on the box (and on website, Facebook) that claims to show mosquito populations are all but eliminated for 90 days.
A typical person is going to see this graph and assume that an actual experiment was done and that the device can virtually eliminate mosquitoes for 90 days. However, no details about this graph are ever given on the website — there’s no way to assess whether it was a well-planned experiment or, indeed, whether it even happened. The only information I gleaned was from the URL of the same graph on the company’s website,
https://spartanmosquito.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Diagram-of-What_V3.jpg
which shows that the image was uploaded to the website in March of 2017. That must mean the experiment was done in 2016 or before. I’ve talked to a lot of people about this graph and I think it shows the number of mosquitoes landing on the company owner’s arm on two different days during an event in Fall 2016 that the company calls, “Case Study CSL4GOV-ZIKA”, described below in a handout the company distributed to some Mississippi towns (they were trying to drum up government contracts):
The document says that a Lamar County official (Joseph Waits) and an etymologist [sic] from the Mississippi Department of Health conducted a study in late 2016 (as described in this story). The wording implies that the Spartan Mosquito Eradicators deployed in the area eliminated 100% of mosquitoes and that the Mississippi State Department of Health participated and approved of the data. It turns out the real reason the final mosquito count was zero was because the State of Mississippi sprayed the neighborhood with insecticides (on multiple days). By advertising with this graph, Spartan Mosquito has been misleading the public.
Another reason I think the graph refers to this event is because Mr Hirsch talked told a reporter that his “Zika-control event” lasted 90 days (png). Here’s the video in which he says that:
Even if the above data (and graph) were for some reason acceptable, there’s another way the company has been deceptive. In Fall 2016 the company was using boric acid as the active ingredient, not salt. Here’s a photograph of the device taken in March 2017 that shows boric acid as the active ingredient (you can also see the “boric acid” on the label if you do a screen grab on the video above).
It appears, then, that the efficacy data that Spartan Mosquito has been supplying to states and presenting to the public are based on a completely different device, not one that used sodium chloride as the active ingredient.
False or misleading efficacy claims
Spartan Mosquito Eradicators don’t contain a regulated pesticide so they are sold under a FIFRA 25(b) exemption. This means, in most states, that the device can be sold without providing any efficacy data. But they can only claim to be a 25(b) if they make zero false or misleading claims. Plus they may not make any claims about efficacy or disparage the efficacy of other products. Below is a small sampling of such claims. In each instance I’ve added an image file that highlights the quoted text.
- According to Mr Hirsch, he chose the name, Spartan Mosquito Eradicator, to convey the “exterminate” sense of the word: “to get rid of completely usually by killing off” (source). Per the EPA, “product names cannot constitute false and misleading claims”.
- The graph is an efficacy claim. (jpg)
- “Eradicate your mosquito population for up to 90 days”. (jpg)
- “The mosquito population … will be 95% controlled for up to 90 days”. (box; Facebook)
- “The Eradicator lasts up to 90 days and is proven to dispel up to 95 percent of your mosquito population in approximately 15 days.” (jpg)
- “With proper placement, the Mosquito population in the area will diminish by 95% in 15 days or less.” (jpg)
- “Spartan Mosquito Eradicators are extremely effective in controlling and decimating mosquito populations.” (jpg)
- “In every case, mosquito “hits” (mosquito bites or landings) are reduced to near zero, or zero, within weeks or even days.” (jpg)
- “… better than sprays, repellents, candles, and repellent services …” (jpg)
- “The Spartan Mosquito Eradicator is the most effective, longest lasting, continuous mosquito control system.” (jpg) Exaggerated claims because device has not been tested against every other device on planet.
- Spartan Mosquito asserts that spray services (pyrethroids), bug zappers, repellents (e.g., DEET), etc., are all “less effective”. (jpg)
- “All of our 3rd party efficacy studies submitted and accepted by regulatory authorities in the United States demonstrate our devices destroy at least up to 95% of given populations.” (jpg)
False, illegal health claims
Devices with FIFRA 25(b) exemptions may not make any health claims, either. But company does so frequently. Here is a sampling.
- “To date, this is the most effective, longest-lasting Zika control response on record anywhere.” (jpg; jpg)
- “Purchase the Spartan Mosquito Bomb and fight the Zika virus!” (jpg)
- Its primary distributor implies that the device can protect families from eastern equine encephalitis. (jpg
- A reseller claims that the device can protect against mosquito-borne disease (YouTube).
- The company says its device is “chemical free“, a claim prohibited by the EPA. (jpg) It’s also untrue (e.g., NaCl, H2O, C12H22O11).
- “Spartan Mosquito is an all-natural alternative …” (jpg)
- “…all-natural ingredients…”. (jpg)
- The company implies repellents are harmful. (video 1, video 2, video 3).
- The company includes a photograph of a pregnant woman on the box to imply the device is safe. (jpg)
- The website mentions encephalitis, yellow fever, dengue fever, malaria on numerous occasions. Owner also mentions diseases when interviewed. This has the effect of implying the device can protect against such diseases. (Google search)
- “Fewer bites equal fewer opportunities for mosquito-borne illnesses.” (jpg)
- Television ad that says device is proven to protect against diseases. (Facebook video)
- Spartan Mosquito invokes health concern about diseases on first page of brochure by writing, “the mosquito is the deadliest animal in the world”, “U.S. Center for Disease Control”, and “World Health Organization”. (jpg)
- Spartan Mosquito includes paragraph about the World Health Organization on website to imply it is a peer association and collaborator. The name-dropping also serves to increase search-related keyword matches. (jpg)
Misleading statements about active ingredient
The company has listed “sodium chloride” on the box as the sole active ingredient yet does not present data that shows sodium chloride kills adult mosquitoes. Here’s the relevant requirement from the EPA:
“Active ingredients are the ingredients that kill, repel, or mitigate the pests identified on the product label. If an ingredient does not perform one of these functions, then it is an inert ingredient and should not be identified as an active ingredient on the label.”
https://www.epa.gov/minimum-risk-pesticides/conditions-minimum-risk-pesticides
So saying that sodium chloride is the active ingredient violates EPA rules. It appears the owners know the salt doesn’t kill mosquitoes, too, because on multiple webpages, on replies to Amazon reviews, and in videos, owners have suggested that it is the carbon dioxide, instead, that causes mosquitoes to die. This “mosquitoes have no way to expel gas” assertion is featured (png), for example, in the brochure that Spartan Mosquito gives to potential distributors and resellers. This switch in mechanism of action appears to suggest that the company has misled regulators about the active ingredient. And, also, that the company misled the states about the inactive ingredients.
False or misleading statements
Here are some assertions that Spartan Mosquito makes that appear to be false or misleading.
- Company asserts that mosquitoes are drawn to the device by carbon dioxide. Company does not have data to support this claim. It is my understanding that the company has data showing the device does not produce sufficient CO2 to be attractive. It has not released these negative data. (jpg)
- Company asserts that salt and CO2 cause mosquito death: “When a mosquito ingests the mixture in Spartan Mosquito Eradicators, the Sodium Chloride combined with the CO2 produced by the fermentation process causes the mosquito’s stomach to rupture.” As discussed above, there is no evidence that either salt or CO2 kills mosquitoes.
- “Spartan Mosquito Eradicators are designed to maintain a specific salinity balance…” (jpg). There is no evidence that this device can maintain a particular salt level.
- Company claims the devices “form a barrier around the property.” (png; pdf) Device does not fit the definition of a barrier.
- “… a unique solution activated by simply adding warm water, shaking, and hanging…” (jpg). Also from website, Amazon: “…uniquely effective …” (jpg). EPA rules specifically prohibit the use of the word, “unique”.
- Company insists that mosquitoes don’t die inside the device but rather later, after leaving the device. Company makes this assertion, I think, to undermine the obvious criticism that mosquitoes are never found inside the device.
Deceptive marketing practices
Spartan Mosquito fails to disclose relevant information to consumers about testimonials, videos, and newspaper articles that promote its device. Some examples are below.
- The testimonial by “Michael B.” (jpg) on the website may have been authored by Michael Bonner, father of one of the co-owners (Chris Michael Bonner) of Spartan Mosquito. Micheal Bonner is a resident of Hattiesburg, where the company is based and where both owners live. Michael Bonner is also owner of Bonner Analytical Testing Laboratory, where his son Chris is employed. Some of the “tests” of the Eradicator take place on Micheal Bonner’s property. He has a PhD (jpg). NB: most other reviewers have last names fully spelled out, so the use of “B” is to obscure who this person is (deception).
- At least two testimonials appear to apply to the boric-acid version, not the salt-based one that is currently available. E.g., the review by Michael B. (jpg) was dated 2015, and the review by Joe K. (jpg; likely Joe Kintzel of Hattiesburg, deceased April 2016) must also refer to results from before his death (i.e., sometime during 2015). Given his age at death, I suspect he was a friend or acquaintance of Michael Bonner (the father of Chris Bonner, co-owner of company). All of the undated testimonials on the website are thus suspect — all could refer to the devices that shipped with boric acid.
- Two testimonials (“Jesse L.” and “Mark G.”; jpg) featured on website appear to be people involved in early testing by the company. Jesse L. is part of this test, and website/Facebook mentions testing done on the Mississippi Delta (jpg). It’s likely these guys received free devices.
- Company makes extensive use of television-like videos on website, Facebook, and YouTube without disclosing that segments are paid promotional ads, not real interviews. E.g., all the videos from First Coast Living, such as this one.
- Similarly, many of the items in the “News” section of its website appear to be publications that were paid for by Spartan Mosquito.
- Company uses a photograph (jpg) of a government official (wearing a Spartan Mosquito t-shirt) in a government room to imply that the device has official, governmental approval. The person pictured is Dr Phillip Stoddard, the mayor of South Miami and a professor of biology at Florida International University. I strongly suspect he does not endorse this device or even know he is being used in advertising.
Unethical customer support
When customers on Amazon give the device low ratings, the company will never admit that the product doesn’t work. Instead, it blames the users, insisting they failed to (1) deploy the devices early enough, (2) buy enough units for the size of the property, (3) place them in right spots, (4) place them at the right height in trees, or (5) wait long enough for devices to start working their magic. In many cases, the company asserts that customer is guilty of all of the above. I fully understand that some types of devices (e.g., airplanes) don’t work if instructions are not followed exactly, but I’d argue that the Spartan Mosquito Eradicators is not such a device. The insistence that “directions weren’t followed” seems more like a scheme to immunize the company against scam complaints.
If a buyer persists in claiming the devices simply don’t work, the company will ask the customer to call a “Deployment Specialist”, somebody who will call up your street address on a Google satellite map and tell you where you should put the devices. That’s creepy.
What can be done?
I’ve done all of the below but pesticide regulators are much more likely to act if they hear from additional citizens. Please choose one of the below if you have a minute:
- Email your state regulator.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
- Report misleading advertising to your State Attorney General.
If you are contacting your state regulatory office, it’s best if you mention a specific reason why you think they should initiate a review of the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator. The most straightforward reason is that the Mosquito Eradicator simply does not satisfy Condition 6 (“The label cannot include any false or misleading statements”) of the FIFRA rules governing pesticides in the Minimum Risk category. I.e., because of it makes misleading, untrue statements on the box, the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator cannot claim to be exempt from EPA oversight. That language might seem awkward but all state regulatory personnel will know exactly what you are talking about. Indeed, I guarantee that every single state regulatory official already knows that Spartan Mosquito Eradicators violate Condition 6 … it’s just a question of encouraging them to act on that information. Here‘s the part of the EPA website that gives more details about Condition 6:
Perhaps the clearest misleading statement on the label is the claim that the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator kills mosquitoes (it does not). Tell the regulatory agency that there is clear scientific research (Yee et al. 2020) in a peer-reviewed journal that demonstrates that salt does not kill adult mosquitoes. And there’s an additional publication (Aryaprema et al. 2020) that specifically tested whether the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator worked to control mosquitoes (it did not). I.e., it’s not just common sense that salt is unlikely to kill adult mosquitoes — scientists have shown that it doesn’t.
Alternatively, inform your state regulator that the label on Spartan Mosquito Eradicators violates Condition 1. I.e., the label asserts that sodium chloride is an active ingredient, but it is not. It is inert (doesn’t kill mosquitoes).
Here is the full list of states that have denied registrations: California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and D.C.
More information
For further details about the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and its manufacturer, please see, “Posts about Spartan Mosquito“. There’s a page devoted to the class-action suit against the company (settling out of court for $3 million).
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OMG! That was f****** awesome and you are legit. They do not work!
Thanks, and please forgive my edit of your comment.
So how do you explain that for 2 years in a row we were able to enjoy our yard free of mosquitos & the only difference was this product? We used 4 tubes each year, and were mosquito free. We live in the country, no spraying is done to control pests in our area. Our neighbors used them as well. We typically have swarms of mosquitos from mid June to mid August. For 2 years we did not have to resort to chemicals & poisons on our skin & clothing whenever we went out. I think 2 years, multiple uses by others, with equal results to mine are more of a reliable, repeatable study than yours was. I have no vested interest other than using my yard.
Thanks for your comment, and I’m delighted to hear that you’ve been mosquito free these past two years. Without knowing more about the particular rain patterns and disease dynamics in your area (mosquitoes get diseases that can sometimes lower their numbers), I don’t have any quick responses that would explain the drop you and your neighbors have enjoyed. But I’m pretty confident the drop wouldn’t be because of the tubes, which don’t possess any substance that is known to kill adult mosquitoes — that concentration of salt doesn’t kill adult mosquitoes, and I just don’t buy that the mosquitoes explode from the CO2. Would you be willing to send me photographs of the mosquitoes if they gather around your devices? I’ve been looking for over a year and there are zero reports of mosquitoes gathering around the devices (as the company says happens). The company doesn’t seem to have any photographs of that on its website, though they do have a cartoon of it.
Not that you would want to join, but out of curiosity are you aware the company is being sued for fraud?
Oh, and if you are in lockdown and bored, would you mind taking a photograph of the contents of your Eradicators? I’ve been trying to find evidence of a mosquito inside one. Thanks, if you are able.
Are you going to switch to the new version, with boric acid?
My neighbor swore by these, so I went out and bought a box of two. After reading the contents of the container; salt, water, sugar, and yeast I googled the brand. I too live out in the country and will now be recording my day by day. I have read literature that details mosquito traps using yeast and sugar to trap mosquitoes.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20973963/
No the CO2 doesn’t explode the mosquitoes, and the salt doesn’t work like dieatamecious earth (DE). I’ll let you know how it works out.
My understanding is that the mosquitos fly away and die after drinking the solution. We’ve had pretty good results, too with about 90% fewer mosquitos this year despite having an exceptionally wet spring.
The company certainly claims that mosquitoes enter the tubes, ingest the fluid, exit, then fly away and die. To my knowledge, they have no evidence that mosquitoes do any of the above. Testing by the company even showed that the tubes don’t emit enough CO2 to attract mosquitoes. So if you have fewer mosquitoes it is caused by something other than these tubes. It’s just a garden-variety scam run by a few charlatans hoping to make a buck, which they did.
Dee, My family had identical results as yours! Had the same mosquito problem, used 4 tubes and within 10 -12 days we had zero mosquitoes. the effect also lasted close to the 90 days, as advertised…based on the article, something is happening that the author is missing?
Maumelle sprays for mosquitoes every single week during spring, summer, and fall … that would be my guess for why you have few mosquitoes.
In case of interest, I’ve created a post summarizing the differences between the (discontinued) Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and the new Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech: https://colinpurrington.com/2021/03/spartan-mosquito-eradicator-vs-pro-tech/.
This is our third year to have great success with using Spartan tubes. Our 3/4 acre does seem to require 4 due to large number of cast iron plants and trees. I sure hope they continue to be available.
Spartan Mosquito doesn’t make the Eradicator anymore so unless you’ve stockpiled them you’ll need to start buying the Pro Tech. It’s less effective according to the company (need more per acre, only lasts a month, etc.). Here’s a summary of differences. Good luck.
Don’t work at all… I bought the two cylinder kit in Home Depot which is supposed to cover an area of 20 square feet and there is no difference. a dud
I made a similar device myself a couple years ago out of an empty 2 liter soda bottle, where you cut off the top, turn it upside down and insert it in the body of the bottle to form a funnel and tape it in place. You mix water, sugar and yeast, similar to what’s in the described product (minus the salt), put it in the bottle, then set or hang the bottle out like you do with above described product. Supposedly it makes CO2 that attracts mosquitoes, they fly down into the bottle, and then they can’t get back out because of the funnel shape making it difficult to find the way out. I also never found any mosquitoes in this homemade trap, even after leaving it out for over a week. And I live in central FL where there are plenty of mosquitoes. I saw this Spartan Mosquito product in Lowes, and was looking up reviews of it online, which is when I stumbled upon this site. Glad I did.
If you’re handy, please give #3 a try: https://colinpurrington.com/fighting-mosquitoes/.
I tried these two summers ago because they were all the rage here and they “totally worked”. They did not work for me. At all. And they dried out really quickly.
Thanks for your information. I’ll look for an alternative!
Did you complain to company or to EPA/FTC?
No. At the time I thought it was user error or the fact that my backyard was too big.
They did remove my comment then sent me 4 new devices that I will not deploy.
Could you please go back to the company’s Facebook page and leave a review? They can’t delete that, legally.
We love this product!! We live in the woods and bought them for the first time last year. They worked AMAZINGLY well for us and could actually sit on our front porch all summer without being run off by the mosquitoes, and let our dogs hang out in the back yard without fear of them getting covered in mosquito bites. We bought them again this year and so far so good yet again. We will continue to purchase and recommend this product.
If you have the time, I’d be extremely interested in a photograph of what is inside the tubes on your property after 90 days. E.g., if you could dump contents into a frisbee-shaped container so the individual insects would be distinguishable, that might give a sense of which species of mosquitoes are present. I haven’t looked at that many, but to date I haven’t seen any evidence that mosquitoes go inside Spartan Mosquito Eradicators. I understand that’s the firm claim that the company makes. The company is being sued for fraud, in fact.
You live in Portage? The town seems to have a fairly aggressive spraying and draining plan (Portage Indiana Government Page mosquito). Also, how did you get Spartan Mosquito Eradicators this year? According to Spartan Mosquito the devices cannot be sold in the state.
We have used this product for 2 years now. Absolutely no mosquitos. We live in Racine Wi and host parties… you are correct, in that there were no dead mosquitos in our tubes. The video states that they fly away to die. I really don’t care how or why I’m just grateful that we finally found a way to get rid of them. We have lived here since 1974. I experience severe skin reactions to any type of bug bite. Sometimes having to use prednisone to recover. I am thankful that I have been able to enjoy my beautiful yard, patio and fire pit these last 2 yrs. Now if someone could just invent a poison ivy eradicator all my problems would be solved. I can contract poison ivy thru the air.
There are more options that Spartan Mosquito Eradicators, in case of interest: https://colinpurrington.com/2020/08/yeast-based-mosquito-control-devices/.
In case of interest, I’ve created a post summarizing the differences between the (discontinued) Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and the new Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech: https://colinpurrington.com/2021/03/spartan-mosquito-eradicator-vs-pro-tech/.
I had already bought these before finding your review. I have six of these around the yard. After complaining to the company that they didn’t work, they had me look inside. Most were empty, two had some gnats and a couple of mosquitoes. (I’ll get some photos next time out.) Now that I know about the boric acid, I can refill them and hope for better results. I’m also going to enlarge the holes.
You should do a review of the thermacell, which also yields poor results for the amount of money they charge. OFF had some battery powered clip on units that really worked, but the tiny fan was a bit loud for wildlife photography. I haven’t been able to find them this year.
Any chance you’ve taken photographs? I’d love to see.
We just bought a set. Hung them in early June. I was thinking the same thing of “should bet there be mosquitos hovering around these?” I want to say on the box it says to avoid the tree it’s hung from due to the swarm of mosquitoes it attracts – or something to that effect.
Where do I sign up for the class action lawsuit?
Here’s a link about the class-action suit against Spartan Mosquito: http://www.bursor.com/spartan-mosquito-repellers/.
Fascinating article. I’ve been looking at these things for years and have been waiting for legitimate testing agencies or universities to publish something about efficacy before buying. Looks like that’s not going to happen. And kudos to you for your thoughtful and gracious responses to those poor souls who claim amazing results but are oblivious to the myriad other possible causes for perceived drops in their local mosquito populations. Good work!
Thanks, Bruce. It will be nice when efficacy studies are eventually published. Will save people lots of money.
Update: scientists have published results of two experiments on Spartan Mosquito Eradicators. “No effect.” https://colinpurrington.com/2020/06/experiments-on-spartan-mosquito-eradicators-fail-to-detect-efficacy/
Has anyone considered a class action lawsuit against these thieves? I know that it’s mostly the lawyers that profit from them but there would be some degree of gratification knowing these crooks had to pay through the nose for their duping of innocent mosquito harassed people hoping for something, nay ANYTHING, that would provide relief from the ravenous blood-sucking hoard. There are law firms that specialize in these lawsuits that are always looking for some large group of agrieved victims.
Yes, indeed! Here are the details. The nice thing about the suit is that it targets not just Spartan Mosquito, but also the owners Jeremy Hirsch and Chris Bonner. I really hope the case goes to trial so that I can spend some quality time in New York watching it. I’m going to get a room near the courthouse and will blog daily updates.
Hi,
I have been using SpringStar Biocare Non Toxic Trap-N-Kill Mosquito Trap for years.
I buy them from LuckyVitamin.com
The trap consists of a black bottle, with holes, and a mosquito lure, and a pesticide strip.
The lure attracks female mosquitos to lay their eggs.
Once inside they land on the pesticide strip, or go all the way inside and die in the soapy water.
Assembly is required: you need to add water, a drop of non-fragrant dish soap, and attach the pesticide strip.
I also have their previous version that doesn’t have the pesticide strip.
The directions say to space them 25′ apart, but I do it about 10′ apart because by backyard is very natural with long grass and bushes and trees.
I like that I am not spraying pesticides anywhere.
The traps should be checked about every 10 weeks to refill the soapy water, and for best effect, to replace the lure and pesticide strip.
I have definitely noticed a 50% reduction in mosquitoes since I am using these traps.
Because of the nature of my backyard (lots of plants and undergrowth), I can not expect all of the mosquitoes to find the traps.
I reuse the old ones every year, I just buy the refill lures and strips.
If I don’t have enough strips, I just use the lures, but it isn’t as effective as with the strips.
I have also tried homemade versions of these traps with yeast, but they need more maintenance, and don’t work as well, and need to be refilled every week or so.
Hope this helps!
I looked into those much more expensive traps that give off CO2 with propane, but the reviews were so mixed that I didn’t want to spent the money.
If anyone has any other recommendations about non-invasive, non-pesticide spraying ways of reducing the mosquito population, that would be welcome.
I do enjoy the lighting bugs at night, though. and, I understand that they eat mosquitoes (or the larvae), so I always hope that the mosquitoes are attracting the fireflies. But I am seeing less and less of the lightening bugs, just like I am seeing less and less of the birds…..
Anyway,
If you find something that has less maintenance, and doesn’t spray, and is very effective, please let me know!
Thanks!
I bought these first 2-3 years ago, with the boric acid version. Not sure if it worked, but my yard was misquiot Free for most of summer while my neighbors couldn’t even sit outside. I think I’ll try to make homemade version with boric acid.
I think people would get better from their money using an actual pesticide. I’ve been using Cyzmuc CS since last year and it seems to also work
Do you have any photographs? Spartan Mosquito only got permission to sell the boric acid version in March 2020. Anything before that was illegal. I’d be interested in your results using homemade version … I suspect it’s as ineffective as the salt one.
In case of interest, I’ve created a post summarizing the differences between the (discontinued) Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and the new Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech. It also includes recipes! https://colinpurrington.com/2021/03/spartan-mosquito-eradicator-vs-pro-tech/.
I have noticed a huge drop in mosquitos since I put them up but who Kowns what that could be from. Probably some other reason . The things that worries me About these is that I found about 100 hornets in each of them. I didn’t see any bees Thankfully but I have to wonder why there were so many Hornets in each, most of them dead I’m definitely worried about the impact they have on pollinators
Mine were filled with yellowjackets and fruit flies, mainly, but also some beetles and spiders. I’m sure that if I looked through the contents of several dozen there’d be pollinators inside.
In case of interest, I’ve created a post summarizing the differences between the (discontinued) Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and the new Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech: https://colinpurrington.com/2021/03/spartan-mosquito-eradicator-vs-pro-tech/.
They’re useless. FYI, the new version I just saw, today, is only good for “up to 30 days,” so no more 90 days. That’s their concession for charging over $25. There is now a 30 day money back guarantee, too.
My prediction is that Spartan Mosquito will discontinue the Eradicator for 2021. The advantage for the company is that the Pro Tech has EPA registration (don’t ask me how) and thus is allowed to be sold in all states, even ones that banned Eradicator as scam. Plus, as you noticed, the profit will dramatically increase if people need to replace the magic tubes every 30 days.
In case of interest, I’ve created a post summarizing the differences between the (discontinued) Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and the new Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech: https://colinpurrington.com/2021/03/spartan-mosquito-eradicator-vs-pro-tech/.
Sounds like we need some folks to request Freedom of Info from EPA on why the Pro is registered by them.
Outside of my expertise … would EPA be compelled to comply with that?
I was sympathetic to your plight of facing a lawsuit and for this reason, I provided you with explanation on why yeast cannot grow in a medium containing H3BO3. You did not even feel like replying with a simple “thank you”. I started thinking that you are an arrogant self-absorbed individual who takes everything for granted. And when I read about your fights for copyright entitlements for your poster design bullshit, I was totally disapointed. You guys believe that any crap that you “create” deserves to be paid by gold! You are so plagued by mercantilism and narcissism that you try to sell anything to anyone, even if it has no inherent value whatsoever! I am wondering what would be the difference between you and a crappy business that sells a useless product! Now I dont see any difference between you and any shyster entertainment lawyer who destroys human beings, including teenagers, for petty copyright violations.
I couldn’t find the post reply you mentioned, but thank you for that, belatedly. Sometimes comments get locked in spam folder and sometimes they just disappear … courtesy of WordPress, not me. Your reference to borate not supporting yeast growth is something I’ve read before and makes sense given it is sometimes a treatment for yeast infections. And the amount of fungal and bacterial growth in my Spartan Mosquito Pro Techs is minimal, though not absent. It would be interesting to measure the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a Pro Tech. If the company have such data it has not revealed it publicly.
In case of interest, I’ve created a post summarizing the differences between the (discontinued) Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and the new Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech: https://colinpurrington.com/2021/03/spartan-mosquito-eradicator-vs-pro-tech/.
Yes, borate is used to treat vaginal candidiasis. Although there are resistant strains of molds, which would still grow on a boric acid-containing medium, yeast will not grow above some threshold and unless selected for resistance. I dont believe that this is the case here. Since you are the type of a college professor who likes to do small experiments and share with students, I suggest that you count yeast cells in that freaking device using the hemocytometer and produce a growth curve of their yeast growing in their “medium” over several days. You can also do it by measuring OD600 if you have access to a spectrophotometer. Just remember that you need to keep the culture “clean”! I strongly believe that there will be no growth at concentrations above 0.5%.
Measuring CO2 is straightforward, but not simple to implement. You may consider using some sentinel insects attracted by CO2 to see that there likely no CO2 generation whatsoever, such as Cimex spp. I am sure that they would not be attracted, but get your empirical evidence by yourself.
Here is a paper on what boric acid does to the yeast: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21234349/
I unfortunately don’t have the equipment to do these experiments but they sound like great ideas. Thanks, too, for link to boric acid article.
Admin please tell me the idea of this article. I really want to learn Spartan Mosquito Eradicators.
I want to add that I have been using the traps for 2 years, this is our 3rd. I am horribly allergic to mosquitoes bites and I have been successfully enjoying my yard and the outdoors. You might not think they work but they do in this country setting. We are past the city lines were they spray. Just put ours up tonight and hope Colin, you are wrong again this year!
I’m glad to hear your yard doesn’t have mosquitoes. But given that the salt in the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator isn’t capable of killing adult mosquitoes, the lack of mosquitoes must be caused by something else. If you still believe they work, I challenge you to glance at the tubes every single day and determine whether any mosquitoes are on the caps trying to get in. Take a photograph if you ever see a mosquito there and send to me. Not even the company has a photograph of a mosquito visiting the tubes on its website, which is really kind of shocking.
Are you going to buy the Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech next year? The company no longer makes the Eradicator. Here’s a post that compares the two tubes.
In case of interest, I’ve created a post summarizing the differences between the (discontinued) Spartan Mosquito Eradicator and the new Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech: https://colinpurrington.com/2021/03/spartan-mosquito-eradicator-vs-pro-tech/.
I’m on the township board where I live, and we work closely with the village board our township surrounds. We also keep close communication with our county board in what is happening in the area. None of these three governing boards have any one proposal budgeted, nor even recommended, for spraying to reduce the mosquito population. But, I live in a swamp. Yes, a swamp. My wife has a Bachelor’s degree in conservation in environmental science. So, we know what a “swamp” is. I have lived here, on the same road, in the swamp since 1996. I will say, EVERY SINGLE YEAR, since I have lived here, the mosquitoes SWARM around you the moment you step outside. My wife and I bought the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator for the first time this year, 2021, and we haven’t seen a mosquito yet. I’m convinced they work, and so is my wife. If you reply to this in a sense of “well, you probably don’t know about governing officials spraying, or there’s ups and downs in the mosquito population and it must be a ‘down’ year, or want to consider my wife and I gullible fools for buying this product,” then I would like to know when we get 50 yards (150 feet) away from the house, why the mosquitoes begin attacking us? Wait, they must be trained to. Ha! I don’t care about your response to mine, but why aren’t you talking about the lawsuit the company has against YOU for slandering their product? I’ve also owned my own business for five years, and there are laws businesses must abide by in order to function. Funny enough, the freedom of speech is not regulated, as it should NOT be, and people like yourself create problems with that freedom. If it didn’t work for you for SOME reason, then simply DON’T USE IT ANYMORE!!!! It’s not that difficult. You are part of the culture of people who just love to cause problems. Are you a BLM supporter? Biden lover? Thanks for getting the company to STOP making a product we’ve finally found to work…
Hi Doug. Thanks for your comment. Do mosquitoes usually become a problem this early in the season? I live near Philadelphia, which is likely several weeks ahead of Wisconsin in terms of climate, and currently I can sit outside in my yard without being bitten at all. I.e., I’m outside even without DEET or picaridin and not a single mosquito present. That will likely change, of course, perhaps in next few days. The date that outside becomes unbearable can change by several weeks each year, of course. Anyway, I’m just wondering whether it’s possible that you don’t have that many mosquitoes out yet and that your deployment of Spartan Mosquito Eradicators is an unrelated event. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d be interested in a follow-up comment after 90 days, the stated lifespan of the devices.
As for the lawsuit filed by Spartan Mosquito Eradicator against me, that is something I do mention on my blog. Details are here if you are curious. The case is moving slowly so I’m not sure when the trial will be scheduled but I’ll post updates. Should be interesting!
For the record, Spartan Mosquito has stopped making the Eradicator because the Pro Tech is more profitable. They’ve been developing it since 2016 so I think this is just part of their business plan. The Pro Tech covers 50% less area, costs more per tube, and lasts only 30 days (instead of 90), so the profit is going to be substantially increased. They’d be crazy to still make the Eradicator, to be honest. You might ask the company if they have plans to make it in the future, just to see what they say. Currently they tell fans of the Eradicator that they are devoting all the production facility/staff to producing the Pro Tech, but maybe that will change in the future (e.g., if retailers are left with too much Pro Tech stock on shelves after 2021 season ends). Out of curiosity, will you give the Pro Tech a try when supplies of the Eradicator run out? Here is a summary of the differences.
Again, if you wouldn’t mind posting an update in three months, I’d be curious how the rest of your mosquito season goes. Hope it goes well.
I checked with a mosquito expert in Wisconsin and he said that activity usually starts around Memorial Day but this year has been somewhat dry.
While trying to find away to get some relief from these blood sucking pest, I found actual research written in the “Journal of Medical Entomology” on “salt feeding”. This study found, in 9 different mosquito species (6 from within the US and 3 from Australia) that “salt feeding” does NOT kill mosquitoes. It also found the % of salt found in the “Spartan Mosquito Eradicator” is the same % of salt ingested when “blood feeding” on humans, which we know they live through. Along much more scientific data.
My research then lead me to here. At which point I found you have also seen the same study and provided everyone with the link as well (along with much more I may add). But I figured I would share it again.
Thank you for your research, tips, and reviews!
https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/58/2/767/5921702
a different company is selling mosquito traps that are supposed to be just yeast and sugar. Tougher Than Tom Mosquito TNT.
There are seven companies selling tubes filled with sugar water and yeast. Tougher Than Tom’s is a rebranded Grandpa Gus’s product, both of which are wasp traps manufactured in China. There are three companies in Texas alone. Texas Department of Agriculture doesn’t enforce EPA laws on false claims for pesticides, apparently.
I am confused your suing spartan or are they suing you? I love the products have used it for 2 years and think it works very well. I also di lots of research and saw where several farmers use the products and they also states it works.
Spartan Mosquito is suing me, primarily for contacting the Environmental Protection Agency which is now investigating the company.
This company is VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND RACIST I used to work there too! (THE ONE IN LAUREL MS)( ADDRESS: 8 NEMO CLARK DR ) They just recently fired me because I AM AFRICAN AMERICAN!! They made me and ONLY ME ! clean bathrooms with period blood everywhere and poop! They also made 4 other AFRICAN AMERICANS AS WELL! Logan who is the manager now and Mary who is a supervisor SHOULD NOT be there VERY UNPROFESSIONAL I DID NOT FEEL SAFE IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT !! Would NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!
they also tend to hire Hispanics who don’t speak fluent English so they can’t understand them on purpose & they can’t complain!
They constantly say they need people through the temp agency but when they see who the people are in person ON THE OUTSIDE THEY FIRE THEM!!
They fired 4 AFRICAN AMERICANS IN 2 days for NO REASON!!!!
Definitely trying to reach out to COOPERATE OSHA or something!!!
Something needs to be done!
Thanks for leaving a message. I saw a review last year that said this, too. I’d love to hear more about this, and of course I hope you are able to document everything and report the company. Sounds horrible. I’m very sorry that happened.
If you haven’t already, you might visit the Equal Opportunity website at https://www.eeoc.gov/contact-eeoc. It has a number you can call, plus has tips on how to file a complaint. I’m sure you know, but the more people who can find to join you, the better.
Another resource that might be helpful is the https://mdes.ms.gov/information-center/about-mdes/mississippi-employment-security-law-mdes-regulations/equal-opportunity/. They have a bunch of contacts listed that might be able to get you started on a complaint process.
You might also contact a reporter. I’m not familiar with all the options in the area, but Mississippi Today, perhaps?
Is this the position you had?
You had a boric acid recipe I used last year and can’t find it
Hmmm. Not sure where that went. If I find my calculations I’ll come and make a new reply. Sorry!
Thanks
I’ll use this product for probably 8 years. I could not step in my backyard or nearly out of my house without being swarmed with a mosquitoes. The Spartan mosquito eradicators and they worked. After about 4 years they seem to be not as effective. There’s a professional one that they sent me when I complained. They still work. I can’t explain the science. But for years I couldn’t go to my backyard. And something else you need to understand. Because you see one or two mosquitoes, doesn’t mean the product doesn’t work. I would have 15 20 mosquitoes circling around us, but since using these mosquito eradicators if I see one it’s interesting. So take that for what it’s worth
Which version of the tube do you currently use? Thanks a lot for stopping by and leaving a note.
We used the Spartan for 2 years, then my husband switched over to his own recipe, copying the ingredients in the Spartan, except adding corn meal, and have used this an additional 2 years. We live in an area of homes on large lots with lots of trees and vegetation. There is no mosquito spraying program. I bought our original Spartans from a rural feed store while on a road trip. I looked at the clerk skeptically and said “Really?” He said “I know what you’re thinking but all I know is we can hardly keep them in stock. People say they work.” So I bit, and we hung 3 out in our back yard area – about 3/4 acre, much of it left wild. We noticed a drop in the mosquito population within a couple of weeks. We didn’t dread going out on our patio in the evening for a glass of wine. We did have an occasional mosquito, but also used a lemon eucalyptus spray (recommended by Consumer Reports). The multiple dive-bombing crowds of mosquitoes disappeared. We are a couple with multiple degrees and realize that there doesn’t seem to be a scientific basis for this to work, all we know is what we have experienced, which was positive. There are currently 3 hanging in our yard.
You sound like the perfect couple to take photographs of the cap area with a camera or a security camera. The company insists there will be a cloud of mosquitoes. It’s my opinion that company is lying and knows it, and that’s why they are paying $3.6 million to settle the fraud suit leveled against them. But you should definitely give it a go and send me pics if you are curious. I’m happy to ID insects inside your tubes, too, although company conveniently says mosquitoes won’t be inside. Thanks for leaving a comment.
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