Category Archives: mosquitoes

Tougher Than Tom’s Mosquito TNT review

35 Replies

I tested the Mosquito TNT in my Pennsylvania yard and have concluded that they do not control mosquitoes. Moreover, they kill a considerable number of non-target organisms, including pollinators, and provide a habitat for developing flies that feed on the decaying carcasses of previous victims. My full review is below. I include instructions for reporting the product to federal and state regulators, plus tips on how to get your money back if the company refuses to honor its refund policy.

Marketing claims

The company says the four-trap kit ($39.99 plus tax) will make a 1-acre yard “mosquito-free” for 30 days. At the end of this period you dump out the contents and add fresh bait (sold separately for $19.99).

Marketing materials assert that female mosquitoes are attracted to the containers because they emit carbon dioxide, which is produced by two pairs of “inert” (i.e., not inert) ingredients (yeast and D-glucose; sodium bicarbonate and citric acid). The active ingredient, sodium lauryl sulfate is said to make them drown faster.

Note that in reality the device would not be able to produce enough CO2 to attract mosquitoes, and certainly not for 30 days. And the active ingredient, sodium lauryl sulfate, is not listed anywhere in the primary literature as a chemical that can kill adult mosquitoes.

My test results

I took photographs of the four traps every several days as a way to record what types of insects were being killed. By far the most common were flies (fruit flies, blow flies, picture-winged flies, etc.), wasps (yellowjackets and hornets), earwigs, and beetles. Initially they were attracted by the sugar and yeast, but eventually the rotting carcasses attracted species that feed on decaying organic matter. Some of these latter individuals laid eggs, resulting in rather large white larvae moving around in the fluid. After about 20 days the stench was enough to make me gag whenever I got close. At no point during my inspections did I notice a single mosquito.

Below are photographs of the other three Mosquito TNTs. Like the trap above, these did not kill any mosquitoes. One had trapped two bumblebees. Although these seemed to attract fewer insects, all contained living fly larvae.

Containers are filled with living larvae

After several weeks, the fluid was teaming with larvae of humpbacked flies (Phoridae). Here’s a photograph followed by a video.

I wasn’t able to rear any of the above to adulthood but did succeed for a different species, below, which I’ve tentatively identified as Coboldia fuscipes, a type of minute scavenger fly (Scatopsidae).

Ads are misleading

Many of Tougher Than Tom’s ads assert that the dead insects inside the traps are mosquitoes, even though the insects appear to be fruit flies, bottle flies, and wasps. I.e., the company uses gaslighting to convince people that traps work even though it is very apparent they do not.

Another tactic is to show images that have been Photoshopped to falsely convey high efficacy. For example, the image below has mosquitoes that were copied from a photograph taken in Germany by Steffen Kugler. It’s unclear whether Tougher Than Tom has legally licensed that photograph.

Photoshopped illustration copyright Zachary Snyder Collins of Tougher Than Tom (from Amazon listing).

Tougher Than Tom also uses “user-generated content” (UGC) to push the Mosquito TNT on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Users seem to be following a script that frequently includes how safe the ingredients are, how yards become “mosquito-free,” and how traps eliminate worries over mosquito-borne diseases (all claims that violate FIFRA). None shows mosquitoes inside the Mosquito TNT. The UGCs rarely disclose a financial relationship with the company even though that is required by the FTC.

How to get a refund

Tougher Than Tom has generous return language (“100% guaranteed,” “hassle-free refunds,” “If Tom’s products don’t work for you, you get your money back!“) but tends to ignore refund requests. For those who persist, company then insists that traps need to be mailed back at customer’s expense. To get around these tactics, I highly recommend posting a review on Trustpilot. The company seems to monitor this site and will usually try to appease consumers in an effort to maintain a good standing on the review site. Tougher Than Tom will try to get your review removed by flagging it for “illegal content”, so contact Trustpilot and report that, too (and contact me, please, if you’d like). You can also leave reviews at the Better Business Bureau and PissedConsumer.

If that doesn’t work, file a complaint with the Attorney General in your state. You can do this by conducting an internet search for “file complaint with attorney general [your state]” and then submitting a short form. The office will then contact Tougher Than Tom on your behalf, using legal language that may get the company’s attention. It’s easy.

How to file a state or federal complaint

If you’d like to help protect other consumers, you can report the company for making false or misleading claims.

To locate the person in charge of pesticide registration and enforcement in your state, click on this map. These people have the power to revisit a product’s registration status as well as levy fines against the company for shipping to the state without a registration. In your email, provide details of what your traps have captured and attach photographs if possible.

You can also report the company to the EPA and the FTC. For these communications it is also helpful to attach screenshots of the marketing materials that led you to believe that the product eliminated mosquitoes. And if you noticed zero mosquitoes inside your traps, mention that, too.

Here’s the company contact information to share in your report:

Tougher Than Tom
2028 E Ben White Blvd, Suite 240-1328, Austin, TX 78741
(413) 400-0067
owner: Zachary Snyder Collins
zach@simplystrive.com

Further information

  • The Mosquito TNT is a 69-cent wasp trap made in China.
  • I highly recommend reading the consent agreement (PDF) between the company and the EPA. The company had to pay $80,880 in fines for violating federal pesticide laws.
  • The owner of Simply Strive (“Tougher Than Tom”), Zachary Snyder Collins (photo), likely got into the mosquito-control business from fellow Austin resident Nick Olnyk, founder of Grandpa Gus, a company that had an identical product lineup before being sold a few years ago. I think Collins copied the “folksy, honest grandpa” marketing schtick from Grandpa Gus.

Where can the Mosquito TNT be sold?

From searching databases and regulations, I think the following states allow the product to be sold: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and D.C. This information can always change, of course and there’s not way to sign up for updates.

The search revealed that the following states do not allow sales: Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Again, this information can change, so my listing might be out of date.

However, Tougher Than Tom’s website indicates that sales are prohibited only in New Mexico and Tennessee. And the company’s Amazon listing says product cannot be shipped to Oklahoma, North Carolina (which allows sales, actually), and Maine. That these two sources list different states suggests that the company is not paying close attention to where the device may legally be shipped. The company is probably regularly shipping the product to states that have denied a registration. E.g., per a review that Tougher Than Tom features on its website, it has shipped the device to Minnesota (jpg screenshot).

Other reviews

Contact

If you have a question, information you think I should provide, or find errors, send me an email.

Bti honeypot traps for killing mosquito larvae

4 Replies

An easy way to kill thousands of mosquitoes each summer is to set out a container of water, add a handful of leaves or hay, then drop in 1/4 of a Mosquito Dunk, a compressed, shelf-stable form of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (“Bti”) that kills larvae. Pregnant females will oviposit onto the water surface as well as onto the sides of the container and when the larvae begin to feed they’ll be killed by the toxins produced by the bacteria. Just add a fresh chunk of Mosquito Dunk every three weeks to ensure the system is operating as needed.

Tips

  1. Cover the container with chicken wire or netting to prevent birds and chipmunks from drowning. You can also use hydroponic lids that have a built-in basket or use a 3D printer to fabricate spacers. Or drill a bunch of 1″ holes in the bucket lid. If you have toddlers around make sure they can’t fall inside (drowning risk).
  2. Add a long stick that can fit through the mesh so that innocent insects that fall into the water have a way to crawl back out. The presence of wet wood will also increase the oviposition rate of certain species of mosquitoes (e.g., Aedes spp. will deposit eggs directly on the wood).
  3. Add a white yogurt lid so that you can more easily see whether there are larvae wriggling around. I like to cut the rim off the lid so that it sinks a few mm lower. Alternatively, spray-paint the bottom of the bucket white.
  4. Deploy multiple traps to maximize the effect (I have six in my 1/4-acre yard). More is better in part because some mosquito species (e.g., Aedes) exhibit skip-oviposition behavior, leaving just a few eggs in a bucket and then flying off in search of more sites.
  5. Set traps out in early spring so that the leaves have time to decompose and become attractive to female mosquitoes.
  6. Site near vegetation or at the bases of larger trees. Avoid areas that get a lot of direct sunlight.
  7. Set up a reminder on your phone to add more Mosquito Dunks. NB: if you forget, the buckets will be generating mosquitoes.
  8. If you’re traveling for more than three weeks during the summer, dump out all your buckets and start over when you return.
  9. Purge your yard of all other objects that might retain stagnant water so that mosquitoes are forced to leave their eggs in the trap.
  10. Make some for your neighbors, especially those who are spraying pyrethroids. Include a print-out of this page so that they understand how to use it.
  11. Get local folks on board by writing a letter to your local paper (e.g., here’s my March 2026 blurb in The Swarthmorean). The more people who use these traps the better.

Are they working?

To determine whether mosquitoes are ovipositing, look for egg rafts on the surface of the water. You can also check for eggs of Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) on the edges of the container, above the waterline, or on pieces of wood that are floating on the surface. If there are eggs and no larvae (video below), the Bti is doing its thing. If you see larvae in the water, dump everything and start over or add some fast-acting Mosquito Bits (kills in minutes, just as safe) along with a fresh chunk of Mosquito Dunk. If you don’t trust yourself to ID larvae, send me a pic or tag me on social media. Mosquito larvae look a lot like newly-hatched tadpoles, fyi.

Safety

Bti toxins are completely nontoxic to mammals, birds, and all insects except mosquitoes, black flies, and fungus gnats. For an overview of the mode of action and safety, please see this report (PDF).

Sources of Bti

If you can’t find Mosquito Dunks search for any of the following: Biosolutions Bactive, Bonide Mosquito Beater Water Soluble Pouches, Bactimos Briquets, Terro Mosquito Larvacide Pouches, VectoBac Water Dispersible Granules.

Printable version

I made a 2-page PDF of the above in case anyone needs something to hand out to friends and neighbors.

Other sites with similar information

See also

Yeast-and-sugar mosquito control devices

82 Replies

In the United States, three companies — Spartan Mosquito, Aion Products, and Tougher Than Tom — are selling devices that supposedly kill mosquitoes by luring them inside with carbon dioxide. I tested them in my yard last year and they all killed exactly the same number of mosquitoes: zero. Below are details about how they are marketed, why they don’t work, and why people still buy them.

Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech

Company says tubes kill mosquitoes for up to 30 days. Spartan Mosquito (also known as AC2T, Inc.) was the first to commercialize a yeast-and-sugar tube; the other two companies are copying it to some extent. Based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and owned by Josephine Tatum Hood. website: spartanmosquito.com

Aion Mosquito Barrier

Company claims device will kill and repel mosquitoes for 90 days. Much of the advertising seems to be AI-generated. The box claims that part of the profits go to saving marine turtles, but I seriously doubt this happens. Based in Memphis, Tennessee, and owned by Wade Whitely. aion-products.com

Tougher Than Tom’s Mosquito TNT

Company claims they work for 30 days. This company spends a lot of money targeting people with cheesy ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tiktok. Based in Austin, Texas, and owned by Zachary Snyder Collins. website: tougherthantom.com

Do they work?

To my knowledge, there’s no evidence that any of these devices kill mosquitoes. I tested all three of them in my yard in Pennsylvania and none was able to even attract mosquitoes. This is not surprising given the small amount of sugar and yeasts that are included. I.e., even though some carbon dioxide will be produced by the yeast, it will never be enough to fool a mosquito. One would likely needs pounds of sugar to produce the necessary volume of carbon dioxide. Moreover, you would need to keep adding sugar daily to maintain the required output. It is pretty obvious, even before testing, that they can’t work as described.

Another reason why mosquitoes are not attracted to these devices is that mosquitoes use more cues than just carbon dioxide to find hosts. For example, most species also use odor, heat, and visual detection.

Although these devices do not control mosquitoes, they do attract and kill other insects such as flies, beetles, wasps, and ants. Many people view these non-target deaths as evidence that the devices are working.

I have full reviews of the Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech and the Tougher Than Tom Mosquito TNT if you need details. For the Aion Mosquito Barrier, please see my review of the device it copies, the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator (per court order it is longer manufactured).

Why are these companies still in business?

Grifters thrive in the United States because state and federal regulators rarely punish businesses that make false claims about pesticides. It’s also sadly true that we have a generally poor level of science education in the country, and that leaves citizens open to being deceived by even obvious scams. And we have a huge population, so there are hundreds of thousands of people each summer who might give one of these products a chance. For a grifter, it doesn’t really matter than 99% of these people will never buy it again — there will always be hundreds of thousands of new (naive) customers next summer.

There are also people who will keep buying a scam year after year. This happens for a variety of reasons:

  1. Towns, municipalities, and regional health departments often spray insecticides from trucks and airplanes, in the middle of the night, without many residents being aware. And if some of those people have yeast-and-sugar tubes hanging in their yards, they might wrongly assume the lack of mosquitoes is related to the tubes. This scenario is probably common because spraying happens pretty much at the exact time of the year that homeowners place the yeast-and-sugar containers around their yards. For those curious about Mosquito Abatement Districts, this article has a nice summary. You can also ask your local government for details on whether your house is being treated.
  2. Sometimes due to sudden and extended drought conditions, mosquito populations plummet. Again, people might not appreciate that the lack of water is preventing mosquitoes from completing their life cycle and will mistakenly attribute the drop to yeast-and-sugar devices they have deployed around their yards.
  3. Many of the companies encourage homeowners to hang the tubes before the start of the mosquito season. It might seem to some that the tubes are keeping the mosquitoes at bay but in reality it’s because the mosquito season hasn’t started.
  4. Finally, some homeowners spray pyrethroid-based insecticides (like those used by Mosquito Shield and the like) in addition to deploying the yeast-and-sugar contraptions. I’ve seen comments on the internet suggesting that these people believe both are necessary even though in reality the tubes are merely decorative.

Once a person becomes convinced that one of these devices works, they are unlikely to abandon that belief even when presented with clear evidence to the contrary. That’s probably especially true if a person tells multiple friends that a device works. I.e., people can become more and more invested in a false belief over time. Indeed, when the tubes fail in future summers (or during gaps in municipal spraying), true fans of these tubes go to great lengths to blame themselves. For example, they might say, “I don’t think I used the correct temperature of water”, “I may have placed them too close to my house”, or “I should have used a few more tubes.” The companies use the same lines in response to consumer complaints, never acknowledging that the failure is with the tubes themselves.