mosquito trap zaps 1200 in one night

The Straits Times, Singapore

The following article was taken from the March 16 2001 edition of The Straits Times, Singapore.

The mosquito spots its prey, a chunky object that promises to be a real threat. Black, warm and emitting carbon dioxide, it is simply irresistible to the insect.

It zooms in for the attack.

Suddenly, it finds itself caught in a gust of air, and is sucked into a black bag where it joins other mosquitoes.

The insect has just been fooled by Mega-Catch™, a 38cm by 25cm black box.

This scenario was described by a local pest-control company which has been marketing the gadget for about a week.

The firm said that Mega-Catch™ has features which replicate what attracts mosquitoes.

Among these are an electronically-controlled gas discharge system which releases carbon dioxide - one of the gases that people breathe out - and a heat source tuned to the temperature of the human body. Unlike fumigation, which kills other insects like butterflies and ladybirds in addition to mosquitoes, Mega-Catch™ captures only mosquitoes and biting insects like sandflies.

One gadget caught more than 1,200 mosquitoes in a night in field tests conducted in northern Malaysia.