Speaking of Mosquitoes...

[Red Squirrel]

There's a spammer that seems to be bumping mosquitoe related threads but it got me thinking, I'm going camping soon and I bought a bug zapper, but only realized after that mosquitoes are not actually attracted to the UV light, but to CO2. I heard if you mix yeast, sugar and water together it makes CO2. Is that the case? How long does the reaction last? Might put some in a small container at the base of the bug zapper.

Also got one of those zapping rackets, those things are fun!

 

[TwiceOver]

It does work, to an extent. There are all sorts of "traps" you can make with cut in half soda bottles with the neck upside down in the bottle.

Not sure how that would work in a state like Minnesota though, since the mosquitoes wouldn't fit.

 

[Mayne]

I normally get all my drinking and smoking done before the mosquitoes come out.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Here they tend to be fairly small, just there's so many of them. So if I can attract them to the bug zapper they'll just explode. I tried it out and got all sorts of other bugs, but thing is, those are all the bugs I don't care or want to kill, they're neutral and don't bother anyone (it's still fun to see them explode though). I might even take the UV bulb out and run with just the trap thing and zap grid.

 

[ControlD]

I used to make CO2 generators for my aquariums by mixing sugar, water and yeast in a 2L pop bottle. The reaction will start within a few hours at decently warm (room temperature or above) temperatures. The reaction will generally continue for a couple of weeks, but the biggest CO2 release will be in the first few days.

As I recall, I boiled two cups of table sugar in 2-3 cups of water to get it dissolved. Chill that down (hot water kills yeast) and pour into the soda bottle. Add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. Drill a hole in the bottle cap and run a piece of airline through the hole. Seal the hole if needed around the airline. The CO2 can then be directed.

I remember people had better luck controlling the CO2 amounts and lengthening the time the generator lasted by using jello rather than just sugar and water. I never tried that to verify however.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Oh wow days? I was thinking maybe hours at most. Good to know. I will have to experiment.

 

[ControlD]

Yeah, it goes on for awhile.

If you use Apple juice instead of sugar water you will be left with something a little bit like apple flavored wine once the yeast has been killed off. The reaction creates alcohol in either case. I believe if you use yeast designed for brewing you can get an extra week or so out of the reactor, but the cost will be somewhat higher.

 

[Denly]

I caught nothing but fly using that kind of mixture, funny thing is they keep reproducing in the big container that I made till winter hit.

 

[Squisher]

Mosquito Magnets are great gizmos, but they're expensive, their quality control is shit, and they have a tendency to break. I wish someone would take the concept and do better.