Mosquito Magnet Defender – Does it Work?
What is the Mosquito Magnet Defender?
The Mosquito Magnet Defender is a machine that attracts mosquitos and then traps them. About three feet tall and about two feet in diameter, the Mosquito Magnet Defender requires a propane tank and a power cord to run. The Mosquito Magnet Defender is green and looks like a little motor attached to a propane tank – not the most attractive look for your backyard – but it can become less noticeable if you are creative about its placement.
How Does the Mosquito Magnet Defender Work?
Those pesky mosquitos and other critters that bite us are attracted by our breath. So short of holding your breath, there’s not much you can do to keep them from noticing you. Not a very effective solution!
The Mosquito Magnet Defender motor uses the attached propane tank to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) – that substance that mosquitoes admire so much in us. Theoretically, the mosquitoes should find this big, green carbon-dioxide-producing Mosquito Magnet machine so much more attractive than us that they’ll wait in line to enter the Mosquito Magnet trap net. Then, they can’t get out and they dehydrate and die. Bye, bye, little suckers, heh, heh.
The best part of this whole Mosquito Magnet contraption is removing the net trap and emptying all the little mosquito carcasses into the trashcan. Really. If you’ve had a bad day at the office, this is the first task you should complete after grabbing yourself a cold one.
Mosquito Magnet Defender – What Does It Kill?
The Mosquito Magnet Defender will kill mosquitoes, sand gnats (no-see-ums), and some flies. It doesn’t seem to kill deer flies (darn!) and it doesn’t kill butterflies, thank goodness. You will also become popular with the spiders in your yard. They’ll set up a mini neighborhood of webs to catch the overflow of bugs that queue up to enter your Mosquito Magnet.
The Key to the Mosquito Magnet Defender
Once you turn on the Mosquito Magnet Defender, you’ve got to understand that you’ve made a commitment. The whole effectiveness of this little machine hinges on the fact that it needs to run 24/7. You do not turn off the Mosquito Magnet Defender. You see, while the Mosquito Magnet is trapping mosquitos it is also killing the females who lay the eggs. In order for the mosquito population to decrease in your yard, you need to disrupt the cycle so that baby mosquitoes aren’t entering the population.
So your Mosquito Magnet Defender isn’t something you just turn on every time you go outside. No, your Mosquito Magnet Defender is like a new member of your family. And, if you want it to work for you, then you will have to put in the care and maintenance necessary to keep your Mosquito Magnet Defender healthy and happy. Or…you.will.pay.
My Experience with the Mosquito Magnet Defender
Let me just say, I am a mosquito magnet. I come from a long line of mosquito magnets. I married a mosquito magnet. And even though we knew this about ourselves, when we moved to the coast of Georgia four years ago, we couldn’t wait to establish our new home – with a lovely view of the marsh. Folks, let me tell you, the marsh is no place for two human mosquito magnets. Within a month, I was online researching solutions for our mosquito problem. Enter the Mosquito Magnet Defender.
I ordered the Mosquito Magnet Defender from Amazon.com and with baited breath (attracting even more mosquitoes) we waited for its arrival. When the Mosquito Magnet came, we tore open the packaging and following the directions, hastily assembled it, and placed it in the back yard. Our Mosquito Magnet came with an instructional dvd – which we didn’t watch. The hardcopy manual seemed to explain the basics and we were so anxious to begin that we picked a place in the back yard that appeared to meet the qualifications and we turned on our new Mosquito Magnet Defender.
The first mistake: we tried to get away with running the Mosquito Magnet Defender only a few hours a day. This just will not work. We were catching some mosquitoes in our trap but we were still getting bitten. There was a noticeable decrease in the number of bites we received when we kept the Mosquito Magnet Defender running continuously.
Also, you have to be willing to give the Mosquito Magnet Defender time to work. It will take 4-6 weeks before the number of female mosquitoes laying eggs in your yard decreases enough for real relief.
The second mistake: we never experimented with our Mosquito Magnet Defender placement. We may have received even better service if we had tried placing the Mosquito Magnet Defender in different locations in the yard. We were happy enough with the first place we tried. You really should follow the placement instructions carefully and experiment with your Mosquito Magnet Defender for optimal results.
The third and potentially fatal mistake: we were not careful about following the maintenance routine for the Mosquito Magnet Defender. If you are interested in purchasing a Mosquito Magnet, you must be willing to attach the propane tank correctly, purge the tank, and follow all the instructions for the Mosquito Magnet Defender. If you don’t, the Mosquito Magnet Defender will not be nearly as effective and, horrors, may quit working completely.
This is what happened to us. We were totally happy with our Mosquito Magnet Defender for the first and second year. The third year the Mosquito Magnet seemed to cut off by itself and we’d have to work at getting it to come back on. So, it worked intermittently the third year (which means it was only minimally effective at killing mosquitoes and it was not interrupting their reproductive cycle). This year when we tried to turn on our Mosquito Magnet Defender, it would only stay on for a minute or two and then cut back off.
After researching online, I found that this is a common problem and complaint with the Mosquito Magnet. Once the Mosquito Magnet Defender quits working, it is very difficult to get it fixed, difficult and costly to send it in for repairs, and almost impossible to get a free replacement. This is something to think about before purchasing a Mosquito Magnet Defender.
We are still in the process of trying to get our current Mosquito Magnet Defender to work again. That’s what I mean about taking care of your Mosquito Magnet or you will pay. We didn’t maintain ours. And we now have to decide whether to keep trying to fix our current one or purchase a new Mosquito Magnet Defender. Plus we’re back to square one with our mosquito population.
Mosquito Magnet Defender Troubleshooting – What We Should Have Done
To keep your Mosquito Magnet Defender happily killing mosquitoes for you, do the following: use a correctly purged propane tank and refill the tank and replace the octenol cartridge every 21 days; empty the Mosquito Magnet net when 1/2 full; and use quick-clear CO2 cartridges every 42 days to keep the lines clear. All cartridges call be purchased online or where the Mosquito Magnet is sold locally.
Mosquito Magnet Defender – Would I Purchase Again?
Even with the problems we have had with the Mosquito Magnet Defender, I would definitely purchase one again. We feel that it dramatically cut down on the number of mosquitoes and no-see-ums for us. If you live near water, on the marsh, or anywhere that is an extremely good breeding ground for mosquitoes, you should consider getting a Mosquito Magnet Defender.
However, we will take better care of our Mosquito Magnet Defender this time. If you aren’t willing to do the maintenance, then this machine is not for you.
You can purchase a Mosquito Magnet Defender on amazon.com or locally at some of the “big-box” or chain stores. The Mosquito Magnet Defender costs $259-$279 plus shipping from Amazon and will kill mosquitoes in a half-acre area. The Mosquito Magnet Liberty is the larger unit and works on an acre. Prices for the Mosquito Magnet Liberty start at $459.
