Review: Mosquito Magnet Defender – How it Performed in Southern Maine

Growing up in Northern Maine, I’ve always been very familiar with the endless feud between humans and mosquitoes. In fact, the mosquitoes of my Northern Maine childhood were of an entirely different breed. Let’s just say that some nights they were confused for bats. There were no such things as the Mosquito Magnet Defender. I found myself many years later, in 2007, arguing with my wife. That year the entire local area including both Southern Maine and New Hampshire experienced severe flooding. The following summer was very wet, and so the mosquitoes were much worse than usual. My wife slid a stack of documents she’d printed off the internet across the table. “They’re eating the kids alive – it’s not right,” she said as she pointed a finger at me. “You’re at work all day, so you don’t care, but the kids come in every night and their legs are absolutely covered with mosquito bites, it’s a nightmare. It’s not right!” I glanced down at the pile of seven or eight documents that were sitting in front of me, and I saw that it was research that she’d conducted on the “Mosquito Magnet Defender”. I slowly filed through the paperwork, looking for the bottom line. I finally found it, and gulped.

“Honey,” I said as I looked back up at her. “It’s just too…”

“It’s worth it.”

I knew it was no use. The mosquitoes weren’t a nuisance to me. In fact they were nothing more than a small cloud of dust when I would do the lawn. Nothing compared to the beasts that hunted the skies where I grew up. But I couldn’t ask everyone to tolerate them just because I could – certainly not my kids.

“Okay.”

Which Model to Buy

I never go into a purchase like this cold. I wanted to know everything I could possibly learn about the Mosquito Magnet Defender before I took the plunge and blew my hard earned cash on a machine that was essentially glorified bug spay.

Once I started doing some research, I became quite impressed.

The device is very simple. It mimics a living, breathing body by giving off Co2 (carbon dioxide) and an attractant called Octenol. Once the mosquitoes approach the device, they are vacuumed right up into the trap and then die from dehydration.

The AMCA (American Mosquito Control Association) website described a comparison test ran by the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District using the Mosquito Magnet and an American Biophysics ABC trap. The report indicated that, “The Mosquito Magnet captured enormous numbers of Oschlerotatus sierrensis, the wester tree hole mosquito, but few Culex pipens, Culex tarsalis, or Ochlerotatus dorsalis.”

Now, I’m no biologist, but “enormous numbers” from a scientist is an impressive statement. While I had no clue what species of mosquitoes live around here, I wouldn’t mind at least being able to kill “enormous numbers” of any mosquitoes at all.

Online Reviews

Sold on the science, I decided to see what other people were saying about the Mosquito Magnet Defender. Searching for reviews was not much help. They were split about 50/50. One review read:

“True to form, mine ran fine for the first 3 weeks, but when it was time to replace the propane tank, I could not get it restarted. Kept getting a ‘fault’ light. Used the supplied ‘gas reset tool’ several times, and used several CO2 cartridges in an attempt to get it going – no luck.”

Fault light after three weeks? But then another review read:

“It seems to me the most important thing is to find the right lure and placement combination. We started with octenol and after the catch rate fell, we switched to lurex (we are in the midwest where the asian tiger is beginning to move into the area). Now we switch lures with each refill, and move the unit around the yard regularly. We have low catch rates but the mosquitoes are gone!”

High Maintenance

Finally, after discovering several more reviews by folks reporting that they couldn’t start the unit after storing it away all winter, I decided to check the Mosquito Magnet Defender website for any information about this “issue”. Sure enough, under “Preventive Maintenance”, a section entitled “Winter storage instructions” outlines the storage process in detail:

� Remove the regulator and store it in a plastic bag.
� Disconnect the battery and store it in a plastic bag.
âÂ?¢ Perform PM on the “Quick-Clear Valve” if it is a model that has one.
âÂ?¢ Place the trap cover over the unit and secure to “keep insects from hibernating inside and clogging the funnel or fans.”

I suspect that most folks never bothered reading their manual.

Taking the Plunge

In mid-July of 2007, I finally purchased the Liberty model, since it is specified to cover 1 acre, and we live on a 1.2 acre plot.

Opening the box in my garage, I unpacked all of the parts. The unit came with:

� One trap
� The attractant Octenol (3 cartridges)
âÂ?¢ The “QuickClear” adaptor
� An insect net
� Lawn clips
� All of the screws and other assembly hardware
� Power cord, DVD and Operating Manual

After assembling the unit, attaching the propane tank, and installing the first octenol cartridge, I wheeled the unit to the far end of the yard, ran the 50 foot electric cord over to the house outlet and fired it up.

After a few hours, out of curiosity I went out and watched the unit closely. It “felt” like the mosquitoes were much worse in the area, but then it could have been my imagination.

The Final Analysis

Within a couple of weeks, my wife mentioned that she thought the mosquito levels were dropping. I’d been thinking the same thing. But since they never really bothered me before, I really wouldn’t have noticed anyway.

However, by the end of the month, the change was absolutely remarkable. One evening after the sun went down, when the mosquitoes were typically the worst, I walked outside shirtless and waited. Not a single mosquito buzzed me or landed on me for a full five minutes. Finally, a single mosquito landed on my left arm. I watched it absently for a few seconds before smacking it with my right hand. I glanced over at the Mosquito Magnet Defender at the far end of the yard before walking back inside. There was no doubt about it…the thing works. And it works well.

The Following Year

Finally, this spring came the moment of truth. Last fall I’d followed the manual to the letter. I stored the regulator and battery in a plastic bag. I made sure the trap cover was firmly attached and the entire unit was clean before storing it away.

So this spring, I gingerly prepared the unit and attached the parts again. As I carefully rolled it over to the far end of the yard, upwind and in the perfect location, I said a silent prayer to the electronic gods of mosquito defenders, “Please let this baby start…”

Sure enough, it did.