Keep Mosquitoes At Bay With This Plastic Bottle Trap

No one wants to be eaten alive by mosquitoes, but there’s no need to resort to harsh chemicals to keep them at arm’s length. Instructables user Dartorso has a solution in the form of a trap you can easily make from a plastic bottle and a few other tools.

Image by Filippo

The plastic bottle mosquito trap is an environmentally-friendly alternative to sprays. You should have the most of the necessary bits and piece lying around the house — a plastic bottle, sugar, brewer’s yeast, tape, black cardboard and scissors.

The bottle itself needs a little preparation — cut off the top portion and insert it upside down. The secret to the trap is the mixture that goes inside. Boil some water, add a little sugar, cool the mixture, and add brewer’s yeast. The yeast produces CO2 as it eats the sugar, which attracts the mosquitoes. It’s important to cool the water so you don’t melt the plastic bottle or kill the yeast.

Darthorso explains how the trap works:

The brewer’s yeast produce a small but continuous amount of CO2, that, mixed with the high sugar amount in water, creates a smell that is irresistible for mosquitoes!

So, these little devils fly inside the small hole of the bottle cap and get stuck, with no way out except for the hole itself. The percentage of mosquitoes that fly out again from the trap is ridiculously low.

The completed trap can be covered with cardboard before hanging, or you can put it in a liquor container. The container makes the trap easier to hang, and also makes it easier to change the bottle when needed. You should find that a mere 10 grams of yeast lasts for around two weeks, making it highly cost-effective.

Plastic Bottle Mosquito Trap [Instructables]