“Soapy Water” Mosquito Trap

“Soapy Water” Mosquito Trap MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous A bug zapper and a pan partially filled with soapy water helps keep Frank Heraghty’s back yard mosquito-free     The rural Claremore Okla man lives in a region where mosquitoes are thick in the evening His bug zapper helped some but he found that filling a shallow pan with about an inch of water mixing in some dish soap and placing it under the zapper works even better He hangs the zapper from a lawn chair frame so the bottom is about one foot off the ground with the pan directly underneath “I’ve used this idea for years and have caught a lot of mosquitoes ” says Heraghty “The mosquitos are drawn in by the light from the zapper but for some reason they decide instead to land in the water The dish soap breaks the surface tension of the water causing them to sink “The zapper kills some mosquitoes but about 80 percent of them die in the water Mosquitoes like to lay their eggs in standing water so the combination of the light and water is a big attraction In effect I’m converting a mosquito breeding ground into a mosquito trap ” He came up with the idea one day by accident when a zapped bug caught fire and fell into some dry grass starting a small grass fire “Fortunately I saw it happen and was able to put the fire out ” says Heraghty “That’s when I decided to add some water and place it under the zapper I remembered that my brother-in-law in Florida had placed buckets filled with soapy water in his back yard so I decided to take the idea one step farther It’s tremendously effective ” Eventually the water starts to smell so Heraghty dumps it out and puts in fresh water “I always keep a bucket of water nearby so I can occasionally top off the pan Also I move the trap to a different location every few days ” he notes Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Frank Heraghty 19381 East 454 Road Claremore Okla 74017 ph 918 342-5809 or 918 230-5618; flhmejj@yahoo com