Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 213

Non-toxic skeeter eliminator

OakStump Farms Mosquito Trap

When I saw this cheap trap at Logan’s Trading Post three years ago, I figured what-the-heck, but we’ve been amazed at how effective they are. About three fourths of the way up from the bottom of the jug a tube runs through a hole in each side. Fill the jug with water up to the bottom of the transverse tube, add a pheromone pack, let it sit for a week with the top off (to make sure it gets the right attention), then close it after topping the water off. The mosquitoes fly into the tube and lay their eggs. When they hatch, the little mosquitoes can’t figure out how to get out. With luck, in about three weeks the trap will literally be swarming with skeeters.

We empty ours once a year and add new water once a month or so; as long as you break the breeding cycle early enough in the spring it’s not a big deal if you forget to water them later in the season.…