Five Do-It-Yourself Mosquito Traps for Your Wisconsin Backyard
In this day and age of uncertainty and division, there is one thing we can all agree on, mosquitoes suck. And there is no getting around them. They are everywhere, in every state, every region, and every climate. Here in eastern Wisconsin, with our beautiful bodies of water and natural environments, we know all too well how horrendous these blood-sucking parasites can be. Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep the population down on your property. Below we discuss five different homemade do-it-yourself mosquito traps you can make. All our low budget and involve items you can find around your house with minimum work.
Five Do It Yourself Mosquito Treatment for Your Wisconsin Backyard
Dish Soap Trap
This trap uses a container filled with water and dish soap. Because Mosquitoes are attracted to standing water and use it for breeding, they will automatically gravitate toward the water-filled container. Add a few squirts of dish soap that will remove the water’s surface tension and thus cause the little buggers to drown. To make this trap, you will need:
- A container (tall and slender work best)
- Water
- One teaspoon of regular dish soap
- One light source
- Flashlight
- String
Fill your container approximately 1/3 full of water. Add in the dish soap and stir until combined. Don’t worry about the bubbles. Now, place the container where you intend to use it. Take your flashlight and tie it above the container with a string. The added light is also a mosquito enticer. Leave about three inches of clearance above the top of the container. Come back in a few hours, and we bet there will be mosquitoes trapped inside.
The Flying Insect Trap
The concept of this trap is much like the previous one, but instead, we attract mosquitoes through the sweet scent of sugar mixed with yeast. Mosquitoes are attracted to it, will fly in, and become stuck in the sticky substance. Bye-bye mosquitoes!
You will need:
- 1 two-liter bottle
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of yeast
- Tape
Take your two-liter bottle and cut the top of it off right below where it starts to curve and narrow. Place the water, sugar, and yeast inside. Fit the top half of the bottle upside down inside the bottom half, so it looks like a funnel. Secure in place with tape. Now, set it out on a patio table, or hang it from a tree. Over time, your trap will attract mosquitoes, and they will get trapped inside.
Citrus Trap
Certain smells, including citrus, repel mosquitoes. Take a lemon or lime and cut it in half. Place tons of whole cloves inside the fruit, and voila, mosquitoes will stay far away. Just set your concoction out in a bowl right where these nasty bugs tend to congregate, and they will soon find a new place to socialize.
Beer Trap
Have you ever noticed that mosquitoes tend to bite more when you are drinking? That is because they are attracted to the scent and taste of alcohol. Put a few solo cups of beer out, and mosquitoes will find their way inside. They will be unable to escape. Unfortunately, this seems more like a waste of beer than an actual solution to your mosquito problem, as it would take hundreds of solo cups filled with beer to make a dent in your backyard population -still, a pretty clever idea.
Standing Water Trap
The standing water trap imitates female mosquitoes’ breeding environment, but when they lay their eggs inside the container, the larvae will fall through the screen and into the water. When fully grown, they are unable to escape through the mesh and become stuck beneath the screen.
You will need:
- Small plastic flower pot small enough to fit a sock over
- Black sock
- Wire
- Mesh screen
- Water
Drill two holes on the opposite sides of the container at the top, just big enough for your wire to fit through. Drill two larger holes about an inch below to serve as overflow drains. These will prevent the water that fills the trap from reaching the screen that locks in the grown mosquitoes.
Next, take your black sock and glue the toe of it to the bottom of the inside of the container. Make sure the sock is dry. Then, pull the rest of the sock over the rim to cover the outside of the container completely. Now glue the sock in place. Take a fine mesh metal screen and cut it to the same circumference as the container’s top. Press it into the opening, so it sits directly above the first set of drilled holes. Take your wiring and stick through the small holes on each side. Now, pour water into the container. Add in a few grass clippings. Whenever you notice the sock is dry, fill it with more water. Presto, you have your very own homemade mosquito trap.
Save Time and Energy. Get Mosquito Control Service With Buzz Off Mosquito Solutions
You might not have control over biting insects in parks and other recreational areas but you do have control in your own yard. Before mosquitos start giving you and your family problems, call the experts at Buzz Off Mosquito Control Solutions. We have a variety of pest control services including mosquito, fly, and flea & tick control services. We offer our mosquito control service to both residential and commercial customers.
Give us a call at (715) 281-3289 or send us a short message here. Don’t forget to follow our monthly blog for the best mosquito control tips in Wisconsin.
