The importance of adding CO2 to our mosquito traps
Most blood feeding insects are attracted by carbon dioxide (CO2) and mosquitoes are no exception to this rule.
Human beings inhale oxygen and exhale CO2. The CO2 is a gas mosquitoes can hardly resist and this is the reason why mosquitoes often buzz around your ears, close to your mouth that breezes out the CO2.
When you decide to use our Biogents traps with CO2, it is important to always use a high grade CO2. Using CO2 from the food and beverage industry is probably best. Especially in Southeast Asia the CO2 can be ‘dirty’ (low grade) which might result in blockage of the filters in the CO2 regulator!
Carbon dioxide usage
Our mosquito traps use between 200gr and 500gr of CO2 per 24 hours. This is less than what an average human being exhales in the same time period. When starting your trap we recommend to use 500gr per day for the first week(s). When the catch rate goes down (e.g less mosquitoes in the catch bag), you can continue on 200gr per 24 hours. This will make the lifespan of your CO2 bottle higher and the operating costs of the trap cheaper. Adding our BG-Timer to the CO2 bottle makes consumption even more economical.
The CO2 bottle
Let’s face it, CO2 bottles are not looking great. The bulky bottles are often scratched and rusted on the outside. In some Southeast Asian areas one can only get very small (3kg) or very big bottles (25kg). Especially when using the bottles in public places it is advised to hide the bottles. Likewise we do have customers that make ‘sleeves’ for the bottles so they blend in nicely with their surroundings. CO2 bottles should always be placed in a vertical position.
The CO2 regulator
The Biogents BG-MosquitaireCO2 mosquito traps come standard with a CO2 regulator. Carbon dioxide upgrade sets are available for all our other traps. Different countries in Southeast Asia might use different size connection systems. Please contact your pest control company for more information.