I worked for the City of Winnipeg Insect Control Branch for 4 years, which was/is the largest mosquito abatement program in the country. Anybody who has found these magnets "working" are likely just experiencing downs related to the mosquito life cycle and changes in weather. It's especially rare in and around Calgary for them to be very bad for more than a week or 2. Winnipeg used a dozen or so super-sized versions of the CO2 magnets, used to attract as many mosquitoes as possible for West Nile testing, and the sites they were placed in never saw a meaningful change in light trap counts in those areas (used to measure mosquito levels in an area) regardless of whether the CO2 traps functioned or not. An individual mosquito will cover something like 20-something kms depending on wind, so controlling all of the ones in the area is not possible, and the CO2 emitted may actually attract more to your yard than control them. This was also the position of the city entomologists (effectively the top mosquito specialists there) I worked with during those years as well. So, feel free to buy one, but you're likely wasting your money.
30% DEET and light coloured pants and long-sleeved shirts are always going to be your best defenses. DEET is the most effective in masking the CO2 being emitted from you, which is what attracts the mosquitoes, with citronella in tests generally being marginally effective.
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Originally Posted by rage2
