Project Eyeball magazine
The following article was taken from the March 16 2001 edition of Project Eyeball magazine, Singapore
Now coming to a garden near you - a trap which lures mosquitoes to a watery death by fooling them into thinking it's human.
Developed by a New Zealand company, Envirosafe Technologies, Mega-Catch™ emits carbon dioxide and heat equivalent to a human's normal body temperature.
Resembling a black plastic cage, it also emits light. The combination attracts only the bloodsuckers and insects like sandflies.
Mosquitoes can detect carbon dioxide emissions from 30 m away.
Once caught, the bugs are drowned in a container of water.
Placed outdoors, it doesn't kill butterflies and ladybirds like fogging does.
Nor does it use harmful chemicals and insecticides, which makes it a viable option for hospitals and child-care centres.
Mega-Catch™, which is being patented, took two year and about $1.1 million to develop. Tests in Malaysia showed that about 1,200 mosquitoes were caught in four hours.