Why upgrade to carbon dioxide (CO₂)

If you live in a suburban or urban setting near low lying areas that are subject to flooding, and you are mainly bothered by mosquitoes in the evening, the cause of your problem is probably floodwater mosquitoes and not tiger mosquitoes.

Floodwater mosquitoes

Floodwater species develop in early spring in woodland snowmelt pools and during the summer in woodland and open field rainwater pools or drainage ditches that hold water for a few weeks to months.

A number of floodwater breeding species occur throughout the US and can cause serious annoyance around dusk. Some of the more common species are: the common floodwater mosquito (Aedes vexans), the woodland pool mosquito (Aedes canadensis), the striped floodwater mosquito (Aedes trivattatus), the dark rice-field mosquito (Psorophora columbiae), the common white footed mosquito (Psorophora ferox), the gallinipper (Psorophora ciliata), the common malaria mosquito (Anopheles quadrimaculatus), the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus), the unbanded saltmarsh mosquito (Culex salinarius), the winter marsh mosquito (Culiseta inornata) and other species that do not have common names (Aedes atlanticus, Aedes infirmatus, or Psorophora ferox).

Adding of CO₂ to the BG-Mosquitaire trap

The BG-Mosquitare with BG-Sweetscent lure is very effective in collecting the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the dengue or yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti). Carbon dioxide is a scientifically proven attractant that is routinely used by mosquito control professionals to enhance their mosquito surveillance efforts. So by adding CO₂ as a supplemental attractant, you can increase the variety of species and the total number of mosquitoes that will be collected by the trap. In other words: Using CO₂ allows you to target certain pest species (floodwater mosquitoes) that would otherwise be under-represented in your trap catch.

CO₂ is an important attractant for all host-seeking mosquitoes. BG-Sweetscent lure and CO₂ work together as synergists and can help you to maximize the capture rate of your trap. Using CO₂ can also increase your tiger mosquito collections.

CO₂ upgrade set

Using our CO₂ upgrade set, you can add carbon dioxide as a supplemental attractant. The set allows you to connect a CO₂ gas cylinder to a specialized emitter nozzle which is designed to optimize the dispersal of the gas. The amount of CO₂ emitted can be adjusted according to the local and seasonal mosquito situation with the specialized pressure reducing regulator. We recommend a flow rate of 1.1 lbs (0.5 kg) /day (red marker on the display of the pressure regulator) for normal to high mosquito nuisance.

BG CO₂ Timer

To most efficiently utilize CO₂ with your trap, we recommend releasing the gas-only at times of peak mosquito activity and shutting it off when mosquitoes are not flying as much. By releasing gas on a fixed schedule, you can greatly extend the time between refills. This can be accomplished either manually turning on and off the gas at the tank, or automatically using the BG CO₂ timer. The timer connects between the gas manifold and the trap and uses a 9V battery-operated timer to can switch on and off your CO₂ flow. You can program up to 2 distinct release intervals each day to correspond to dusk and dawn activity patterns.

Ordering and Prices

All products and prices can be found in our shop.

CO₂ gas cylinder

In order to supply the trap with CO₂, a commercially available 20 pound or larger CO₂ gas cylinder is recommended. The CO₂ gas cylinder is not included with the CO₂ upgrade set.  CO₂ cylinders can be purchased online, from local compressed gas dealers or homebrew supply shops. Cylinders can be refilled at a number of locations including compressed gas dealers, fire extinguisher service companies and paintball supply dealers.