The “Easy Mosquito Trap” that Doesn’t Work

This article is taken from Five Gallon Ideas, which features over 100 uses for 5 gallon buckets with more being added all the time.

A month or so ago this picture with an accompanying tutorial exploded all over the internet. Allegedly, all you needed to make an ultra effective mosquito trap is a 2 liter bottle, cut in half with one half inverted, some brown sugar and some yeast. This concoction would bring the mosquitoes in from miles around to happily dive into the sugar water and die.

Here in central Alberta, mosquitoes are the most common form of winged life under the sun. Going outside in summer is a real risk – because you might go faint from all the blood loss. This mosquito trap looked to be the perfect solution to this insect overload.

Only problem is – the trap doesn’t work. My version of the trap has caught exactly two flies and a small curled up leaf. Not a single mosquito.

I’m not alone either in my dissapointment. Rooting through the comment sections of sites that have published this mosquito trap unearths numerous reports of the same thing. (Example 1, 2, 3, 4) One commenter shares his struggle with this frustrating trap.

I believe that I have read at least 200 comments about this type of soda bottle mosquito trap. I have NOT FOUND A SINGLE ONE THAT SAYS THAT IT WORKS.

I think this trap is a dud, but I’m not giving up the search for a good mosquito trap. If you’ve created your own mosquito trap, or even used a commercial mosquito trap, let us know in the comments.

For many more ways to use 5 gallon buckets for self sufficiency, visit Five Gallon Ideas. When citing this article, please link to