Tires for Mosquito Control, How?

Here’s a Hint: It’s a Brilliant Low-Tech Trap!

What do we do when we know where mosquitoes love to breed? Easy. A DIY trap for getting rid of them.

A couple of Canadian researchers have developed a trap called Ovillanta – with the help from Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health. It is a mosquito egg trap made up of 2 sections of used, discarded car tires. They are set up to look like a mouth and in it there’s a non-toxic solution added. A chemical pheromone, to be exact, is added to attract mosquitoes. There is also a wooden strip added inside the tires where a female mosquito can lay eggs.

The strip is removed analyzed every 2 weeks with the destroying of mosquito eggs and over time, the pheromones increase and it attracts even more mosquitoes. It becomes an irresistible trap.

The Benefits

According to the researchers, within a 10 month trial in Guatemala, mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus were reduced. It was also reported to work better than traditional mosquito traps. Ovillanta is an environmentally friendly low-tech solution.

Read more and see DIY images at Gizmodo.com.