In Isère, a planter transformed into an innovative mosquito trap

Their annoying noise and stings often give us restless nights. Like every year, mosquitoes are back with the arrival of heat. Among them, the fearsome tiger mosquito, vector of diseases and present on our territory for ten years. But a lethal new weapon to fight public enemy number one has appeared on the market.

This trap, which looks like an ordinary gardener, is a real insect vacuum cleaner. The device, which uses a concept of biomimicry, attracts mosquitoes by reproducing human breathing through the diffusion of CO2. The device also gives off a slight smell of human perspiration. A mosquito trap that Amandine has been successfully testing for a year in her garden. “We have a small basket that we have to empty regularly and in which the mosquitoes are caught, it is already full when we are only in the early morning”.

We owe this mosquito trap to two Toulouse engineers. It was while trying to fight mosquitoes at home two years ago that they had the idea for this device. “We were invaded by mosquitoes, we said to ourselves that we had to find a solution. It’s a product that we wanted to have ourselves in our garden, or for professionals in a restaurant, or for a community that wants to install it outside”, explains Guillaume Lombart, co-founder and director of My Mosquito Box.

Developed in the Toulouse region, it is in Isère, near Grenoble, that this device is manufactured. The device works with gas cylinders from agricultural waste and two fans. This mosquito trap is also connected to an app, which sends notifications to its owner’s smartphone when the biogas bottle starts to run out. It is also remotely adjustable depending on the weather. Its aesthetics and application make this mosquito trap a unique product on the market. The patented device is sold for 1000 euros. But its designers are already studying the manufacture of models at a more affordable price, which could even be powered by solar energy.