I have to cool you down a bit at the beginning (like the vinegar) so that you don’t waste time and hope. Vinegar itself does not attract or kill mosquitoes. There are many “old wives’ recipes” circulating on the Internet that claim the opposite, but the reality is that mosquitoes are looking for carbon dioxide (CO2), heat and the specific odors of our sweat. Vinegar (acetic acid) is more of a repellent for them, or they simply don’t care.
If you’re looking for something that really works, let’s take a look at what makes sense:
- Trap that really works (Yeast)
This trap imitates human breathing by producing CO2.
What you need: A plastic bottle, 200 ml of warm water, 50 g of sugar and 1 g of yeast.
Procedure: Cut the bottle in half. In the bottom part, mix the sugar in the water and add the yeast (do not stir!). Place the top part of the bottle with the neck down into the bottom part.
Why it works: The yeast eats the sugar and releases CO2, which attracts mosquitoes to the neck of the bottle, from where they cannot fly out.
- What is vinegar good for? (Repellent)
You can’t use vinegar as a trap, but as a temporary repellent:
A bowl of vinegar on the window can discourage some insects from entering the room, because the smell simply doesn’t appeal to them.
If you’ve already been bitten by a mosquito, rubbing the area with vinegar helps neutralize the itching and has a disinfectant effect.
- What do you actually catch with the vinegar in the trap?
If you’ve seen a trap with vinegar and detergent somewhere, it was probably a trap for fruit flies (wine flies).
They love the smell of fermentation (apple cider vinegar).
The detergent will reduce the surface tension of the liquid and the fly will immediately drown when it touches the surface. However, this will not get rid of the mosquito.
Garden tip: If you want to get rid of mosquitoes in the long term, check if you have rainwater barrels or old flower pots in your garden where water is standing – these are their main breeding grounds!
Would you rather recommend plants that mosquitoes naturally dislike and can be planted on a balcony or terrace?