When my wife and I were married, 13 years ago today, we had plenty of birds flocking to our feeders, including blue jays and an occasional crow or two. A few years later I began to notice significantly fewer of these members of the Corvidae bird family, a harbinger of the West Nile virus insidiously creeping westward. These birds are a reservoir species for the West Nile virus, and are quickly killed off by the virus. The nasty little critters that are the primary vectors of the virus are mosquitoes, and when a human is bitten by a mosquito infected with West Nile, there is a chance of a serious complication. The CDC estimates about 1 person in 150 will develop a serious illness that can be potentially life-threatening.
How to reduce your chances of infection? Aside from people reducing standing water areas to interrupt mosquito breeding sites, the Acase InaTrap Insect Killer and Elegant Night Light, winner of Taiwan’s 2012 Excellence Award, placed around the house can help. How does it work? Mosquitoes are attracted by coloration and the carbon dioxide we exhale via breathing and from our very skin pores. The InaTrap uses an LED light and a special photochemical reaction to produce tiny amounts of carbon dioxide to attract the little flying pests. Once lured to the InaTrap, an enclosed fan yanks the mosquitoes into a trap. So, instead of sucking up human blood, it is the mosquitoes themselves who get sucked up to their doom.
So…I have but to put one of these lamps near me and that nasty little biting insect (like the very aggressive Asian Tiger mosquitoes who dine on me in my garden) intruding into my house gets effortlessly snuffed out, destroying that pest’s gene line FOREVER (insert evil laugh, dramatic lightning and thunder and musical inflection).
On a much more serious note, West Nile cases have increased 60% in the last couple of weeks, and with Hurricane Isaac and storms around the country dumping large quantities of rain and creating perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes carrying West Nile, the Acase InaTrap can be a sensible family precaution to help reduce mosquito numbers near homes and thus potentially help reduce the prevalence of West Nile. Every little bit helps!
Acase INADAYS InaTrap Electronic Insect Killer and Elegant Night Light – Blue (available in Baby Blue and Pastel Purple)
MSRP: $89.95