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"Mosquito magnets" trap Kuujjuaq pests

"It must catch thousands of them"

JANE GEORGE

Kuujjuaq is deploying machines to kill bugs where they breed and reduce its annual hordes of hungry mosquitos and black flies.

Three years ago the town invested in six bug-catching devices called "mosquito magnets."

The $2,000 machines were developed by a U.S. company called American Biophysics and look a bit like freestyle lawn mowers turned upside down.

A lot of people in Kuujjuaq have heard about them, and appreciated the results, but not everyone has seen them.

"We keep them in the bushes close to streams where there is an accumulation of mosquitoes and black flies," said Kuujjuaq Mayor Michael Gordon.

The machines have a tube that spews out carbon dioxide just like a vehicle. Added to this is a mosquito attractant called octenol.

"It attracts mosquitos — they like that, that's what comes out of human mouths," Gordon explained.

The mosquitos are drawn to the machine and then sucked inside, where they are trapped in a canister and die.

"There's a lot of mosquitos and black flies that are caught in those things," Gordon noted. "Looking at the stuff that gets trapped, it must catch thousands of them."

This year, the town municipal workers haven't put the "mosquito magnets" out because summer came late to Kuujjuaq.

Gordon expects to put them out around Kuujjuaq this week.

While he's not sure the machines are getting rid of all the bugs all over town, he particularly recommends using them for picnics and public outings.

"We have put them down by the beach where people are swimming or if there's a gathering near the Forum or the Aqpik Jam is taking place, we put them by the site, so that it helps out in that sense," he said.

Kuujjuaq decided not to fog the entire community with pesticides due to the expense and environmental impact.

However, with new, less expensive techniques that becoming available for spray control of bugs, Gordon said that may become a feasible option in the future.

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