SkeeterVac

Pros: Catches mass quantities of biting insects
Cons: Doesn't get them all

I just emptied the 'wave' trap of hundreds if not thousands of skeeters after a week on the current tank of propane. The sticky trap has hundreds more. I've also seen the sticky trap so full of yellow flies, I don't think I could have placed another on it.

I live on a few acres of bottom land and with the rains we've been getting, about a half acre remains under 3" - 12" of water. Prime breeding grounds apparently and I had to do something, the city's control was sporadic at best and I could have been carried away by the amount of 'skeeters here.

This was available at my local warehouse club for less than $300 so I jumped on it. It goes through 20# of propane in about three weeks (I would keep a spare tank on hand so you don't have a lapse in coverage while trying to get your tank filled) and the tack traps get so full in the beginning that I changed them out every couple of weeks instead of once a month like the manual says.

Pros: Does a great job at catching mosquitoes
Cons: Reliability questionable, only worked for one season before breaking down.

When this item worked it did a wonderful job of catching thousands and thousands of mosquitoes. The replacement lures are expensive. My unit wouldn't light properly the second year I used it. Contacted company to find out how and where I could get it repaired and was told that currently they didn't have any repair facilities. Who ever heard of selling $400 units that can't be repaired. Beware of purchasing this product.

Pros: Easy to set up.
Cons: Not helping with mosquito population.

We purchased the SkeeterVac at Canadian Tire. We have had it running non-stop in our yard. It claims to have 1+ acre coverage. Today I couldn't even go out in the yard in 25+ degree weather, whereas before we had this thing running, I had no problem. For the money, I expected a lot greater results.

Pros: It does not require an electrical connection to operate and reduces the number of mosquitoes.
Cons: It is a major hazard to other wildlife such as birds!!

We purchased this unit less that two weeks ago. It definitely reduced the number of mosquitoes and other biting insects, however, the black and white "fly-paper" that traps many of the bugs becomes grotesque over time. Then the unthinkable happened; apparently a young Cardinal bird stuck to the "fly-paper." We don't know how it happened, but we found over a dozen of its main feathers stuck to the paper and many more smaller feathers. Thank goodness we did not have to observe its struggles or suffering, I doubt if we could have freed it from the sticky paper without injury to the bird. We called Sam's Club this morning and are returning it tomorrow. This unit should be recalled!!! Its one thing to see insects stuck to the sticky "fly paper," but totally different to find that a bird has probably been killed or suffered from the same fate.

Pros: Truly cordless. Not as finicky as high priced "magnets"
Cons: 15 day propane, but 60 day octenol makes up for that.

Bought a mosquito magnet years ago.....when it works, it works well....just doesn't work all that often. Thinking about buying one?...call their customer service and create a problem....you'll buy a skeetervac. Worried about birds, frogs and meteors getting caught in the sticky trap? Don't use the sticky trap. Still far superior than the competitors. I caught a lady bug the other day....guess I should call lowes....please. Works awesome! Disconnect the tank while running it...still goes. Do that with a mosquito magnet. More frequent tank changes....yeah that's right, but I'm not pulling out my co2 cartriges, adaptors and 21 day octenol either. Thing's a tank and works awesome. Best monet I ever spent and where you get your prices, have no idea. My SV35 was 249.00 compared to 600.00 from Mosquito Magnet for a truly cordless unit.

Pros: SkeeterVac is less expensive and works better.
Cons: SkeeterVac sticky paper and fine tune attractant are not cheep, no CO2 to fool with.

I bought 2 Mosquito Magnets, the pro which I paid $1000 for worked for 4 months and died, they repaired it under warranty and it worked for another four months. The second time it died, they wanted $495 to repair it. Why bother when the SkeeterVac cost less to buy new than the repair for the Mosquito Magnet. The SkeeterVac works better then the Mosquito Magnet ever did. The SkeeterVac catches the bugs via a sticky paper on the outside and a screen trap on the inside. I empty the screen trap every three days. The sticky paper is not cheap, but it gets the job done. There is something satisfying about seeing all those bugs stuck in place and not able to bite us.

Pros: IT WORKS. Kills hundreds of mosquito's a day.
Cons: None so far

My neighbor just picked me up a Skeeter Vac at our local plumbing supply store. I live on a Pond/swamp and our yard can be terrible in the Summer as the Mosquito's can pretty much carry you away. Within a week you can actually lay on y hammock without getting eaten alive. I don't care how much is costs to replace a few tanks of propane, the sticky strips or the bait to me it well worth getting rid of the Skeeter's. It's easy to set up and once it was running I haven't had to touch it again. It sure costs a lot less than those $1,200 Plus units!!!

Pros: Product controlled mosquitoes a bit for the limited life of product.
Cons: Short product life span, quality of components, customer service, cost of repairs.

I own an SV-35 which I purchased in Spring of 04. I have used for basically three seasons. This year the engine failed. I called customer service and was provided two options. First was that I could trade in my old engine for a refurb. with only a 30 day warranty or second, I could get a refurb. direct from them for $125 and a 1 year warranty. I was very disappointed in the cost to repair here considering the unit cost me $300 new. Also, I am only able to get a used item back from the factory no matter which option I chose. I will not buy from this company again.

Pros: Great when it works, if the motor operates it catches thousands of mosquitos.
Cons: Motors are defective.

Bought the SV 1000 Summer 2003 worked great. Wiped out thousands of mosquitos. After 6 weeks motor stopped working. We got a replacement motor. Next summer results not as good and unit stopped working. We had an extended warranty through our retailer. They sent us a 3rd motor summer 2004. That didn't last. July 2005 as our warranty was almost up we needed a 4th motor. Same reason, would not stay lit. This summer, started the motor from last July and sure enough it won't stay lit. Contacted Blue Rhino and they said they stand behind their products and to call. They will ship us a new motor if WE BUY IT! We live in New England and the unit is used 2 months of the year. I would not buy another item from Blue Rhino and am ready to contact the BBB.

Pros: Easy to set up and use (when it works)
Cons: Terrible customer service Poor machine life

I also live in SE Wisconsin and this would have been the third year I have had the SV1000. The product worked okay when I first started using it. Although I went all out and did the lawn spray and an occasional fog. I am most upset with the fact that this year I went to pull it out and it won't start. I called customer service and described my problem, they said I need a new $70 motor. I told them I would rather throw the whole thing out. I would expect that if I paid that much for a machine, it should work for more than 2 summers. On that basis alone, I would never buy another one of these machines. The Terro lawn spray worked really well and only cost about $10 for a bottle to cover my lawn. It is a little more labor intensive, but you don't have to pay for propane, nets, and bait.

Pros: Reduces mosquito population, quiet
Cons: Expensive to run (1 propane tank every 2 weeks). Runs 24/7.

I paid $282 for my Skeeter Vac at Sam's Club (the price dropped a week later to $250 for the end of season sale). It is great at getting rid of mosquitoes, but doesn't really affect the deer fly population in my yard (bummer because those are the worst). I was disappointed that the instruction manual wasn't more specific, and does not offer much maintenance advice. After two weeks, I changed the first propane tank, and within a day I noticed that the outside was getting really hot and the plastic on top was starting to melt. When I called their help line, I was told to remove the top, and spray the fan and everything inside with Windex and then wipe it down (disgusting job). Apparently, the fan was gummed up with bugs. I wish the manual would have mentioned this in a "routine maintenance" section. Overall, I am pleased with it so far. I heard the Mosquito Magnet is unreliable after the first year, more expensive and gives poor customer service, so that is why I went with this model.

Pros: Easy to assemble, works out of the box, very nice customer service reps.
Cons: Unreliable, very expensive consumables which cannot be purchased locally.

I purchased my SV-2000 at Sam's club in late 2005 to control mosquitoes in my back yard. The unit was easy to assemble and came with sticky tape and a chemical lure. Beginning in September, I ran the unit nearly continuously until May 2006. Despite having cleaned the unit rigorously, replacing the battery, filling with fresh propane, the engine will not stay lit and, now, will not light at all. While I was impressed with the number of nasty bugs this unit caught in the first months of operation, I don't believe it is worth the high price tag. Also, Blue Rhino's prices for SkeeterVac's replacements are excessive - they take the Gillette razor business model to an crazy level. Alternatives, like spraying malathion or other pyrethrin insecticide around your yard every couple of weeks, can also be considered.

Pros: When it works it is very, very effective at catching mosquitoes.
Cons: Poor durability/reliability

The SV-15 worked FANTASTICALLY for the first season, catching thousands of mosquitoes and really making a difference to our bug problem. It was stored as recommended over the winter but would not start/ignite when we tried to use it this year. We are just over the 1 year warranty limit, as seems to be usual for failure of this unit. I guess it's a case of, if you're lucky enough to get a reliable one you'll be over the moon with it, but sadly, many people seem not to be that lucky. I've heard exactly the same complaints about the Mosquito Magnet products, so not sure what to try next! **Update** Took it apart and cleaned everything out thoroughly (air blaster) including some bits that were obviously not designed to be dismantled and it's now working again! Still wouldn't recommend it as we're just lucky that my husband is engineering minded.

Pros: plenty of blackflies stuck on the side and in the trap. Runs quiet too
Cons: $$$ to run

I purchased my 1.2 acre Skeeter Vac and minutes after I fired it up, it had about 30 Blackflies in the trap. I live in Northern Ontario Canada, and for those who don't know, this is Blackfly country. I am very impressed with my Skeeter Vac and the Trap has to be dumped about every two days. It does cost a bit for the Octanol and Propane but it is WORTH IT!!!

I haven't hit Mosquito season yet but I'm sure I'll be pleased. So far the SkeeterVac works great for Blackflies and I recommend it to anyone.

Pros: None
Cons: does not work and the life span is very short. Too expensive to operate--$30/month

Tomorrow, I will have owned this SV-2000 (from Sam's) for 2 years. It has never done a very good job with the mosquito population in South Texas. Tonight, the engine failed to light. Storage was in accordance with the manual and it has never been abused. It is going out in the trash.