For over 30 years scientists have been searching for compounds that attract mosquitoes.   There are up to 400 chemical compounds on human skin that could play a role in attracting mosquitoes. This smelly cocktail, produced by bacteria living on our skin and exuded in sweat, varies from person to person.  Figuring out which ones mosquitoes are most drawn to is painstaking work.  However, USDA research entomologist Dr Daniel Kline narrowed down the long list when he decided to use dirty socks as bait.  The result: his 3-day-old socks were irresistible to them.  He found that mosquitoes were also partial to Limburger Cheese, and the main ingredient in the cheese is a bacterium that’s found on the human foot. “We feel that you can use attractants in a trapping strategy to divert mosquitoes away from biting people.  If you can keep them from biting people you can stop the disease transmission.” says Dr Kline (Seed Magazine, June 15, 2009).

Not everyone wants to use dirty socks, so for the no-mess, no-fuss brigade, Mega-Catch™ has developed an attractant lure.  A known mosquito attractant, Octenol is a key ingredient in Mega-Catch™ Fragrance Strips, and has been proven to enhance Trap performance and boost capture rates of a wide range of mosquitoes and other biting insects.   The fragrance strips come in handy-to-use cartridges. Foil wrapped for protection (and longer shelf-life), once opened the active ingredients will slowly disperse and should be replaced every 30 days to remain effective.

Octenol, sometimes described as ‘cow’s breath in a can’, is remarkably attractive to mosquitoes and other biting insects who can detect this chemical from almost 100 feet away. While Octenol itself does not kill insects, when released into the air, it attracts mosquitoes.  Some, but not all mosquito species are attracted to Octenol, however studies have determined it is effective against the potentially deadly yellow-fever-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito. Octenol is not harmful to humans, other non-target organisms, or the environment.