Review - Eversafe™ All-Natural Mosquito Control Bag
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Like many people, we like to keep the chemical "footprint" of products we use around our own home and yard to a minimum.. With this in mind, we decided to take a look at an all-natural mosquito control product:
the Eversafe All-Natural Mosquito Control Bag.
We were intrigued by the unique way in which this product is supposed to work. Instead of zapping, trapping or
repelling mosquitoes, Eversafe is designed to initially attract them. When they fly over to investigate, Eversafe (per
the manufacturer) "blocks and confuses the insects' receptors" so that "the pests fly away and stop looking for a blood meal." Interesting.
There has been quite a bit of research on mosquito scent receptors in the last decade. We couldn't find one that specifically focused on preventing bites by confusing the receptors, but fair to assume the folks who invented this product found something we missed.
What's in the package?
The contents of the bag are tiny, dry, crystalline pellets. Per the package, they contain the following ingredients:
- Soybean oil
- Sucrose
- Yeast
- Herbal extracts - wormwood, anise, fennel, angelica root, mint, hyssop, lemon balm,
Location location location
Since this product attracts mosquitoes (like traps do) you don't want to place it right on your deck. The manufacturer recommends that it be placed 20-70' away from the area you are trying to protect, no more than 5' from the ground and in a straight line-of-sight, i.e. not blocked by buildings, hedges, fences, etc.
We found this to be quite a challenge in a small, uneven or oddly-shaped yard. Nevertheless, with a little planning we were able to find a low tree branch that fit the bill.
Setup and Use
To activate, open the bag, add 1C warm water, and hang it up to do its thing. Setup is painless (other than when I stabbed my thumb with the end of a piece of wire while hanging - wear gloves, people!) There was a mosquito circling while I was hanging the bag, I'm not sure if it was interested in me or the contents of the bag..
How long does it last?
The Eversafe eco bag is designed to work for up to 7 days. Pricing varies, but at $5-$15 per bag, you cuold be looking at around $40-$60/month - an ongoing expense similar to the cost of supplies for some mosquito traps. Bags can be purchased individually, in packs of 2, 5 or 10. Or, you can buy their refillable "pyramid" - refills cost around $9/pack. The bag is neater to use, just discard and replace it.
Does Eversafe work?
It's difficult for us to make a perfectly objective assessment of a product of this type because, unlike mosquito traps or zappers, there is no body count. All we can do is estimate if there appear to be fewer mosquitoes flying around and biting.
We tested the Mosquito Control Bag in early June, putting the bag out the day after a rainstorm when the temperatures and humidity were conducive to plenty of mosquito activity.
So were there fewer mosquitoes? Sorry to say, but I was already slapping mosquitoes away while standing in an "ideal" protected location - about 30' in direct line-of-sight from the bag - the day after I activated it. I did not see a swarm of mosquitoes hovering around the bag at any time during the week. On the contrary, there seemed to be the usual amount of them hanging around annoying us.
So for us, Eversafe, cool concept that it is, was a no-go. To be fair this is a tough environment with many different mosquito species including nasty, day-biting Asian Tiger mosquitoes. Your insect population may be easily confused. Apparently, ours was not..
Have you had success with the Eversafe products? We'd love to hear the details of your location, type of environment (open lawn, suburb, city, rural, woods, near water, etc.) and area mosquito types (if known.) Catch us on our Facebook page or on Twitter and let us know!