Welcome to Cranky Puppy Farm!

This blog belongs to two Gen X-er's smackdab in downtown Kansas City where we've been renovating and decorating two old Victorians built in the 1890's. Our life is filled with 3 demanding Pomeranians (1 of them cranky, of course), honking cars, noisy neighbors and the hustle and bustle of city life but we dream of the day when we can move to our 40-acre farm and hear nothing but the wind and the cows next door. Until then, we're chronicling our triumphs and mishaps here as we try to garden and preserve on 2 city lots, raise chickens, and learn all those things we should have learned from our grandparents. Welcome to our world - we hope you'll stay awhile!

Homemade Mosquito Traps

Friday, March 30, 2012


Why mosquitoes can try to suck me dry and leave J. completely alone has always baffled me.  Perhaps it's my sweet disposition or the fact that I can't put the chocolate down.  It probably exudes from my pores.

So I was ecstatic when we talked about how to build homemade mosquito traps.  This is a great way to trap those nasty little boogers and recycle also.  And it's really easy! 


Step 1.  Start with your everyday 2-liter bottle.  Drink the contents if you haven't already.  :-)

Step 2.  Cut the top off the bottle right along the top of the label.

Step 3.  Remove the lid and recycle it.  You won't need it.

Step 4.  Add  1 tablespoon sourdough starter and 2/3 cup water or, if you don't have any starter, use this recipe:

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 cups of cool water
  • 1 tablespoon of dry active yeast
  • Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water and remove from heat.  Immediately pour in the cold water and stir well.  Then pour in the yeast and stir again.

Step 5.   Invert the upper half of the bottle and insert it into the lower half.  The top of the bottle will now be pointing down.  Either staple the plastic together so that it stays in place or use duct tape.

Step 6.  Cover the bottle in dark colored paper (or paint the outside).  Mosquitoes love dark places. 

Step 7.  Poke 2 or 3 holes evenly spaced around the rim and use string or wire to create a hanger.

That's it!

The best place for these is in the corner of your porch or patio.  The CO2 from the yeast mixture will attract the mosquitoes and they'll be unable to figure out how to get out of the bottle.  The mixture in the bottle will stay good for a couple of weeks.  Trust me...the bottle will be full soon.  And, with 80 degrees in late March when it outta be in the 60's, mosquitoes are already out in full force.





Find out what other cool things folks are up to over at the FarmGirl Friday Blog Hop!

9 comments:

  1. I have never seen this! We will be trying it, we have a heck of a time with them!

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  2. I'm going to try this... mosquitos LOVE me

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  3. Now this is a new and different use for sourdough starter! Awesome!

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  4. Great idea. Mosquitoes are the State Bird of Ohio, apparently!

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  5. Arizona is being invaded by West Nile Diseased mosquitos. My 6 year old daughter tested positive yesterday for West Nile. Arizona has foreclosed homes every third home. Unfortunately these homes also have swimming pools that have turded so green and algae filled that we are being over run by damn mosquitos. I've lived here 21 years and up until last year had never been bitten. I grew up in Yellowstone were mosquitos are killed off every year from cold. Here it never freezes so emagine how fast these damn things are populating. Millions per pool every day. The monsoons are here so it's now 110 degrees and 65% dew point. It's mosquito heaven. We were over run by illegals but since SB1070 passed it mosquitos that is now the issue.

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  6. I didn't know about this! And it sounds easy, too! We have lots of mosquitoes here!

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  7. If we use this mixture to make sourdough bread (to eat), will we develop an immunity to mosquitos?

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  8. Alaska's state bird is the monster mosquito that survived from the dinosaur era! I am so glad to get this recipe & will be decorating my porches with the colorful traps.

    I have a good meat bee/wasp killer solution. In an old pie pan, fill it with an inch or so of water, a couple of squirts of lemon dish soap and a tablespoon of sugar. Stir it up and carry outside to an old stump, or just put it on the ground at the edges of your property or in a garden as long as you don't have animals that might drink it. I have a dog and I only told her "No" once & she left it alone. Within hours the pan will be full, so dump it out and do it again as long as you have to. I did it for about a week, and then I had no more wasps.

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  9. Wow nice I also try it than see what the result but it is really nice trick to safety from mosquitoes

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