How many times have you spent an evening on the terrace or balcony, perhaps in the company of friends and then found yourself with your body full of mosquito bites? I often guess!
Unfortunately, in fact, in the summer, mosquitoes really do become a nightmare, as they buzz around us, often even disrupting sleep.
And how, then, can we keep them away? By the way, today we present you the trick of the bottle! Let’s see what it consists of!
How to prepare it
The trick of the bottle is really simple and immediate to try, because you will only have to equip yourself with:
- 1 plastic bottle
- 1 gram brewer’s yeast
- 200 ml water
- 50 grams of sugar
- scotch
- black cardboard-dark fabric
Then start by cutting the plastic bottle 5-10cm away from the point where it starts to shrink. We suggest using a 2-liter plastic bottle, with a very tight cap. Alternatively, the 1.5-liter is also suitable.
To be clear, you can cut above the top edge of the label, making a horizontal and uniform cut along the circumference.
Then heat the water with the sugar and boil the mixture for about 10 minutes. After that, let it cool and pour the sugar water into the bottom of the bottle.
At this point, also add the yeast, which will trigger a reaction capable of attracting mosquitoes. Regarding the quantities of yeast, there are two versions, because there are those who use only one gram of fresh yeast and those who, on the contrary, put a whole loaf of yeast.
If, on the other hand, you want to use dry yeast, then we suggest you use the whole sachet.
Now, turn the cap upside down and remove the cap from the top of the bottle cut earlier, and insert it into the bottom one, blocking it with the tape all over the edge in order to contain the reaction between the ingredients.
Finally, line the bottle on its side, using black cardboard or an old dark cloth, taking care not to obstruct the opening at the top, securing everything with tape. And that’s it: that’s it!
NB Be very careful when cutting the bottle with scissors or a cutter. Keep children away during this phase.
Why it works
The bottle trick is really effective in getting rid of mosquitoes and making your evenings enjoyable without the fear of getting bitten.
But one wonders why this remedy works. As we have already said, in fact, the union of sugar water and yeast produces a chemical reaction that generates carbon dioxide (CO2), which strongly attracts mosquitoes.
It’s no coincidence, in fact, that it’s the substance that also makes human blood palatable to these insects.
Produced at the bottom of the bottle, the carbon dioxide will rise to the top of the overturned bottle and escape, first attracting the mosquitoes into the “trap” and then preventing them from getting out. To make the reaction last longer, it is not necessary to mix the added yeast with the water.
How to use
Once we have seen how to make the bottle capable of attracting mosquitoes, let’s see together how to use it and where to place it. First of all, we tell you that this trick can be used both indoors and outdoors.
However, it is best to place the bottle in a dark and preferably damp place.
You can also hang it by piercing the bottle on two opposite sides (at the ribbon that connects the two parts) and attaching a string to it.
This mixture of sugar water and yeast is effective for about two weeks, after which we advise you to empty the bottle and fill it with a new mixture.