Mosquito season and a recommendation

19 years ago

Mosquito season is upon us, the little buggers are already starting to show up around here.

If any of you are thinking about purchasing one of the many mosquito deterrent apparatus on the market, I would recommend you DO NOT buy the Mosquito Magnet brand.

Here's why: We bought one in June '04, got the one that will cover 1 acre, cost was around $600. While it works (worked) like a charm, it petered out in August of last year. So that means only 7 months of use. Warranty period on these is 18 months, so it was no longer covered by warranty. I called the company, they told me I would have to send in the head, the cost would be $15o to repair it. He recommended I wait until spring because there would be a full year warranty on the repair.

Have been calling them since mid April, finally got told that the company has been sold, and they have not put new policies in place yet, so at this time they cannot tell me what, if anything, they will do for us. I am not a happy camper after spending that kind of money for a machine that didn't even make it thru 2 seasons!

They told me I could take it to an independent repair facility (why wasn't I given this option last Augus, I wonder?). Turns out there is a place in North Branch. Tim called them yesterday and the fellow there told him 9 out of 10 times it's just a problem with the regulator, gave him instructions on how to adjust and it has been running now since last night!

Long story short, stay away from Mosquito Magnet, their customer service sucks, and we would have spent another $150 to repair a proble, that didn't even exist if we hadn't finally contacted the local place. Which they could have (but didn't) make us aware of last year when we reported our problem!

Don't know if this helps anyone, but figured I would pass along our bad experience just in case. Before we got this, we could not even be out in the yard during the summer months, we got eaten alive! With it, we can enjopy the summer virtually pest free, but I would certainly look into other brands and check warranties and maybe even make some calls to customer service departments before making a purchase of a mosquito repelling machine.

Linda

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Comments (2)

deweymn
19 years ago
search: recall'mosquito magnet'

This popped up: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06062.html

CPSC, American Biophysics Corp. Announce Recall of Accessory Used to Clean Mosquito MagnetÂ®
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: "L"-Shaped Quick-Clear Valve Adapters used with Mosquito MagnetÂ® Insect Traps

Units: About 335,500

Manufacturer: American Biophysics Corp., of North Kingstown, R.I.

Hazard: The maintenance accessory is an "L"-shaped, Quick-Clear Valve Adapter that can leak or break apart during use, possibly striking and injuring nearby persons or releasing pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) that can freeze exposed skin.

Incidents/Injuries: American Biophysics has received 11 reports of persons struck by broken adapters and three reports of minor skin irritations caused by the CO2 gas.

Description: The recall involves a maintenance accessory used to clear obstructions in the fuel delivery system of certain Mosquito MagnetÂ® insect traps. The Quick-Clear Valve Adapter is a black and gold, "L"-shaped, brass and plastic device. The adapter was included as a maintenance accessory to clean fuel lines in newly manufactured and retrofitted Mosquito MagnetÂ® insect traps sold only under the following Mosquito MagnetÂ® model names: Defender, Liberty, Freedom and Commercial Pro. Only "L"-shaped adapters are affected by this recall. Mosquito MagnetÂ® products made since November 2003 contain only straight adapters that do not need to be replaced. Adapters for Mosquito MagnetÂ® traps that use rechargeable batteries are not affected by this recall.

Sold at: Home centers, hardware stores, and industrial suppliers nationwide, as well as online and catalog retailers, provided the "L"-shaped Quick-Clear Valve Adapter as an accessory with Mosquito MagnetÂ® insect trap products manufactured from October 2002 through November 2003. The adapters were sold separately for about $8.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should not use the recalled "L"-shaped Quick-Clear Adapter on the Mosquito Magnet insect trap. Contact the firm to receive a free replacement adapter.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact American Biophysics Corp. toll-free at (877) 699-8727 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit their Web site at www.mosquitomagnet.com

Press Contact: Betsy Kosheff, 413-232-7057, betsykosheff@msn.com
doucanoe
Original Author
19 years ago
We don't have one of those adaptors.

American Biophysics no longer exists, that is the company that was sold. I don't recall the name of the new company, but they intend to continue to manufacture and sell Mosquito Magnet.

I would avoid this brand like the plague based on bad experiences like mine. I have talked to many others that have had bad luck with these machines as well and it nearly always happens just after the warranty expires, go figure.

Linda
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