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Trap mosquitoes with our MKS-1022 C02 mosquito trap, mosquito
control product. A complete mosquito trap and mosquito killing system.
The Mosquito Killing System resulted from 16 years of research and testing
by Mr. Alvin Wilbanks. This project evolved from nightly rituals of having
to free the house of mosquitoes upon returning home from work in order to
ensure his newborn daughter, Tiffany, could receive a good nights rest
without being eaten up by a mosquito in the house. Mr. Wilbanks was
concerned about applying repellents to his child because of the effects
that he experienced from his personal use. A warming sensation was
experienced when he applied the repellants on himself. He was also
concerned about the dangers if his child ingested the repellant and
repellant possibly getting into the eyes of his daughter. Mr. Wilbanks
began researching the alternative products available on the market for
protection or repelling the pests that contained no pesticides. To his
amazement, he discovered that there were no such products available. He
knew there had to be a better way to control mosquitoes without the use of
chemicals so he asked himself the questions, "what attracts the
mosquito to us?" His first conclusion was that the mosquito was
seeking blood so he placed some blood on a slide as an experiment to view
the mosquito's behavior. To his surprise, the mosquitoes were not
attracted to the blood. He then tried to determine what other factors
attract them to us? Was it heat, moisture, body scents/pheromones, motion,
or breathing? He then began to test other items that might attract the
mosquito such as chicken or beef livers and even catfish type baits. All
these experiments had poor results. There was no increase in the
capture/kill ratio thus eliminating the fact that blood products alone did
not attract the insect. Mr. Wilbanks then purchased a bug light with the
misperception that they attracted mosquitoes. After examining the contents
of the dead insects, he realized that the bug lights did not attract
mosquitoes either. He then began his studies to determine why the mosquito
bites and the breeding, behavior, and habits of the insect. The research
into certain behavioral patterns of the insect was conducted at Arkansas
State University in Jonesboro, AR. Mr. Wilbanks was able to locate books
and documents covering Entomology and more specifically the study of
mosquitoes at the university library. Mr. Wilbanks then started
experimenting with the bug light he purchased to modify it to attract
mosquitoes. He removed the lights from the unit and replaced them with a
heating element, which seemed to have attractant features initially. The
next 2 to 4 years of research and testing revealed that mosquitoes
preferred cattle, chicken, pets, and other animals over humans. He then
began to determine that highest and lowest temperatures in which
mosquitoes were attracted to his device. He then modified his test unit to
cycle in the temperature ranges previously identified in order to mimic
these various animals. The test revealed that more species of mosquitoes
were attracted to the unit but not captured. Mr. Wilbanks then spent the
next 3 years determining what temperature was most effective and the
correct size of the unit in order to achieve the most efficient product.
He developed various units ranging in size from Coke can to a 55-gallon
drum and determined the optimal elevation necessary to attract the largest
number of mosquitoes. Hundreds of tests were performed in order to
determine the best performance to Mr. Wilbanks satisfaction. He then
started working with the air flow or wind design of the unit, which aided
in attracting mosquitoes to the unit. He observed that the majority were
curious about the device and the majority were females. Adding the wind
design to the unit increased the attractiveness and kill rate by up to 90
percent. This increase in the capture and kill ratios was at an acceptable
level to justify more experiments in order to perfect the wind design
elements of the unit. Other tests were performed to determine the
effectiveness of the unit under other conditions. One test included adding
moisture to the design. Since mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, it made
sense to incorporate moisture as a test to determine the attractancy of
the unit under these conditions. No significant difference was observed
during this study. He then added motion to the test unit to determine if
the mosquitoes wee attracted more to his testing devices in a fixed
position versus a linear movement. He then determined from the motion
studies that more mosquitoes were attracted to the unit that moved in
comparison to the fixed unit. He found that the best results were obtained
when the test unit moved twelve inches, paused for a period of 5 seconds
then returned to it's original position. Mr. Wilbanks had now concluded
from his studies that heat, size, motion, and elevation were all
determining factors. Armed with these facts, his testing and experiments
moved to a second level to perfect the operation of the device. He then
determined that the mosquitoes were detecting the electrical fields
(Corona), which acted as a warning to the insect and deterred the pest
from investigating further. He tried glue boards, sticky paper, and other
attractants to try to overcome this obstacle but found nothing that
actually worked. Mr. Wilbanks then decided to alter the unit in order to
conceal the electrical fields but yet attract the mosquito and process the
insect through a system that would kill them inside the unit. This added
other variables such as correct voltage, wind flow, and other factors that
had to be perfected in the design of the Mosquito Killing system. Research
began to find the availability of these features that needed to be
incorporated into the design. It was at this point when Mr. Wilbanks
submitted a request for technology assistance to NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The NASA engineers suggested a
number of improvements to cut costs and improve the efficiency that was
subsequently adopted. The specific areas of assistance included the
difficulties identified with the electrical fields, and other issues
pertaining to the heat source. NASA then referred Wilbanks to a non-profit
agency that assisted him in the developing the prototype as well as
producing the molds used to manufacture the base and top structure of the
new product. Mr. Wilbanks hen submitted a request for approval of the use
of the NASA name and the statement "Developed with Technical
Assistance from NASA". The request was granted by the NASA/MSFC Legal
Office on November 19, 1996. His experiment and test resulted in forty
different versions that had been developed in order to perfect the device.
Once perfected to his satisfaction, he then applied for a patent and
subsequently was granted the patent on January 21, 1997. Once the patent
was granted, the information concerning the design and operation of the
unit became public knowledge. He received a large amount of interest both
locally and internationally, which was all positive. The next 2 years were
spent on seeking the components to produce the unit as well as obtain UL
Approval and in order to manufacture and market the Mosquito Killing
System. He was granted UL Approval in April 1999, which brings us to where
we are today.
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