Skeeter Beaters Pest Control: how to get rid of black-and-white tiger mosquitoes with a DIY 3D-printed trap and kill buckets
★ NEW! ★ Build ur own skeeter trap 4 like $57 in parts!!! + KILL BUCKETS!!
>> OUR FOUNDER (that's him) <<
A SERIOUS NOTE FROM GARRETT
Look, I built this because I didn't want to buy the $400 version. The real one is a Biogents Mosquitaire. It's $199 before you add the CO₂ kit and a year of bait refills, and then you're up around $400. So I designed my own from scratch and 3D printed it. The files are free below.
These little black-and-white tiger mosquitoes are the worst. They bite in broad daylight, they go straight for your ankles, and they can carry stuff like dengue and Zika.
The good news: they don't fly far, usually less than a couple hundred yards from where they hatched. So if they're biting you, they're breeding in your yard or your neighbor's. Trap the biters with this thing, put out a couple of kill buckets for the egg-layers, and you win.
Build it yourself or just buy the store version. Either way, everything you need is below. — Garrett
MEET THE ENEMY
Photo: James Gathany, CDC (public domain)
What it looks like: small and black with bright white stripes and black-and-white banded legs. The tiger mosquito has one white stripe right down the middle of its back.
Its cousin: the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is black and white too, but it has a white violin shape on its back instead of one stripe. It's all over LA. Same playbook kills both.
Rap sheet: bites during the day, goes for your ankles, and comes right inside the house. Breeds in any little bit of water, even a bottle cap's worth. Its eggs stick to the inside of containers and can survive drying out for up to 8 months.
In LA: the tiger mosquito was found in El Monte in 2011, and the yellow fever mosquito showed up in LA County in 2014. In November 2025, LA vector control found dengue in mosquitoes in Sun Valley, the first time ever in the county or the state.
WATCH: SKEETER BEATERS EPISODE 223
THE 2-PRONGED ATTACK
Only the females bite. They need your blood to make eggs, and then they go find water to lay them in. So you get them twice:
KILL THE BITERS
Females hunting for blood follow the smell of your skin. The Skeeter Beater trap fakes that smell with bait and sucks them into a net bag.
Build the trap ↓KILL THE EGG-LAYERS' BABIES
After she bites, she goes looking for still water with rotting leaves in it. A kill bucket is the perfect spot, and the Bti in the water kills every larva that hatches.
Build a kill bucket ↓The trap stops the biting now. The buckets stop next week's batch. Do both.
LIFE CYCLE OF A SKEETER
WANNA SEE HOW I'M MADE?
1. EGGSLaid on the inside wall of a container, right above the water. They can sit there dry for up to 8 months, then hatch when the water rises.
LAID IN YOUR KILL BUCKET
Hang under the surface and eat the gunk in the water. That's how they swallow the Bti.
PRONG #2 KILLS THEM HERE
3. PUPAE ("TUMBLERS")They stop eating, so Bti can't touch them. A couple of days later, out pops an adult.
BTI CAN'T TOUCH THESE
Females bite you for blood to make eggs, then go find water and start the whole thing over.
PRONG #1 CATCHES THEM HEREEgg to biting adult takes about 7 to 10 days (CDC). That's why you dump or treat standing water at least once a week.
PRONG #1: THE DIY TRAP
I designed every part of this trap from scratch. It works the same way as the $199 Biogents one, shrunk down to fit a cheap 80mm computer fan. The print files are free. You just buy about $57 of parts.
HOW IT WORKS
- The black funnel on top sucks air down into a net bag. Any skeeter that gets close gets pulled in.
- The fan blows that air back out through the white lid, carrying the bait smell up and out like a sweaty human standing there. Same trick the expensive one uses.
- Tiger mosquitoes hunt by sight too. Biogents says the contrast between a dark center and a light surface pulls them in. So: black middle, white top.
- A mesh cone inside the funnel makes it really hard for them to find their way back out.
STUFF 2 BUY
The whole DIY shopping list: the trap and the kill buckets.
| PRONG #1: THE TRAP | ||
|---|---|---|
| Part | What it's for | ~$ |
| 80mm 12V fan (GDSTIME) Comes with the 4 long M4 screws you need. | the suck | $16 |
| 12V 2A power adapter Bare-wire end with lever connectors. | the juice | $9 |
| Mosquito head nets, 4-pack One is the catch bag, one becomes the mesh cone. | the jail | $12 |
| BG-Sweetscent bait (1 pack) Lasts about 2 months. 6-pack = a whole year. | smells like a sweaty human | $20 |
| PETG filament, black + white Holds up to summer heat and sun better than PLA. One spool of each is way more than you need. | about 390 g total | $15/spool |
| Gel super glue (Loctite) | sticks the mesh on | $4 |
| TRAP TOTAL | vs. $400 (+ filament if u need it) | ~$57 |
| PRONG #2: KILL BUCKETS (makes 3) | ||
| Black 5-gallon buckets, 3-pack Dark buckets work best. | the nursery | $38 |
| Mosquito Dunks, 20-pack A quarter Dunk per bucket per month. | kills the babies | $19 |
| Mosquito Bits, 30 oz For plant saucers and puddles. | kills the other babies | $12 |
| KILL BUCKET TOTAL | leaves + water = free | ~$69 |
STUFF 2 PRINT
Everything incl. the mesh funnel frame, 3 plates, colors already set. About 8½ hours. 🗜️Everything as STLs (zip)
For any slicer, any printer.
Print in BLACK: inner tube, funnel cap, mesh funnel frame. Print in WHITE: lid (the shell can be any color).
Settings: PETG, 0.4mm nozzle, 0.28mm layers, no supports, no brim, textured PEI plate. Everything is already oriented to print as-is. The biggest part is 19cm wide.
HOW 2 BUILD IT
1. PRINT EVERYTHING
Black tube, black cap, black mesh funnel frame, white lid. About 8½ hours on a Bambu X1C. Let the printer do its thing.
2. MOUNT THE FAN
Screw the fan into the square pocket on the side of the inner tube with the 4 long screws it came with.
The air has to blow OUT of the tube. Fans have a little arrow on the side; point it away from the tube.
3. WIRE IT & STACK IT
Fan red wire to +, black wire to − on the power adapter. Feed the plug through the little hole low on the shell.
Drop the inner tube into the shell with the fan facing that cable hole (the side with no slots). White lid goes on top.
4. CUT THE MESH
Cut a fan-shaped piece of head-net mesh: outer radius 97mm, inner radius 39mm, 157° wide, plus about 1cm extra for overlap. Tape makes it easy.
5. GLUE IT ON THE CONE
Wrap the mesh around the outside of the cone frame and glue it to the ribs and both rings. Trim the tip so the hole stays open.
Then stretch another head net's elastic opening over the funnel cap's collar. That's the catch bag. The little ridge keeps it from sliding off. Set the mesh cone into the cap.
6. BAIT IT
Open the Sweetscent package and drop the white pouch into the slot on the inner tube wall (the side opposite the fan). Don't open the white pouch.
7. PLUG IT IN. OUTSIDE.
Cap goes on top, plug it in, leave it running 24/7. It smells like gym socks, so trust me: outside.
Put it in the shade near where they're biting you, out of the wind and rain, with a couple feet of open air above it.
8. EMPTY IT
With the fan still running, lift the cap out, pull the bag off and twist it shut. Freeze it overnight, then put on a fresh bag. Swap the Sweetscent every couple of months.
PRONG #2: HOW 2 BUILD A KILL BUCKET
WHAT U NEED:
- A dark bucket. They like dark containers best. Black 5-gallon buckets, 3-pack (~$38)
- Mosquito Dunks (~$19 for 20). This is the Bti.
- A handful of dead leaves or grass clippings (free)
- Water and a drill
- Drill a drain hole about 2 inches below the rim. When it rains, the extra water drains out instead of spilling over the top.
- Fill it up to the hole and throw in a handful of leaves or grass clippings. Let it sit a couple of days. To a skeeter, that rotting-leaf smell says "great place for babies."
- Drop in a quarter of a Dunk. The label says one Dunk treats 100 square feet of water for about 30 days, so a quarter is plenty for a bucket.
- Put it in the shade near plants, close to where they're biting you. Two or three buckets around the yard beat one.
- Every month: new piece of Dunk, top off the water. Never leave it without Bti. Egg to adult only takes about a week, so a bucket with no Bti is a mosquito farm.
STANDING WATER TIPS
- Plant saucers: sprinkle some Mosquito Bits in the saucers under your potted plants. Summit says to reapply every 7 to 14 days.
- Go on a standing-water hunt once a week: buckets, toys, tarps, gutters, the bird bath, the drip under the hose. Dump it. If you can't dump it, put Mosquito Bits in it.
- Bits vs. Dunks: Bits (little granules) for small stuff like saucers and pots. Dunks (donuts) for buckets, rain barrels, fountains and ponds.
- Wear bug spray while you wait. LA vector control says to use repellent with DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus, 15% or stronger. Like this 20% picaridin lotion.
DON'T WANT 2 BUILD IT? JUST BUY IT.
Got more cash than time? Here's the store-bought version of everything I made at home. I get a little kickback from Amazon, you get no skeeters.
Biogents BG-Mosquitaire
The one I copied. Plug it in and you're done. Comes with one bait refill.
Biogents GAT2 egg-laying traps
Black bucket traps that catch the mom on a sticky card when she comes to lay her eggs. Better than my bucket: mine only kills her babies, so she flies off and bites again. This one keeps her. No power needed. It's a 12-pack, so split it with the neighbors.
Only need 2? Biogents sells a 2-pack on their own site (~$80).
Cheaper: Catchmaster Ovi-Mini 4-pack (~$50, reviews are mixed)
- Mosquito Dunks, 20-pack (~$19) for buckets, barrels and ponds
- Mosquito Bits, 30 oz (~$12) for plant saucers and puddles
- 20% picaridin lotion (~$11) for your ankles
- Black buckets, 3-pack (~$38) if u change your mind and build kill buckets
SKEETER FAQ
Q: How do I stop the black and white mosquitoes in my backyard?
A: Hit them twice. Trap the biters with a mosquito trap like the one on this page, and kill the next batch with kill buckets and Mosquito Bits in any standing water you can't dump. Do a standing-water sweep every week.
Q: How do I get rid of Asian tiger mosquitoes?
A: Find where they breed. They only fly a couple hundred yards, so they're coming from your yard or your neighbor's: plant saucers, buckets, toys, gutters. Dump or treat that water every week, then trap the adults.
Q: What kills mosquito larvae in standing water?
A: Bti, a natural soil bacterium sold as Mosquito Dunks and Mosquito Bits. The larvae eat it and die. The maker says it's safe for people, pets and plants.
Q: How do I make a mosquito bucket trap?
A: A dark bucket, water, a handful of dead leaves, and a quarter of a Mosquito Dunk. Drill a drain hole 2 inches below the rim, keep it in the shade, and swap the Dunk every month. Full steps here.
Q: Why are mosquitoes biting me during the day?
A: That's the Asian tiger mosquito, or its cousin the yellow fever mosquito. Unlike the mosquitoes that come out at dusk, these two bite in broad daylight.
Q: Can I build a mosquito trap with a 3D printer?
A: Yes. I designed this one from scratch and the print files are free. It takes about 8 and a half hours of printing and about $57 in parts. Start here.
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