Kill Mosquitoes Effectively With This Solar-Powered Trap Invented In Rural India!

Mosquitoes have earned a wicked reputation for all the nuisance they create in and around human settlements. Over and above their annoyance factor however, India, alongside other tropical countries, has seen fatal cases of mosquito related diseases such as Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya that leave enormous death tolls in their wake too.
In Kanjirappally Panchayat, in the Kottayam district of Kerala, the sprawling and flourishing rubber and spices plantations have been a source of revenue for the prosperous community for a long time. However, the toughest menace to tackle in their day to day activities has been mosquitoes.

Putting an end to the menace, Mathews K Mathew emerged as a messiah. He belongs to a rubber planting family himself, and hence, understood how acute the problem really was. Right from childhood, Mathew, a graduate in English literature, had a penchant for designing traps to capture pests, such as small rodents when they caused chaos in their 12 acre-family farm. While he was still in college, Mathew had an epiphany that came from observing mosquito behaviour. He saw that mosquitoes were attracted to light but were not smart enough to retrace the path of the light and would thus keep hitting glass window panes.

Based on this eureka moment and observations about mosquito characteristics, Mathew began designing and developing a solar powered mosquito destroying machine. It took him almost a decade but he finally succeeded in fine-tuning his device enough to bring about an efficient and portable contraption. The most unique feature of the device is that it does not need any toxic chemicals and works at no cost at all. “This was his obsession. He refused to even marry until his efforts bore fruits,” said Mathew’s father in an interview.

The origins of his invention come from the pressing need to eradicate mosquitoes from the plantations that suffer the most from rampant mosquito breeding. Rubber plants have a coconut shell cup fixed on them for collecting their prized milk (latex). These shells most often remain filled with rainwater, and thus, become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
To avoid mosquitoes, people in the plantation areas employed preventive measures like mosquito coil, electric mosquito zapper bats, net covered beds, mosquito repellent liquids, creams, sprays, cards, among others. These products are efficient only to certain extent and they come with some side effects. Lighting a mosquito coil produces smoke which causes breathing problems, while body creams and sprays have toxic chemicals that often lead to skin problems and diseases.

As per a report, the product, costing only Rs. 1400, can be fitted in place of the cowl at the top of the vent pipes of all septic tanks at plantation farms. Usually the cowl of the vent pipe is covered with netting to prevent the inroad of mosquitoes. This net may prevent them from going inside but it leaves them free to fly around elsewhere. With the solar mosquito destroyer now fitted in, the unit would trap and kill the mosquitoes then and there.

Such has been effectiveness of this product and it has been so greatly received that inquiries for trade and collaborations have been coming in from Japan and China. Mathews partnered with his brother-in-law and obtained a patent for this device in 2000. He has manufactured and supplied units under the trade name- HAWKER to private individuals, institutions, government schools and hospitals.

Mathews has also developed an indoor mosquito killer called ‘Sleeper trap for mosquito destruction.’ As the name suggests, it traps the mosquitoes inside the device so that the users can sleep comfortably. The system uses the user’s body heat to draw away the mosquitoes and a fluorescent bulb at top as a source of light instead of sunlight.
It is believed that an average mosquito after one meal can lay up to 300 eggs and has the ability to lay thousands in its lifespan. This fact is alarming for the health of families across the globe in areas plagued with mosquitoes. This low-cost, eco-friendly solution with no maintenance costs can prove to be a universal solution to combat mosquitoes, giving way to safer and hygienic living conditions.

Feature Image Courtesy: EcoIdeaz