Your questions answered

Hi Neighbors,

The response to the last update has been wonderful — thank you for all of your questions and feedback. A few things worth clarifying:

Cost 

Participating doesn't require buying a trap. Tossing standing water, treating your rain barrel with a BTi dunk, checking your gutters, draining your garbage and recycling bins — all of this costs little to nothing and is genuinely effective. Traps are just one tool among many, and the April 22 community Zoom is designed to walk through the full picture.

If your neighbor thinks it costs $100-150 to join, please help spread the word that it doesn't. The most important thing is participation in one or more lines of effort at the block level, whatever form that takes.

Product confusion 

You're not missing something, the naming really is confusing and two very different products sharing a $250 price point doesn't help.

The short version: The GAT traps and the Mosquitaire work in different ways and target mosquitoes at different lifecycle stages. The GAT lures egg-laying females with standing water and catches them on a sticky card — no power needed. The Mosquitaire is electric-powered, attracting host-seeking adults with a special scent, a fan, and optionally CO2. It's a more complicated trap and costs more per unit. Because they target mosquitoes at different stages, the two traps are actually complementary; when used together, they cover more of the lifecycle than either does alone.

One more source of confusion: Biogents uses the words "set," "bundle," and "package" interchangeably. Don't get hung up on the terminology — the main thing to know is that there are four options and each option includes all the components and accessories needed to get started:

• 2x GAT traps

• 12x GAT traps

• 1x Mosquitaire

• 2x Mosquitaires

Biogents' landing page will lay all of these details out more clearly and will be live Monday — I'll share the link as soon as it's up. You can also stop by the open house at the Northeast Library on April 25 to ask the Biogents team questions directly. If you can't make it, I can compile community questions and send them along.

For most Capitol Hill row houses, a good starting point is the GAT 2-Trap Set at $50 — one front, one back. That's the entry point I'd suggest if you want to try traps this summer without overcommitting.

Zoom details 

We'll record the April 22 session and share the link afterward. RSVP details will follow in a separate note later this week. Reminder that this Zoom is just for our community on the broad range of efforts that the Itty Bitty Mosquito Population Committee is undertaking and is separate from the in-person open house with Biogents on April 25. We'll answer trap questions as best we can, but may save some for Biogents.

Talk soon! Now go toss some standing water!