- 4 days ago
🔗 Save $6,000 A Year with My Complete Amish Home-Saving Method I teach:
https://eliasyoder.com
It is the end of June, and the air at dusk is thick with them. You go to sit on the porch after supper and within thirty seconds the first one finds you. You slap your arm. Another one lands on your neck. A third one is in your ear. By the time you finish your cup of coffee, you have welts on both arms and your wife has gone back inside. The children cannot play in the yard after dinner. The dog scratches at his belly all night. And every spring you walk into the hardware store and spend forty dollars on bug spray, citronella candles, and a plug-in zapper that does almost nothing for the actual problem.
There is a bucket of water in the corner of my yard with three dollars worth of yeast and sugar dissolved in it, sitting in the shade. Beside it is a second bucket I have not touched in a week. Both of them have caught more mosquitoes in three days than every spray and candle and zapper I have ever paid for caught in a summer. No battery. No light. No fan. No chemical poison. Just yeast doing what yeast does, and the soft trick of a little dish soap on the water — and the mosquitoes comin
https://eliasyoder.com
It is the end of June, and the air at dusk is thick with them. You go to sit on the porch after supper and within thirty seconds the first one finds you. You slap your arm. Another one lands on your neck. A third one is in your ear. By the time you finish your cup of coffee, you have welts on both arms and your wife has gone back inside. The children cannot play in the yard after dinner. The dog scratches at his belly all night. And every spring you walk into the hardware store and spend forty dollars on bug spray, citronella candles, and a plug-in zapper that does almost nothing for the actual problem.
There is a bucket of water in the corner of my yard with three dollars worth of yeast and sugar dissolved in it, sitting in the shade. Beside it is a second bucket I have not touched in a week. Both of them have caught more mosquitoes in three days than every spray and candle and zapper I have ever paid for caught in a summer. No battery. No light. No fan. No chemical poison. Just yeast doing what yeast does, and the soft trick of a little dish soap on the water — and the mosquitoes comin
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00It is the end of June, and the air at dusk is thick with them.
00:03You go to sit on the porch after supper, and within 30 seconds the first one finds you.
00:09You slap your arm. Another one lands on your neck. A third one is in your ear.
00:14By the time you finish your cup of coffee, you have welts on both arms, and your wife has gone
00:20back inside.
00:21The children cannot play in the yard after dinner. The dog scratches at his belly all night.
00:27And every spring, you walk into the hardware store and spend $40 on bug spray, citronella candles, and a plug
00:35-in zapper that does almost nothing for the actual problem.
00:39Now I want you to sit with this. There is a bucket of water in the corner of my yard,
00:44with $3 worth of yeast and sugar dissolved in it, sitting in the shade.
00:50Beside it is a second bucket I have not touched in a week.
00:53Both of them have caught more mosquitoes in three days than every spray and candle and zapper I have ever
01:01paid for caught in a summer.
01:03There is no battery in either bucket. No light. No fan. No chemical poison.
01:09Just yeast doing what yeast does, and the soft trick of a little dish soap on the water,
01:16and then the mosquitoes coming in by the hundred to lay their eggs and never flying back out.
01:22It is one of the cleverest little traps a person can build, and the parts to make it cost less
01:28than a single can of bug spray.
01:30My name is Elias Yoder. I am Amish, and I farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
01:36Today I am going to walk you through the trap, the larva killer that pairs with it,
01:41the small adjustments that make the difference between catching a dozen mosquitoes and catching hundreds,
01:47and the honest scope of what this method can and cannot do.
01:52Quick word before we go further.
01:55I have written a book that gathers all of these little money-saving methods my family uses,
02:00the things that have kept our household costs low for two generations, into one place.
02:06It is at EliasYoder.com. I will not bring it up again in the video. If you want it, it
02:13is there.
02:14And I will be honest with you the whole way, the way I always am, including telling you what is
02:19mine and what is not.
02:21This trap is not my grandfather's, and I will not pretend otherwise.
02:26The chemistry was worked out by modern researchers studying malaria in Africa,
02:31who needed a cheap way to catch mosquitoes in villages without electricity.
02:36But it lives by the oldest rule my grandfather did teach me.
02:40A small, clever thing can do the work of a hundred expensive ones,
02:45if you understand how the creature thinks.
02:48And I will be honest about the catch numbers, too.
02:51The bold claim in the title is 1,000 mosquitoes.
02:55The honest truth is hundreds in a bad mosquito week, fewer in a normal one,
03:01sometimes over 1,000 across a whole season on a single trap,
03:06if your conditions are wet and warm.
03:08That is plenty.
03:10That is more than every spray you have ever bought.
03:13Let me show you how it works. Stay with me.
03:16Let me first tell you what a mosquito actually wants,
03:19because once you understand that, the whole trap makes simple sense.
03:23A mosquito is a small creature with a small mind, and she has one job in life.
03:30The female, and it is only the females that bite, the males eat plant nectar.
03:35The female needs blood to feed her eggs.
03:38She finds you the same way any small, biting creature finds you,
03:42by the smell of your breath.
03:44When you breathe out, you breathe out a gas called carbon dioxide.
03:48So does your dog.
03:50So does your child.
03:51So does every warm-blooded thing on the farm.
03:54That carbon dioxide drifts in the air,
03:57and the mosquito's tiny antennas pick it up from a long way off.
04:01She follows the trail upwind, closer and closer,
04:05until she finds the warm body that is making it,
04:08and then she lands and feeds.
04:10That is the whole game.
04:12Find the carbon dioxide.
04:14Find the body.
04:15Feed.
04:16So if you wanted to fool her,
04:19if you wanted to make a small, clever trap that the mosquito would fly into,
04:24thinking she had found a warm, sleeping person,
04:27what you would need to do is make a small container that puts out carbon dioxide.
04:33And here is the marvel.
04:35There is a kitchen thing that puts out carbon dioxide naturally,
04:39all on its own, for a day and a half from a few cents' worth of ingredients.
04:46Yeast.
04:47When you put yeast in warm water with sugar,
04:51the yeast eats the sugar and breathes out carbon dioxide as it does,
04:56the same gas you breathe out,
04:58the same gas the mosquito is hunting for.
05:00A small bucket of yeast water gives off a trail of carbon dioxide for 30-some hours.
05:08The mosquito follows that trail right to your bucket.
05:11She lands on the water to lay her eggs.
05:15The dish soap on the water breaks the surface tension,
05:19what holds her up like a skater on a pond,
05:21and she sinks.
05:23She drowns.
05:25And while she was at your bucket,
05:27she was not at your porch.
05:29And the eggs she would have laid in your gutter?
05:32Never laid.
05:34That is the trap.
05:35Plain and simple.
05:37Now let me show you how to build it.
05:39Here is the parts list.
05:41Total cost?
05:42About $3.
05:44A dark bucket.
05:46Black, dark green, dark blue.
05:49Five gallons is good,
05:50but any size from a coffee can up to a small pail works.
05:55Why dark?
05:56Because mosquitoes prefer dark, sheltered places.
06:00A clear plastic jug will not catch many.
06:03The mosquito does not feel safe in it.
06:06A dark bucket she will go right into.
06:09If you only have a clear container,
06:11you can wrap it in dark paper
06:13or set it inside a cardboard box.
06:15The darkness matters.
06:18Two cups of warm water.
06:20Not hot.
06:22Not cold.
06:23Warm.
06:24About as warm as a baby's bath,
06:26somewhere around 110 degrees.
06:29Too cold, and the yeast does not wake up.
06:33Too hot, and you kill the yeast.
06:36One quarter cup of brown sugar.
06:38White sugar works,
06:40but brown sugar puts out a slightly different smell
06:43as it ferments and seems to attract more mosquitoes.
06:47Either way works.
06:49One teaspoon of active dry yeast.
06:52A small packet of yeast from the grocery store
06:55has enough yeast for three or four batches.
06:58Costs about a dollar a packet,
07:00or a few dollars for a small jar that lasts months.
07:04One teaspoon of plain dish soap.
07:07Any kind.
07:08This is what breaks the surface tension on the water
07:11so the mosquitoes sink.
07:13That is the whole list.
07:15The dark bucket you probably have.
07:17The water comes from the tap.
07:20The sugar, yeast, and soap together
07:22cost about three dollars
07:24and will make many, many batches.
07:27Here is how to mix it.
07:29I will tell it slow.
07:31Take your dark bucket.
07:32Pour in the two cups of warm water.
07:35Stir in the quarter cup of brown sugar
07:37until it dissolves.
07:39The water should look like weak tea.
07:42Sprinkle in the teaspoon of yeast.
07:44Stir it gently.
07:45Wait about ten minutes.
07:47You will start to see tiny bubbles
07:49rising in the water.
07:50That is the yeast waking up
07:52and starting to release the carbon dioxide.
07:54The water will smell faintly like rising bread.
07:58That is the smell the mosquito reads as
08:01warm body to feed on.
08:04Now add the teaspoon of dish soap.
08:07Stir it in gently.
08:08Gently because you do not want to whip the surface into foam.
08:12You just want the soap mixed in evenly.
08:15The water should still look mostly clear
08:17with maybe a slight cloudiness from the soap.
08:20That is your trap.
08:23Where to place it.
08:24This is where folks get it wrong
08:26and where the honest yield depends on what you do.
08:30Put the bucket in a shaded, sheltered corner of your yard.
08:34Not in the middle of the lawn.
08:35Not in full sun.
08:37Mosquitoes prefer cool, shaded, slightly damp places
08:41under a bush, beside the wood pile,
08:44in the corner of a porch,
08:46against the foundation of the house in the shadowed side.
08:49Place the bucket where the mosquitoes already are.
08:53Put it about ten or fifteen feet away
08:55from where your family sits in the evening.
08:58Far enough that the trap is not the closest thing,
09:00but close enough to draw the mosquitoes in your yard
09:04away from you and into the trap.
09:06You are trying to redirect them,
09:09not invite more in from the woods.
09:12Place it on the ground or low to it.
09:14Mosquitoes hunt low.
09:16They are not high flyers in still air.
09:19A bucket on a porch step works.
09:21A bucket beside a fence post works.
09:24A bucket up on the roof does not.
09:27And here is the clever last touch.
09:31Put the bucket inside a cardboard box
09:34with the lid partly open.
09:36Or set the box on its side over the bucket.
09:39This makes the trap even darker and more sheltered.
09:43Exactly the kind of cool, hidden, shaded spot
09:46a mosquito wants to land in.
09:49The catch rate goes up sharply
09:51when the bucket is inside a box.
09:53I have seen the same trap catch twice as many mosquitoes
09:57when it is inside a partly closed cardboard box
10:01compared to standing in the open.
10:04Now, how long does it work?
10:07And when do you refresh it?
10:09The yeast eats the sugar for about 30 to 36 hours,
10:13putting out the strongest carbon dioxide signal
10:16during that window.
10:17After that, the yeast has used up its food
10:21and the bucket is no longer attractive.
10:24You refresh the batch every two days.
10:28Pour the old water out,
10:29on a gravel patch or somewhere away from the garden,
10:33not in a place where mosquitoes can use
10:36the leftover yeast water to breed,
10:38and mix a fresh batch.
10:41Three dollars worth of yeast and sugar
10:43will run a trap all summer.
10:46And here is the honest yield.
10:49On a hot, humid, mosquito-heavy week,
10:53a single trap in the right spot
10:55can catch several hundred mosquitoes
10:57in a couple of days.
10:59And over the full summer,
11:01a well-placed trap can catch well over a thousand.
11:05On a dry, cool week,
11:08the catch is much smaller,
11:10sometimes only a handful.
11:12Mosquito numbers depend on the weather
11:14and the breeding sites near your home.
11:17The trap works when there are mosquitoes to catch.
11:22So when the title says 1,000,
11:24that is honestly possible across a season.
11:27And the trap is doing real work
11:30even on the slow weeks,
11:32because every mosquito that lands in your bucket
11:35is one that did not lay 200 eggs in your gutter.
11:40Before we go on to the larva trap,
11:42let me pause for a moment.
11:44The old ways only help
11:46if you actually use them.
11:48That is why we built
11:50our Amish home savings system and community,
11:53so you can work through the methods with us,
11:56ask questions,
11:57and stay consistent with other households
12:00doing the same work.
12:01The link is in the description.
12:04Now, let me show you the second trap,
12:07which is the one that does the long work
12:09while the yeast trap does the visible work.
12:13The second trap is the larva killer,
12:16and it is the partner to the yeast bucket.
12:19Here is the truth.
12:21You can catch 1,000 adult mosquitoes a week,
12:24and there will still be more,
12:26because every female mosquito that you miss
12:29lays 200 eggs in a teaspoon of standing water.
12:34The adults are the visible problem.
12:37The eggs are the real one.
12:39So while the yeast trap catches the adults
12:42coming for your breath,
12:44the larva trap kills the next generation in the water
12:47before they ever hatch.
12:50On this channel,
12:51I have shown you the BTI bucket before,
12:54that little tablet of bacteria
12:56you drop in standing water
12:58that is harmless to bees and birds and fish and people,
13:02but kills mosquito larvae as they hatch.
13:05If you have not built one yet,
13:07go watch that video next.
13:10That bucket is the foundation of mosquito control
13:13on any property.
13:15There is also another natural larva killer
13:18called spinosad,
13:20made from a soil bacterium just like BTI.
13:23It does the same kind of work.
13:26Kills mosquito larvae without harming the bees
13:30and the birds and the fish,
13:31and it is widely available at any garden center.
13:35You can use BTI or spinosad.
13:38Either one works.
13:40Both are EPA approved,
13:43both have been used by mosquito control programs
13:46for over 30 years,
13:47and both have very low toxicity
13:50to anything except mosquito larvae
13:52and their close insect cousins.
13:55The honest safety word.
13:58Both of these are gentle as far as pesticides go.
14:02BTI and spinosad are both rated
14:05among the safest larvicides ever made
14:07for use around homes, ponds, and gardens.
14:11That said, read the label.
14:14Apply only at the rates recommended.
14:16Keep the bottles out of reach of children.
14:19Do not pour the treated water
14:21into a drinking water source
14:22or a stream that feeds drinking water.
14:25Common sense.
14:26Same as you would handle bleach or laundry detergent.
14:30To set up the larva trap,
14:32take another bucket of water,
14:34about the same size as your yeast bucket,
14:36and add the BTI or the spinosad
14:39at the dose on the package.
14:41Place it in a shaded corner
14:43where the mosquitoes can find it.
14:45The female mosquitoes will want to lay their eggs there,
14:48standing water in a dark place
14:50is exactly what they want.
14:53They lay.
14:54The eggs hatch.
14:55The larvae die in the water
14:57before they ever become biting adults.
15:00Two buckets.
15:01One catches the adults.
15:03One kills the next generation.
15:05Together, they suppress the whole mosquito cycle
15:08on your property.
15:10Now I want to take a moment
15:11because this is where the bigger picture comes in
15:14and where the other simple habits matter.
15:17The yeast trap and the larva trap do their work,
15:20but no method works alone.
15:23Mosquitoes blow in from a quarter mile.
15:25The neighbor's yard breeds them.
15:28The creek down the road breeds them.
15:30So you also need the small habits
15:32that the careful old folks have always done.
15:36Eliminate standing water on your property.
15:38A teaspoon is enough for 200 eggs.
15:42Walk your yard once a week
15:43and pour out anything holding water.
15:46Bird baths refreshed every other day.
15:49Plant saucers emptied.
15:51Gutters cleaned.
15:52Tarps not pooling.
15:54Kitty pools dumped.
15:55Old tires hauled off.
15:57Bottle caps in the grass picked up.
15:59This one habit alone, done weekly,
16:02cuts mosquitoes more than any spray.
16:05Wear light colors in the evening.
16:08Mosquitoes hunt by sight, too,
16:10and they are drawn to dark colors
16:12against the lighter sky.
16:13A white shirt and light pants
16:16when you are sitting on the porch at dusk
16:18will get you bitten less
16:19than a black shirt every time.
16:22Encourage the natural mosquito hunters.
16:25Purple martins, swallows, bats.
16:27I have spoken about these on this channel before.
16:30A purple martin colony or a bat house
16:33puts a small army of insect hunters
16:35in the air over your yard every evening.
16:38They do not eliminate the mosquito problem on their own,
16:41but they help,
16:42and they cost almost nothing once the houses are up.
16:46The most important thing is consistent.
16:48A trap run for one week catches some mosquitoes.
16:52A trap run all summer, refreshed every two days,
16:56paired with a larva bucket and a weekly water-pouring habit,
16:59quietly suppresses your whole local mosquito population
17:03over the season.
17:04The yards that are mosquito-free in August
17:07are the ones whose owners started the work in May.
17:10Now look at what we have just walked through.
17:13Three dollars worth of yeast and sugar and dish soap.
17:17A dark bucket from the shed.
17:19A second bucket with a tablet of BTI.
17:22A weekly walk around the yard to pour out standing water.
17:26And the whole mosquito problem starts to come under control
17:29without a single can of poison sprayed on the lawn,
17:32without a propane-fueled trap,
17:35without an electric zapper that catches more moths than mosquitoes,
17:38without a $400 pest control contract.
17:42The truck pulls up at the neighbor's place.
17:44He has paid $400 for the season
17:47for them to spray his yard with the kind of chemical pesticide
17:50that kills every insect.
17:52The bees, the butterflies, the ladybugs,
17:56the dragonflies that eat mosquitoes for him.
17:58By August, his yard is dead.
18:01His honeybees are gone.
18:03His mosquito problem is back in three weeks
18:05because the next generation hatched somewhere he did not spray.
18:10There is no money in selling a man
18:12three dollars worth of yeast and sugar
18:14and a five-gallon bucket.
18:16There is a great deal of money
18:18in selling him a monthly chemical contract.
18:21So nobody runs a commercial for the yeast bucket,
18:23and a whole neighborhood comes to believe
18:26that the answer to mosquitoes must be the white truck.
18:29It is not.
18:31The answer is the small, clever thing,
18:33done weekly, done patiently,
18:36done with the natural curiosity that wonders
18:38what does this creature actually want.
18:41Once you understand that the mosquito wants
18:43carbon dioxide and standing water,
18:46the bucket builds itself.
18:48So here is what I want you to do.
18:50This week, mix one batch of the yeast trap
18:53and set it in a shaded corner of your yard,
18:56inside a cardboard box if you can.
18:59Refresh it every two days.
19:01Place a second bucket of water with a BTI tablet
19:04in another shaded corner.
19:07And every Saturday morning,
19:09walk your property for 10 minutes
19:11and pour out every container holding standing water.
19:15That is the whole protocol.
19:17Three dollars in materials,
19:1920 minutes of work a week.
19:21Do it for the rest of the summer
19:23and write down what you see by August.
19:26Tell me in the comments below,
19:28where do the mosquitoes get worst on your property?
19:31The porch in the evening?
19:33The back garden?
19:34Around the rain barrel?
19:36And once you have run the trap for a week,
19:39come back and tell me what you caught.
19:41The folks who run this trap year after year
19:44on the same property
19:45report mosquito populations
19:47that get smaller every summer,
19:49as the breeding cycle is broken bit by bit.
19:52I read every single one.
19:56Next time,
19:57since we have spoken of how to keep
19:59the small creatures out of where the family lives,
20:01I am going to show you the old way
20:03my people keep mice and rats
20:06out of the granary and the home.
20:08The simple traps,
20:09the doorway tricks,
20:11and the small habits that mean
20:13you never have a rodent problem
20:14in the first place.
20:16It is the natural next step after today.
20:19Until then,
20:21mix the yeast,
20:22place the bucket,
20:23and remember that the mosquito
20:24has been losing this game to clever people
20:27for as long as people have been clever.
20:29You are just the next one in the line
20:32who learned the trick.
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