To Catch a Mosquito

The article actually mentions using traps:

> [NYC's Medical Entomology Laboratory] has also acquired new mosquito-hunting swag: the laundry-hamper thing was one of a hundred BG-Sentinels (two hundred dollars each), mosquito traps designed to target both albopictus and aegypti.

> The new trap is cylindrical and shiny, with sides made of black fabric and a white plastic top. If you were a mosquito, you might find it good-looking—especially compared with regular mosquito traps, which resemble buckets. This is intentional. According to Shah, albopictus prefers “attractive visual cues.”

> Regular traps release small amounts of carbon dioxide, to mimic humans breathing. The albopictus lure is more sophisticated: it releases a bouquet of substances commonly found on human skin, like ammonia and lactic acid, which are present in sweat and breath. The mosquitoes come to feast, and get sucked in. Shah unscrewed the trap’s bluish-white lure and took a whiff. It smelled like a hot subway car during rush hour. “Whoa,” he said. “It gets me every time.”

The problem with consumer traps is that they're rather expensive (~$200) and don't catch all the mosquitos. Also, I wouldn't put it past nature and evolution to quickly make a trap obsolete.

I did some reading time ago about the matter, and from what I remember, it's more that some people have strong reactions to most mosquito bites, some only to a few, and some almost never. People who don't have a reaction won't notice they got bitten at all.

i hardly ever get bit but i know people who are bitten all the time. i'm sure there is something here, unless i am getting bitten and don't have a physical reaction.