The Best Mosquito Traps of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

There's nothing worse than being chased off your own deck by biting pests. Whether you're entertaining or relaxing, mosquitos can be a real barrier to enjoying the outdoors. Mosquito traps, including the best bug zapper lights, are a great non-toxic way to rid your outdoor and indoor space of bugs. Instead of slathering yourself in smelly bug spray or monitoring the open flame of a candle, simply let one of the best mosquito traps or bug zapper lights do the work for you.

How I Chose the Best Mosquito Traps

To select the best mosquito traps for testing I first thought of instances when bugs are the most annoying: inside your tent, in your house, ruining a sunset. Then I selected traps designed for those scenarios to determine which are best for different use cases. I used the inside traps near my trashcan and fruit bowl for maximum effectiveness, leaving them on overnight. While camping, I used the lantern with a bug zapper light bulb to exterminate bugs inside my tent. The outdoor models took residence on my porch. I evaluated each for their convenience and efficiency. The bug corpses surrounding or captured in each model and the lack of bugs, or at least bug bites, served as proof of their effectiveness.

Best Mosquito Traps: Reviews & Recommendations

If, like me, you keep your windows open in good weather, bugs can swarm your fruit bowl, trash can, and inside lights. The best indoor mosquito traps let you enjoy the breeze without the bites. Consistently using outdoor traps can significantly reduce the nearby mosquito population after six weeks of constant or nighttime use by breaking the breeding cycle. Find the best mosquito traps for your house, yard, and campsite below.

READ MORE: How to choose the best bug zapper light in the market

Best for Tents: Stansport Lantern Bug Zapper

This portable lantern doubles as an insect trap, making it perfect for camping trips. No batteries necessary, this light bulb bug zapper is rechargeable and lasts for 20 hours on the lowest light setting, which is plenty bright to get ready for bed inside your tent. The UV light that attracts and then zaps bugs lasts up to 15 hours and is itself a nice nightlight or ambient light. The zapping is silent and contained by a safety grid so you can't accidentally hurt yourself. The soft cover over the light bulb bug zapper also means it's shatter resistant and won't hurt much if you bonk your head on it.

The light can sit upright or hang from a collapsible plastic loop or thin hanging attachment that folds into the same loop. You can place this on a table or a short way from your tent to draw bugs away while relaxing at your campsite, but the best use in my opinion is inside your tent. You don’t want to attract bugs to your tent, allowing them all inside when you unzip the door. But once you climb into your tent simply turn on the bug zapper to draw in all of the bugs who’ve already snuck inside so you don’t get bitten in your sleep. Once the stray bugs stuck in your tent are all gone, turn it off and head to bed worry-free. Because of the waterproof rating, cleaning is easy. Just run it under water to rinse off dead bugs.

Best Plug-In: Zevo

It doesn’t matter how fast I shut the door behind me, mosquitoes and flies make their way into my home. I could chase them around with a swatter or I can be smart and use the Zevo mosquito trap. It just plugs into the wall and soaks up all the annoying flying bugs in the area. It only took a week for mine to become full of mosquitoes, fruit flies, and house flies.

I was surprised by how many bugs it caught because I didn’t see any flying around all week. Given that, I’d say it’s highly effective. If you’re looking for a bug trap for your house that doesn’t require batteries or charging and is completely odorless, the Zevo is a great option.

Best Indoor: Katchy Indoor Insect Trap

The Katchy indoor trap is aesthetically pleasing, quiet, and effective. Simply turn off all the lights at night allowing the Katchy UV light to be the only light in the room so all of the bugs are drawn into the trap. Once they get close to the light, a fan sucks them into the device where a slim paper glue trap captures and kills the pests. It takes a few days or up to a week to notice a real difference but it works best when placed next to a fruit bowl or garbage can.

After just two days my trap already contained a number of insects. Simply press a lever and lift the unit off its base to reveal the glue trap compartment and easily replace it with a fresh board. There is also a low power setting for a dimmer light and slower fan. If you’re looking for an indoor insect trap to keep bugs from taking over your home, this one is an excellent choice. I only wish the fan was a little stronger to suck insects in faster and from a greater distance.

Best Indoor for Gnats: DynaTrap Indoor Insect Trap

The DynaTrap indoor trap works very similarly to the Katchy, however it also includes an added lure besides the UV light: CO2. The UV light reacts with a Ti02 coating to produce CO2 while the fan turns it into a trail resembling human breath leading to the glue board. This extra attraction and the ultra-fine mesh basket surrounding the glue board makes this trap especially good for capturing gnats. The insects are trapped in the device regardless if they become caught in the glue trap immediately.

I opened the base to check the glue board and a gnat took its opportunity to escape proving that the fine mesh keeps the bugs inside. The holes on the Katchy trap are slightly larger, so there is a small chance of escape if the bug isn’t captured in the glue. This device is smaller than the Katchy and just as quiet. So if you have a gnat problem, this indoor insect trap works great.

Best Outdoor: PIC Solar Insect Killer Torch

This torch comes with three poles, two connectors, and a ground stake to configure your torch into 48-, 36-, or 24-inch tall poles that stake into your landscaping. Or you can place the torch directly into a tabletop base that is 11 inches tall. However, you can’t put the extending poles into the tabletop base so if you have a deck or porch without the ability to stake into the ground, the tabletop is your only option. PIC’s Solar Insect Killer Torch zaps pests and a removable catch tray allows you to dispose of the dead bugs without touching them.

Conveniently, this device requires almost no attention if placed in direct sunlight. It is weatherproof, so you can leave it wherever you place it even in the rain. The torch will charge and automatically turn on in the dark thanks to a “dusk until dawn” sensor. Though the battery only lasts 6 hours, not the entire night, so the sensor has a misleading name. The flickering flame and purple UV light are very aesthetically pleasing. While the lack of cords is convenient, it would be nice to have a backup charging capability instead of relying solely on the sun.

Final Thoughts on the Best Mosquito Traps

Mosquito traps are a safe and easy way to ensure your indoor or outdoor space is bug free this summer. To exterminate sneaky mosquitos stuck in your tent, try the Stansport Camping Lantern. For maintenance-free and aesthetically pleasing bug zapping on your porch or in your lawn, opt for the Solar Insect Killer Torch.