Ozzi Mozzie Is a Scam: Don’t Be Fooled

Recently, I came across a product advertisement on Facebook called Ozzi Mozzie. The ad caught my attention because we’ve been dealing with a significant mosquito problem recently due to rain, and it seems like targeted advertising is quite effective.

On the surface, it seems like a great product. It starts off with the story of a farmer who allegedly woke up to find his young daughter’s eyes swollen shut and covered in bites from mosquitoes (17 bites, to be exact). He was inspired to find a solution to ensure it never happened again. Plausible, so I kept on watching.

Then, something triggered my B.S. radar. The marketing claimed that this farmer discovered a narrow band of UV light that attracts mosquitoes more effectively than most bug zappers. The value-add is that it also catches the mosquitoes it kills.

While I’m not a scientist, I have owned bug zappers and know they don’t attract mosquitoes. Sometimes, you get lucky, and some die, but these zappers usually kill moths and beetles. Mosquitoes are primarily drawn to warmth, carbon dioxide, and heat.

Ozzi Mozzie seems to have superior knowledge than experts and has reportedly discovered a miraculous solution that no one else has. Their marketing website, which interestingly hosts a seemingly non-biased advertorial (on a subdomain of the Ozzi Mozzie website), strives to convince you that this solution will solve your mosquito problem.

Then, there are the logos claiming where the product has been featured. Google yourself; Ozzi Mozzie has not been featured on Better Homes and Gardens or any of the other aforementioned media outlets.

While Ozzi Mozzie likes to make you believe some concerned Aussie farmer wanted to prevent his daughter from getting bitten by mosquitoes, the product appears to be some drop-shipped bug zapper from Asia. When you buy it, you’ll notice it doesn’t ship from Australia, and you’ll be charged some kind of international fee. If this is an Australian product, why does it come from outside Australia? It makes no sense. I wonder if Dave, the Aussie farmer used in the marketing material, even exists.

Mosquitoes possess antennae with receptors sensitive to carbon dioxide, the primary gas exhaled by humans and other animals. This allows them to detect potential hosts from a distance, sometimes up to 50 meters away.

Mosquitoes can sense heat emitted by their hosts, which helps them locate them even in low-light conditions. This explains why they often target exposed areas like the face, neck, and arms.

Mosquitoes are attracted to moist environments as they need water to survive and lay eggs. Additionally, sweat and other bodily fluids contain lactic acid and other chemicals that further entice them.

And there are studies on all this.

Carbon Dioxide:

1. “The role of carbon dioxide in the host-seeking behavior of Aedes albopictus Skuse (Diptera: Culicidae)” by H.J. Park et al. (2013) in Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology.
2. “The olfactory responses of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae to human-derived volatiles” by M.R. de Jong et al. (2014) in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
3. “Carbon dioxide plume tracking behavior of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes using microfluidics” by B.R. Farrell et al. (2019) in BMC Biology.

Heat:

1. “The relative attractiveness of different skin temperatures to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes” by R.T. Novak et al. (2013) in Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association.
2. “The role of heat in the host-seeking behavior of Anopheles albimanus” by C.C. Murdock et al. (2015) in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
3. “Mosquitoes track human body heat using a novel sensory organ” by I.N. Papanikolaou et al. (2018) in Nature

Moisture:

1. “The effect of humidity on the host-seeking behavior of Culex pipiens mosquitoes” by A.P. Van Den Berg et al. (2012) in Physiological Entomology.
2. “Water vapor detection in mosquitoes: the role of the maxillary palp” by J.G.C. Hamilton et al. (2014) in Current Biology.
3. “The role of humidity in the survival and oviposition of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes” by T.W. Scott et al. (2017) in Journal of Medical Entomology.

A large number of mosquitoes around your house indicates a nearby breeding source that needs attention. Mosquitoes require stagnant water to lay their eggs; even small amounts can suffice. This is why you may observe more mosquitoes if you live near water or if there has been significant rainfall.

In open water areas such as lakes, canals, beach fronts, swamps, and creeks, councils often conduct area-based spraying to kill mosquitoes. This method doesn’t eliminate all mosquitoes, but it significantly reduces their population.

While many of us wish for a miraculous product to eliminate mosquitoes, unfortunately, it doesn’t exist. The only effective solutions are sprays, some of which may contain chemicals you prefer to avoid. These chemicals can be found in repellents and sprays designed for gardens and home perimeters.

A mosquito problem is indicative of there being one or more breeding sources nearby:

1. Open containers: Look for any containers that hold water, such as buckets, tires, planters, toys, clogged gutters, or pet bowls. Empty and clean them regularly to prevent them from becoming mosquito breeding grounds.
2. Bird baths: Change the water in bird baths at least once a week and scrub the surfaces to remove mosquito eggs.
3. Roof gutters: Ensure your gutters are clean and free of any debris that can trap water.
4. Tree holes and stumps: Fill any holes or depressions in trees and stumps with sand or concrete to prevent them from holding water.
5. Swimming pools: Keep your pool properly chlorinated and filtered to prevent mosquito larvae from developing.
6. Ponds and other bodies of water: If you have a pond or other water feature, use mosquito dunks or larvicides to control mosquito larvae.

The bottom line is that Ozzi Mozzie is no better than a bug zapper from Bunnings. It’s, in fact, worse. Because it’s a lot more expensive. The marketing material is deceiving, and the product isn’t some proprietary technology. If a way to kill mosquitoes using a specific frequency of light existed, where are the competing products from larger companies?

But don’t just take my word for it. How about these glowing reviews from the Ozzi Mozzie website?

But wait, there’s more.

Still not convinced, dear customer? How about some more glowing reviews to convince you?

Yikes! I’m surprised they even allow these negative reviews on their website. Unless they’ve forgotten to remove them or haven’t gotten around to it yet.

But the negative reviews don’t stop there. The reviews on Product Review are even worse. Out of 192 reviews, it has a rating of two stars. Better than expected, but still not a glowing endorsement of an alleged miracle product.

And when you try to get a refund (which you inevitably will), they will try to offer you 30% back to save “the hassle” of sending it back and getting a refund. If you refuse, they will accuse you of breaking the product and denying the refund.

If you have a mosquito problem, even if this zapper did work, you’re addressing the symptom, not the problem. You can keep killing them, but they’ll keep coming if they’re breeding in still water somewhere in your yard. Please don’t fall for the hype, the fake sob stories and misrepresenting what attracts mosquitoes.