It was one “skeeter” bite too many for Austin lawyer Blair Dancy. Dancy’s two young boys had walked in from backyard play covered in mosquito welts from the garden and patio areas. The sight of his bump-covered, itching boys was the last straw and the mother of invention.
A natural problem solver, he invented a new trap designed to stop the skin-penetrating tyrants before they take their maiden voyages.
Dancy used a vast network of contacts and Austin resources to develop and manufacture the Mosquito Swallow. His wife, Allison Dancy, an artist and senior marketing manager for Vignette Corp., also pooled her network of contacts to bring the new invention to market. The innovative, environmentally friendly contraption is designed to trap difficult-to-catch container breeders before they become adults.
Most mainstream solutions on the market only address adult mosquitoes, he says. So, he focused on reducing the number of eggs, larvae and pupae.
Dancy’s trap is designed to be an ideal breeding spot for the Asian tiger and other container- or tree-hole-breeders. When the eggs hatch, the larvae and pupae will not escape. The trap itself is small, unobtrusive and easy to manage.
The trap requires a little water each week and the addition of a few dead leaves occasionally, and homeowners must be cognizant of other breeding areas around the home. Dancy’s trap has a patent pending and sells online at MosquitoSwallow.com. It will be released in some Austin-area garden centers in the coming months. The Web site also offers helpful information for homeowners to minimize the mosquito swarms this summer.
Photo by Mosquito Swallow.
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