The Mosla mosquito trap was invented by a man who only completed the 8th grade.

Báo Tuổi Trẻ•18/10/2024

It wasn't until the Mosla mosquito trap device was granted a patent that people started calling Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi an inventor. He had previously appeared on Shark Tank season 2 with a solar thermal drying project, and he had only completed the 8th grade.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi with his invented Mosla mosquito trap - Photo: CONG TRIEU

The Mosla mosquito trap is not simply a product for his start-up, but also stems from his deep-seated desire to find a way to eradicate dengue fever.

'Green' mosquito trap product

Mr. Khoi owns a large mechanical workshop in Cu Chi District (Ho Chi Minh City). As the name suggests, at sixty years old, Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi still cuts and shapes steel as nimbly as the younger workers in the workshop. "I was obsessed with reading newspapers and listening to the radio; everywhere I heard news about dengue fever, the number of dengue cases in Ho Chi Minh City was increasing, and even Singapore, a clean and green nation, was experiencing a dengue outbreak," Mr. Khoi explained about the creation of Mosla. In fact, he began researching mosquito traps in 2016. While the market already offered mosquito coils, sprays, electric rackets, and more modern methods like genetically modified mosquito breeding, dengue fever was still breaking out in many places both domestically and internationally . It seemed that existing methods were not optimal. Without electricity or chemicals, what could be done to kill mosquitoes? This question troubled him constantly. The inventor, who only studied up to the 8th grade, read books and newspapers to learn about the habits and reproduction of mosquitoes. Understanding the characteristics and life cycle of mosquitoes was when he came up with the idea for the device. The mosquito trap is designed in a round, hollow shape, forming a water jar with a lid. The lid has small openings which Mr. Khoẻ likens to "bait" to lure mother mosquitoes to lay their eggs.

With Mosla, there's no dengue fever – that's the declaration and mission behind the product and the company's creation.

Inventor NGUYEN VAN KHOE

All of them are made from plastic, possibly recycled plastic from plastic waste, which consumes no electricity and produces no smoke that could affect users. Mr. Khoẻ confidently introduces the Mosla mosquito trap as the only "green" mosquito control product currently on the market! "Given the natural conditions and weather in our country, I thought there was no way to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Thinking simply, I made it like a jar of water placed in a dark corner to 'lure' mother mosquitoes in to lay eggs, and even if the larvae hatch into mosquitoes, they can't escape and die after a few days," Mr. Khoẻ explained.

The Mosla mosquito trap was invented by a man who only completed the 8th grade.

The Mosla mosquito trap "lures" mother mosquitoes to lay eggs; the eggs hatch into larvae and then into mosquitoes, but they cannot escape - Photo: CONG TRIEU

The Mosla mosquito trap will cease its mission once dengue fever is over.

This man, who had only completed the 8th grade, faced numerous obstacles in his research project. His design skills and understanding of plastic materials were virtually nonexistent, leading to a long and arduous initial period. His first prototypes were flawed in many ways: the openings on the lid were either too small to allow mosquitoes in or too large to let baby mosquitoes escape. The height, width, and minimum water level also required constant recalculation. By the end of November 2017, after about a dozen revisions over two years, Mr. Khoẻ was finally satisfied with a complete design for his mosquito trap. Long-term experiments showed a very high success rate for mosquitoes nesting and laying eggs. With further refinement, the percentage of larvae that developed into adult mosquitoes and escaped back into the environment was estimated at only 1%. Only then did Mr. Khoẻ submit his product and presentation to apply for a patent for the Mosla mosquito trap. However, the application review process was very lengthy, and he himself admitted that at times, preoccupied with making a living, he even forgot that he had invented the Mosla mosquito trap.

Mr. Khoẻ previously submitted his Mosla mosquito trap to and won third prize in the 2024 Dong Nai Province Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. He calculated that each Mosla mosquito trap would sell for around 100,000 VND, but its usability is almost permanent. Unless excessive force is applied, the product will continue to fulfill its purpose and maintain its usability indefinitely.

It took more than five years from the time the application was submitted for the patent for the Mosla mosquito trap to be recognized and delivered to inventor Nguyen Van Khoi. He confided that it was at that moment that he yearned to bring the Mosla mosquito trap to market, continuing his initial mission of "with Mosla, no dengue fever" when he began his research. Although it is not yet on the market, the inventor hopes for the moment when dengue fever will be eradicated and mosquitoes will be prevented. "Actually, being able to announce the closure of the business and stop producing Mosla mosquito traps is a source of happiness because I have fulfilled my mission," Mr. Khoi smiled.

The Mosla mosquito trap was invented by a man who only completed the 8th grade.