I've had the Mosquito Magnet (Liberty Plus model) for about 7 weeks now. I've gone through 2 propane tanks, 2 Octenol cartridges, and am on my second catch net. I've also used up 2 Quick Clear cartridges as well. The reduction in biting insects has been significant. In the week before we got the Mosquito Magnet, I was getting 4-5 bites every night I went out in the yard. The week after we got it, I was down to 1 or 2 bites per night. Within the first couple of weeks, I was not getting any bites.

All is good except that I had a weird problem this week. I got the red/yellow flashing light meaning that my device needed some changing. I changed the propane tank. Didn't work. I did the Quick Clear. Twice. Didn't work. I changed the net. Nothing. When I hit the On button, the fan didn't make any noise. Finally, I decided to try recharging it, even though the manual said that one charge would last all season. I charged it all night and all day. Flipped the switch and the fan started up. I'm putting it back out in the yard tonight.

The bad news is that in the 4 or 5 days I've had the unit turned off, the mosquitos have come back. That goes to show how well it guards us normally. In a wetland area like where we live, it is impossible to completely crash the population. The Liberty Plus covers a 1 acre area. The wetland is a 20 acre wetland. But the carbon dioxide plume and Octenol creates a kind of barrier. The mosquitos from the wetland find the machine before they find us. All in all, a good investment.

My wife and I recently moved into our first home. Our house, located in the Pulte Homes’ Carrington Reserve development, is situated on a lot which is adjacent to a protected wetland. The Jelkes Creek wetland is one of only three wetlands of its type in the world and is a unique ecosystem to live next to. The wildlife is remarkably abundant – I typically see one or two deer every day and numerous species of bird. The only downside to living here is that mosquitos are equally abundant.

Aside from the usual annoyances associated with mosquitos, this year the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is reporting signifcantly widespread incidents of West Nile Virus, including here in Illinois. I certainly don’t want to expose my family and friends to this risk when they visit our home so I started looking into ways to prevent infection. Unfortunately, the CDC’s best advice is to apply DEET-based insect repellent to exposed skin when outside. I don’t like DEET because it also carries a risk of cancer. The next best advice they have is to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. That doesn’t sound like much fun in the 80+ degree summer heat we get here. Finally, the CDC suggests “mosquito-proofing” your home by eliminating areas of standing water. That sounds great, but what if you live next to a wetland? The EPA somewhat frowns on citizens tramping into their protected wetlands to disturb the standing water, not to mention that standing water is what composes a wetland. So what’s a guy to do?

I’ve been aware of the Mosquito Magnet product for some time and figured it might be time to give it a test run. I didn’t like last year’s models too much because they required a long cord to be plugged into an outdoor electrical outlet. Some of this year’s models are cordless and, therefore, meet with my approval. The Mosquito Magnet has been used by the U.S. Coast Guard to eliminate mosquitos in tropical areas where mosquito bites can cause malaria in addition to West Nile. Within four to six weeks of placing the Mosquito Magnet, the mosquito population of your yard is supposed to crash and no more risk of mosquito bites.

I bought the Liberty Plus model of Mosquito Magnet for US $695 plus shipping. The Liberty Plus provides 1 acre of coverage and is cordless. The cordless part is very interesting. Electricity is required for a little motorized fan inside the unit. The Liberty Plus comes with a rechargeable battery pack. When you put the Mosquito Magnet together, you charge the battery pack for 24 hours. The 24 hour charge powers the unit “all summer” according to the packaging and needs to be recharged only at the beginning of the season. The Mosquito Magnet also requires a propane tank and Octenol attractant cartridges. Both the propane tank and the attractant are replaced every 21 days. The Mosquito Magnet also requires a small net to collect the mosquitos and which is replaced when full.

The Mosquito Magnet is a unique device. The propane in the tank is processed to yield a plume of carbon dioxide. The CO2 is emitted through a small cone at the front of the machine. In the cone is the attractant holder. The CO2 mixes with the attractant and the plume is charged with both CO2 and the attractant – Octenol – which both work to attract mosquitos. When the mosquitos find the plume, they follow it back to the Mosquito Magnet. When the mosquitos fly around the plume cone, they are caught in an upward air flow, a suction almost, that pulls them into the net where they become trapped and die of dehydration within 24 hours.

Well, it's our last night in Buffalo Grove. In 7 hours and 30 minutes we do a final walkthrough in our new house and then head over to the title company to close on the house.

We've had most things packed up for a week or two now but there are still some key items to get ready for moving. In particular, the computer I am typing this on needs to be powered down, disconnected from the network, and packed up for transport. It will be one of the first things into our new house. Comcast is due around lunchtime to hook up our cable TV and cable modem.

So the next time you hear from me, it will be from West Dundee, Illinois!

Randy and I have been spending all of our time lifting weights and have yet to get out to the golf course this year. Now that the weather is consistently warm and we are switching over to more triathlon training, it's time to go outside and swing the clubs.

Ahu and I are in the process of moving to West Dundee, Illinois and so we need to find a new "home" course to play on. After driving around a bit this weekend, we've found a great course, and only 2 minutes from our new home. Randall Oaks Golf Club is a beautiful course and reasonably priced for residents of West Dundee. It's an 18-hole course which has recently gone through a renovation which made the course longer and a little tougher. It was originally laid out in 1965 so the trees on the course are large and old and very tall. Most of them are oak trees.

For easy practice nights, they have a separate 3-hole short course which is only $3 per person for 3 holes, $5 per person for 6 holes, and $6 per person for a three round loop. Do you get home at 7:00 in the evening and still want to play a bit before dark? This is the course for you. A great warmup for a weekend round and just enough golf to assuage the golf addiction in the evening. I think this will be perfect for Ahu and I on quiet, warm summer evenings. $10 for both of us for 6 holes. Excellent!

As apartment dwellers we have never really invested much into our furniture. We have a futon, an inexpensive dining room set, some IKEA bookcases and desks, and the bedroom set I had as a kid growing up. Now that we are finally moving into our first house, we decided to buy our first, real item of furniture.

I've seen the ads and flyers that come in the mail about "Full Living Room Sets from $899!!!" and all that but I'm not really one to go out and speedily fill my house with cheap furniture just to have a full house. Ahu and I are going about this one room at a time, one piece at a time. The room we look forward to using the most with friends and family is the family room. We have a really nice fireplace and we're anticipating lots of great conversations around the fire. But we need a place for them to sit. Hence, the first piece we are buying is a sofa.

Normally we shop around for awhile but I saw this sofa at the Vernon Hills Thomasville store and knew instantly that sofa was meant for us. We did shop around for a good price but still ended up getting it at the Thomasville store (Schaumburg location, though). We chose the Benjamin Sectional in Double Fudge leather. It's 10 feet long on each side - long enough for one person to lie down on each side without touching. It fits perfectly in the family room.

The only downside is that it takes 4-6 weeks for delivery. That seems crazy to me considering that our house only took about 12 weeks to frame and finish. We'll be anxiously awaiting its arrival.

We stopped by the house this morning and finally got to see our hardwood flooring and tile with no protective coverings! All the cabinetry is done, including the trim, and the appliances have been installed and positioned properly. The house is essentially finished and is only awaiting a few final touches.

Today was one of the best days we've had in the new home buying experience. We weren't expecting it but our carpet and appliances were essentially done. All of the carpet was laid down this last week and it looks fantastic! We were really concerned about the color, thinking it might be too dark for our white walls but it turned out fine. Our appliances, including microwave, dishwasher, stove, refrigerator, and the washer and dryer were all delivered and all but the stove were in place and ready to go. On top of that, the cabinets were finished this week and the island and its countertop were installed and completed. Outside, the shutters were put up and the gravel foundation for the driveway was set. I imagine that the asphalt will be put down this week. I noticed a bulldozer ready to start evening out the back yard so maybe we will be getting our sod soon. Everyone else is getting theirs so ours can't be far away. In general, everything looks great and really only needs that final cleaning to be done and ready for move in. As of this writing, we have 3 weeks and 5 days until closing...not that anyone is counting or anything. ;-)

We stopped by in the morning of Ahu's birthday, April 17th, to take our weekly pictures. The weather was awesome and the sun was shining bright. We got to wear shorts for the first time. Externally, nothing was changed on the house except for the addition of our air conditioner. Internally, there were a lot of changes and improvements. The walls got another coat of paint. The hardwood floors were started and the kitchen, butler pantry, and powder room were actually finished - only the foyer remained. A number of rooms were finished - minus carpeting - and doors were hung. The sinks, faucets, and toilets were largely installed. The oak railings on the stairs and family room overlook were installed. The speakers in the ceilings were installed also. Finally, our 75-gallon water heater was installed!

Another great day at Pulte's Carrington Reserve development. Our house continues to look better and better. When we stopped out today, we found that some of our personal touches have begun to arrive. The ceramic tile that we opted for in the master bathroom and the guest bedroom was completely installed and looks great! The tile we chose to go into the laundry room also looks very cool. Our bathroom vanities were installed. The cabinets and countertops have begun to be installed in the kitchen. I'm hoping that the kitchen island will be there next week. The wood trim around the baseboards and everywhere else has been installed. The brickwork around the fireplace is done. And, after all this time, the lighting in our home finally works! All of the fixtures have been installed and the electricity was turned on! Yay! Our closing date is now set for May 21st. Can't wait!!!

Ahu is back from Turkey and we drove out to see the house right away. The outside of the house is almost completely finished except for a few touches here and there. The brickwork looks very good. The sidewalks, partial driveway, and our mailbox are in. I took the pictures today with our new video camera - a Canon Optura 300 - which takes 2 megapixel images as well as digital video. The interior of the house looks great. The drywall is all done and it looks like a first layer of paint went on recently. Our ceramic tile for the utility room and bedrooms has been delivered and is supposed to go on this next week. Our carpet and hardwood flooring appear to be close behind. The house is beginning to take on a finished look and we are very excited to be moving in soon.