Trying To Kill Mosquitoes
Every night time, a mass murderer stalks the darkness of America’s suburbs. An eerie blue glow lures hapless victims from their houses. The doomed souls, mesmerized by the sunshine, throng to their deaths in sizzling blasts of electricity. I’m speaking about the bug zapper. Many people use the machine to rid themselves of mosquitoes and other pests. "Kill flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and wasps," touts Black and Decker. Flowtron will help get rid of flying pests over up to "2 acres" for just $315. Another advertises itself as an "eco-friendly" technique to "instantly kill" mosquitoes. The issue? None of these claims are true, scientists say. In actual fact, bug zappers make it more likely you’ll be bitten by mosquitoes while sitting in your backyard. "When it comes to mosquitoes, bug zappers don’t work," says James Fordyce, an entomologist on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Bug zappers are exceptional killers of bugs - just not those that chunk you. Among the many 1000's of insects these units electrocute each evening, nearly all are harmless.
One study estimated even a fraction of the bug zappers sold within the United States kill more than 70 billion insects yearly - with no discernible impact on mosquitoes or other biting insects. This pointless slaughter of native insect populations could also be hastening the decline of species, the insect apocalypse. I talked to consultants about why bug zappers are a very dangerous concept to eliminate mosquitoes - and what works as a substitute. Bug zappers purport to work by attracting mosquitoes, sometimes using a lightbulb that emits ultraviolet light, or generally carbon dioxide or chemical bait. Yet studies show just about no mosquitoes or different biting insects ever enter a zapper. In 1997, the University of Florida’s medical entomological laboratory tallied the demise toll from one bug zapper over a single evening: 10,000 insects. Just eight were mosquitoes. Similar research reflected these findings. Around the same time, researchers on the University of Delaware used a bug zapper to entice 13,789 insects over a summer pest solution.
Only 31 - 0.22 percent - had been biting insects corresponding to mosquitoes and gnats. What did it kill? Beneficial bugs, mostly. Roughly half the victims - 6,670 insects - had been harmless aquatic species from nearby rivers and streams, fish food in the aquatic food chain. Most of the others had been parasitic wasps and beetles that naturally prey on mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are usually not fooled by zappers because, together with different bloodsucking insects, they have developed to home in on animals’ exhaled carbon dioxide, not ultraviolet light, scientists say. Even when mosquitoes are drawn in by a bug zapper, they'll instantly redirect their attention to their favourite foods: warmblooded mammals, especially humans. And Colorado State University’s extension service has reached the identical conclusion: "No controlled scientific research has shown that these units scale back mosquito biting charges outdoors," it states on its web site. None responded with materials supporting their claims after a number of inquiries.
Black and Decker referred all inquiries to a contract manufacturer, which also didn't reply. These claims not solely mislead patrons by ignoring scientific evidence, however they might create a false sense of safety for summer pest solution people who use these gadgets to protect against mosquito-borne diseases in the United States, Fordyce mentioned. "If one wish to avoid being bit, a repellent is the solution," he says. "Even if zappers labored … The FTC, while not commenting on the companies’ marketing statements, noted that it had investigated deceptive statements and safety points up to now issuing warning letters and filing instances in opposition to manufacturers of different sorts of pest control, resembling ultrasonic units. FTC officials advisable the public submit any complaints by their webpage. What does repel mosquitoes? Bug zappers are simply one among many suspect merchandise promising to eliminate biting insects: ultrasonic gadgets, propane-fired CO2 traps, and pesticide misters are amongst these that do not work, or do more hurt than good, according to Texas A&M.