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those electrocuting insect killers

Z

zimu

Diamond Member
for optimum effect, should it be placed low, on the ground, or hung off of something higher up?
 
Usually 4 - 6 feet above the ground, for convenience to you - not the bug, bug's don't care if it's on the ground or 15 feet up,
and away from where you want to be . . they ATTRACT bugs, so attract them to a place AWAY from where you are going to be.
 
Those things are nasty. A study was done which shows that those things throw identifiable (ie whole heads, legs, etc) parts in all directions for about 30 feet. Just what you want when you sit down for a picnic...
 
The good thing about them is that they have many uses:

Place it on the ground to attract and kill walking insects.

Place it high off the ground to attract and kill flying insects.

Replace the UV light with a can of soda to attract and stun neighborhood children

Replace the UV light with a dildo to attract and stun lesbians.

With the zapper properly mounted, pull up a couple of lawnchairs and a cooler full of Budweiser and you have an evening of entertainment.
 

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1996/6-14-1996/bugzapper.html
Insect electrocuter light traps, also known "bug zappers" have been extensively marketed for the past several years with claims they can provide relief from the annoyance of biting mosquitoes and other pests in your back yard. Their effectiveness has been widely doubted and a few studies have shown they are very poor at killing mosquito females (the sex that bites).

Now comes another study indicating black light traps are not only useless for mosquito, they are potentially harmful to the environment (and not just to the sensitive ears of neighbors trying to sleep next door). Results of a survey of insects caught in an electrocuter black light trap in Newark, Delaware indicate that nearly all of the insects caught are either harmless or beneficial. Pests, and especially biting pests, do not end up in the traps.

According to an article by Timothy Frick and Douglas Tallamy of the University of Delaware published in Entomological News [107(2): 77-82] only 31 insects out of 13,789 trapped and counted (0.22%) in a suburban setting over the course of an entire summer were biting flies. "Biting flies" includes both female mosquitoes and biting gnats.

The largest number of insects (6,670 = 48.4%) were harmless, nonbiting aquatic insects from nearby rivers and streams. These insects, of course, are a vital part of the aquatic food chain and are valuable "fish food." Another important group unfortunately caught in the traps were predators and parasites, that is, biological control organisms such as ground beetles and parasitic wasps that help keep insect pest populations naturally low. Predators and parasites accounted for 13.5% of the insects caught (1,868).

So how good are bug zappers? This study would indicate they are worst than worthless because of the large number of harmless and beneficial insects they kill. Extrapolations calculated by the authors indicate that 4 million bug zappers (4 years worth of approximated sales in the U.S.) operating for 40 nights each summer, would destroy in excess of 71 billion nontarget insects each year. And the number of mosquitoes would still be the same as before. It is clear you should save your money!

This article originally appeared in the June 14, 1996 issue, p. 97.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by: dullard
Those things are nasty. A study was done which shows that those things throw identifiable (ie whole heads, legs, etc) parts in all directions for about 30 feet. Just what you want when you sit down for a picnic...
Click to expand...
interesting - how does electrocution cause dismemberment ?
 
Originally posted by: rh71
Originally posted by: dullard
Those things are nasty. A study was done which shows that those things throw identifiable (ie whole heads, legs, etc) parts in all directions for about 30 feet. Just what you want when you sit down for a picnic...
Click to expand...
interesting - how does electrocution cause dismemberment ?
Click to expand...


It heats them up until they pop.
 
I'd like to take this time to induct an insect into the bug zapper Hall of Fame.

I was watching a bug zapper once and this giant cicada landed on the screen. It was instantly zapped and it flew away... for about 2 feet at which point it turned around for some more. It repeatedly banged into the screen, sparks flying, yet it would not give up. Lesser bugs were killed by mere brushes with the screen, but not this bug. It took balls of steel to do what it did. It absorbed the shocks like a champ. Finally it landed on the screen and held on. You could see the outline of the insect surrounded by pure electricity. Its will to reach that UV light was unstoppable. It must have held on for about 20 seconds until it succumbed to the lethal electricity.

Even though the zapper was clearly not designed to take on an insect that big, this bug pushed the limit and fulfilled its destiny of being killed by a bug zapper.

I never learned its name but the memory will last forever- Giant Cicada, this bud's for you :beer:
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I'd like to take this time to induct an insect into the bug zapper Hall of Fame.

I was watching a bug zapper once and this giant cicada landed on the screen. It was instantly zapped and it flew away... for about 2 feet at which point it turned around for some more. It repeatedly banged into the screen, sparks flying, yet it would not give up. Lesser bugs were killed by mere brushes with the screen, but not this bug. It took balls of steel to do what it did. It absorbed the shocks like a champ. Finally it landed on the screen and held on. You could see the outline of the insect surrounded by pure electricity. Its will to reach that UV light was unstoppable. It must have held on for about 20 seconds until it succumbed to the lethal electricity.

Even though the zapper was clearly not designed to take on an insect that big, this bug pushed the limit and fulfilled its destiny of being killed by a bug zapper.

I never learned its name but the memory will last forever- Giant Cicada, this bud's for you :beer:
Click to expand...

:laugh:
 
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1996/6-14-1996/bugzapper.html
Insect electrocuter light traps, also known "bug zappers" have been extensively marketed for the past several years with claims they can provide relief from the annoyance of biting mosquitoes and other pests in your back yard. Their effectiveness has been widely doubted and a few studies have shown they are very poor at killing mosquito females (the sex that bites).

Now comes another study indicating black light traps are not only useless for mosquito, they are potentially harmful to the environment (and not just to the sensitive ears of neighbors trying to sleep next door). Results of a survey of insects caught in an electrocuter black light trap in Newark, Delaware indicate that nearly all of the insects caught are either harmless or beneficial. Pests, and especially biting pests, do not end up in the traps.

According to an article by Timothy Frick and Douglas Tallamy of the University of Delaware published in Entomological News [107(2): 77-82] only 31 insects out of 13,789 trapped and counted (0.22%) in a suburban setting over the course of an entire summer were biting flies. "Biting flies" includes both female mosquitoes and biting gnats.

The largest number of insects (6,670 = 48.4%) were harmless, nonbiting aquatic insects from nearby rivers and streams. These insects, of course, are a vital part of the aquatic food chain and are valuable "fish food." Another important group unfortunately caught in the traps were predators and parasites, that is, biological control organisms such as ground beetles and parasitic wasps that help keep insect pest populations naturally low. Predators and parasites accounted for 13.5% of the insects caught (1,868).

So how good are bug zappers? This study would indicate they are worst than worthless because of the large number of harmless and beneficial insects they kill. Extrapolations calculated by the authors indicate that 4 million bug zappers (4 years worth of approximated sales in the U.S.) operating for 40 nights each summer, would destroy in excess of 71 billion nontarget insects each year. And the number of mosquitoes would still be the same as before. It is clear you should save your money!

This article originally appeared in the June 14, 1996 issue, p. 97.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

So get the ones that inject poison in the air or release propane?
 
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1996/6-14-1996/bugzapper.html
Insect electrocuter light traps, also known "bug zappers" have been extensively marketed for the past several years with claims they can provide relief from the annoyance of biting mosquitoes and other pests in your back yard. Their effectiveness has been widely doubted and a few studies have shown they are very poor at killing mosquito females (the sex that bites).

Now comes another study indicating black light traps are not only useless for mosquito, they are potentially harmful to the environment (and not just to the sensitive ears of neighbors trying to sleep next door). Results of a survey of insects caught in an electrocuter black light trap in Newark, Delaware indicate that nearly all of the insects caught are either harmless or beneficial. Pests, and especially biting pests, do not end up in the traps.

According to an article by Timothy Frick and Douglas Tallamy of the University of Delaware published in Entomological News [107(2): 77-82] only 31 insects out of 13,789 trapped and counted (0.22%) in a suburban setting over the course of an entire summer were biting flies. "Biting flies" includes both female mosquitoes and biting gnats.

The largest number of insects (6,670 = 48.4%) were harmless, nonbiting aquatic insects from nearby rivers and streams. These insects, of course, are a vital part of the aquatic food chain and are valuable "fish food." Another important group unfortunately caught in the traps were predators and parasites, that is, biological control organisms such as ground beetles and parasitic wasps that help keep insect pest populations naturally low. Predators and parasites accounted for 13.5% of the insects caught (1,868).

So how good are bug zappers? This study would indicate they are worst than worthless because of the large number of harmless and beneficial insects they kill. Extrapolations calculated by the authors indicate that 4 million bug zappers (4 years worth of approximated sales in the U.S.) operating for 40 nights each summer, would destroy in excess of 71 billion nontarget insects each year. And the number of mosquitoes would still be the same as before. It is clear you should save your money!

This article originally appeared in the June 14, 1996 issue, p. 97.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

So get the ones that inject poison in the air or release propane?
Click to expand...

No, spend the money on "I Support the Troops" magnets for your minivan instead.
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I'd like to take this time to induct an insect into the bug zapper Hall of Fame.

I was watching a bug zapper once and this giant cicada landed on the screen. It was instantly zapped and it flew away... for about 2 feet at which point it turned around for some more. It repeatedly banged into the screen, sparks flying, yet it would not give up. Lesser bugs were killed by mere brushes with the screen, but not this bug. It took balls of steel to do what it did. It absorbed the shocks like a champ. Finally it landed on the screen and held on. You could see the outline of the insect surrounded by pure electricity. Its will to reach that UV light was unstoppable. It must have held on for about 20 seconds until it succumbed to the lethal electricity.

Even though the zapper was clearly not designed to take on an insect that big, this bug pushed the limit and fulfilled its destiny of being killed by a bug zapper.

I never learned its name but the memory will last forever- Giant Cicada, this bud's for you :beer:
Click to expand...

:camera:?
 
Bug zappers will make a problem worse because they attract more insects to the area than they kill. I read that they are only useful in confined areas like barns (but then you get into the danger that they will cause a fire and burn your barn down.)

The only real use for bug zappers is the entertainment they supply to drooling mouthbreathers.
 
You do realize that when bugs get zapped and pop, an invisible vapor cloud of bug guts is created for you to either breathe or land on your food.
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I'd like to take this time to induct an insect into the bug zapper Hall of Fame.

I was watching a bug zapper once and this giant cicada landed on the screen. It was instantly zapped and it flew away... for about 2 feet at which point it turned around for some more. It repeatedly banged into the screen, sparks flying, yet it would not give up. Lesser bugs were killed by mere brushes with the screen, but not this bug. It took balls of steel to do what it did. It absorbed the shocks like a champ. Finally it landed on the screen and held on. You could see the outline of the insect surrounded by pure electricity. Its will to reach that UV light was unstoppable. It must have held on for about 20 seconds until it succumbed to the lethal electricity.

Even though the zapper was clearly not designed to take on an insect that big, this bug pushed the limit and fulfilled its destiny of being killed by a bug zapper.

I never learned its name but the memory will last forever- Giant Cicada, this bud's for you :beer:
Click to expand...


The funniest story posted since pete the parrot.
 
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