Add Trying To Kill Mosquitoes?
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<br>Every night, a mass assassin stalks the darkness of America’s suburbs. An eerie blue glow lures hapless victims from their properties. The doomed souls, mesmerized by the light, throng to their deaths in scorching blasts of electricity. I’m talking about the bug zapper. Many individuals use the gadget to rid themselves of mosquitoes and other pests. "Kill flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and wasps," touts Black and Decker. Flowtron will help eradicate flying pests over up to "2 acres" for just $315. Another advertises itself as an "eco-friendly" solution to "instantly kill" mosquitoes. The problem? None of these claims are true, Zap Zone Defender scientists say. In actual fact, bug zappers make it extra likely you’ll be bitten by mosquitoes whereas sitting in your backyard. "When it involves 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 - simply not the ones that bite you. Among the many hundreds of insects these devices electrocute each night time, almost all are harmless.<br>
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<br>One study estimated even a fraction of the bug zappers bought within the United States kill greater than 70 billion insects annually - with no discernible impact on mosquitoes or different biting insects. This pointless slaughter of local insect populations could also be hastening the decline of species, the insect apocalypse. I talked to specialists about why bug zappers are a very unhealthy idea to do away with mosquitoes - and what works as a substitute. Bug zappers purport to work by attracting mosquitoes, sometimes using a lightbulb that emits ultraviolet mild, or sometimes carbon dioxide or [Zap Zone Defender System](https://rentry.co/46777-zap-zone-defender-the-ultimate-bug-zapper-for-2025) chemical bait. Yet research present nearly no mosquitoes or other biting insects ever enter a zapper. In 1997, the University of Florida’s medical entomological laboratory tallied the death toll from one bug zapper over a single night time: 10,000 insects. Just eight have been mosquitoes. Similar research mirrored these findings. Around the same time, researchers on the University of Delaware used a bug zapper to lure 13,789 insects over a summer.<br>
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<br>Only 31 - 0.22 p.c - had been biting insects comparable to mosquitoes and gnats. What did it kill? Beneficial bugs, largely. Roughly half the victims - 6,670 insects - were harmless aquatic species from nearby rivers and streams, [Zap Zone Defender System](http://121.43.141.210:3000/alexistracey2/2093427/wiki/Everything+About+Best+Bug+Zapper) fish food within the aquatic meals chain. Many of the others were parasitic wasps and beetles that naturally prey on mosquitoes. Mosquitoes aren't fooled by zappers because, [Zap Zone Defender System](https://myhomemypleasure.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=User:DustyKillinger2) together with other bloodsucking insects, they have advanced to residence in on animals’ exhaled carbon dioxide, not ultraviolet light, scientists say. Even when mosquitoes are drawn in by a bug zapper, they will instantly redirect their attention to their favorite foods: warmblooded mammals, particularly people. And [Zap Zone Defender](https://rentry.co/40898-case-study-zap-zone-defender---the-best-bug-zapper-of-2025) Colorado State University’s extension service has reached the same conclusion: "No controlled scientific examine has proven that these devices scale back mosquito biting rates outdoors," it states on its website. None responded with materials supporting their claims after a number of inquiries.<br>
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<br>Black and Decker referred all inquiries to a contract manufacturer, which also did not reply. These claims not only mislead patrons by ignoring scientific proof, but they might create a false sense of safety for people who use these gadgets to guard in opposition to mosquito-borne diseases in the United States, Fordyce mentioned. "If one wish to keep away from being bit, a repellent is the answer," he says. "Even if zappers labored … The FTC, while not commenting on the companies’ marketing statements, famous that it had investigated misleading statements and security issues prior to now issuing warning letters and filing instances against manufacturers of different kinds of pest management, equivalent to ultrasonic gadgets. FTC officials beneficial the public submit any complaints by their web site. What does repel mosquitoes? Bug zappers are just one in every of many suspect products promising to eliminate biting insects: ultrasonic devices, propane-fired CO2 traps, and pesticide misters are amongst these that don't work, or do more hurt than good, in line with Texas A&M.<br>
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