Do Bug Zappers Work? Q. I believed I learn someplace that bug zappers don’t actually work. My neighbor’s zapper is driving me loopy with that ZZZZT noise all night. I’d like to show him proof that each one he’s doing is annoying his neighbor. A. Yes, there is some scientific knowledge on the usefulness of bug zappers, but first we need to differentiate between the bug zappers that homeowners use of their yards to (hopefully) kill mosquitoes, and the business insect zapper light traps that pest management professionals use principally in eating places, meals plants, and warehouses. These costly commercial traps are used mainly to kill home flies they usually do work. The comparatively cheap yard buy bug zapper zappers kill plenty of flying insects, just not mosquitoes. Bug zappers use ultraviolet light to draw mosquitoes to a metal grid where they're electrocuted or "zapped." People that own these traps swear by them. They point to the piles of useless insects that they empty out of the trap each morning. And those insects do look like mosquitoes. But mostly they're midges, harmless fliers that do not bite and are thought of helpful. Bug zappers truly attract and kill only a few mosquitoes. Instead, the ultraviolet light attracts hordes of insects into the yard that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Yard zappers have never fared very properly in analysis checks. One study found that 89% of the zapped insects had been midges
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Do Bug Zappers Work?
Antje Nowell edited this page 3 weeks ago