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This is interesting and looks like it was a fun project, but it looks a little complicated to be practical for me personally. I currently just put a screen ove
by LinuxBender 5y ago
This is interesting and looks like it was a fun project, but it looks a little complicated to be practical for me personally. I currently just put a screen over a large fan and open a bottle of carbonated water to attract them near the screen. The fan/screen can kill (starve) tens of thousands of them per day and their carcasses can be used in plant fertilizer. The downside of my method I suppose is that the fan will use more power than your laser by quite a bit.
[Edit] Apologies to the parent poster. I did not mean to derail the laser discussion.
- singularity2001 5y agoAlso hijacking the general mosquito control discussion: What's wrong with UV light traps? Got one from amazon and the soothing placebo? effect is great.
- llampx 5y agoUV doesn't attract mosquitoes
- singularity2001 5y agoOh, are German mosquitoes different or is it really just placebo? Thinking about it: If I leave the window open with the light on in summer there will be hundreds of mosquitoes in the room (together with ~50% other critters). Even if no one was inside. Window open without light: a dozen mosquitoes at max (as counted by suddenly switching the light on). Whatever is known about other species is not correct about our breed.
- hcknwscommenter 5y agoThat's not UV light
- singularity2001 5y agofair comment. the "UV" trap lights are not pure UV either though.
- llampx 5y agoInteresting thought. I wonder if its because of the swarm mind of mosquitoes "knows" that where there's artificial light, there are people. Or evolution has favored mosquitoes which get attracted to light at night.
- alpaca128 5y agoTried one. It increased my mosquito bites and killed 1-2 per week. Needless to say I wasn't using it for very long.
- GuB-42 5y agoGreat against insects that are attracted by UV light, like mayflies, but not mosquitoes. Some mayflies may look like mosquitoes, but they don't bite and are mostly harmless. It doesn't mean they are not annoying, especially when there are lots of them, and if that's a problem, UV light traps work great.
- ildaron_ron 5y agothis device can be used also for weed and insect)
- LinuxBender 5y agoHave you found a tractor company or robotics company to mount your laser and zap weeds? I've seen a few prototypes on youtube but I have no idea how popular they are yet. If not I hope you find one.
- ildaron_ron 5y agothis while the prototype is still needed. I've seen a few videos that do this - but the working conditions are too ideal there.
- dr_dshiv 5y agoJust a bottle behind a screen behind a fan? Or does it blow into the screen?
- LinuxBender 5y agoAbout 20 feet in front of it. The gasses get pulled into the fan along with the mosquitoes. It works without carbonated drinks too, just slower. And that only helps if there is a swarm of them i.e. near a standing body of water. In standing water you can also use "mosquito donuts" that release a bacterium which is toxic to all species of mosquito larvae. A common brand is called "Mosquito Dunks"
- dr_dshiv 5y agoThe screen is 20 feet in front of the fan?
- jschwartzi 5y agoPlease only do this in artificial bodies of water. There’s an entire food chain of insects and birds and fish which rely on the larvae and adults.
- LinuxBender 5y agoI've only ever done this in places with a high diversity of insects for birds and bats to eat.
- ars 5y agoCan you elaborate a bit on this? Does it work by the fan blowing them against a screen and they stay stuck on it?
- LinuxBender 5y agomattjaynes linked a video that explains this better than I did and looks like its a better way to do it.
- jdc 5y agoI think your method would be much better for the indoor use case, but the laser method could clear your whole backyard in theory!
- Natsu 5y agoInteresting method. I knew they were attracted to CO2, but I thought the CO2 had to be warmer & wetter to attract them for some reason.
- shagie 5y agoMosquitos use different mechanisms depending on the distance to their target. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/28/706838786/how-mosquitoes-sniff-out-human-sweat-to-find-us https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/28/7068387... At a distance, its CO2 (30 feet away). Closer in, its the sweat. Even closer to target, its body heat. The CO2 itself doesn't need to be warm or sweaty. Just when the mosquito is close to a target, it switches from the general vicinity (CO2) approach to one that will give it a better lock on.
- shagie 5y ago(since I can't edit my old post anymore) By chance, zefrank of "True Facts" just realized a video on "True Facts: The Mosquito". About 10:35 into it it's about the mosquitos that feed on humans... but its zefrank, you're going to watch it all and chuckle at the humor.
- Natsu 5y agoThanks for that.
- mattjaynes 5y agoMore details on this style of setup: https://youtu.be/6BhV-o77RqQ https://youtu.be/6BhV-o77RqQ
- LinuxBender 5y agoThat is really clever. I never thought to use an animal to attract the mosquitoes. Not sure what I think about spraying alcohol into the fan, at least my old fan. Maybe he's using 70%.
- ladberg 5y agoI the video he said 2 parts water to 1 part rubbing alcohol.
- gingerlime 5y agoI wonder how it compares with something like Thermacell ? (haven't used it, but heard good things)
- enra 5y agoI think Thermacell is ok to keep mosquitos away but it don't think it really kills them, at least in masses. You can't really have it running for 24/7 because the pad that contains the poison/repellent that it diffuses will run out in 4-12 hours. Also there are some comments on that the poison they use is really harmful for marine life, so you shouldn't use it near water. Also personally not sure I like to have poison diffuser next me all time.
- gingerlime 5y agoThank you. Yeah, I realize it has a different purpose, but I guess I'm more concerned about not getting bitten than about killing mosquitos en masse :) The point about harmful poison is very valid though. Definitely good to know and to avoid extended use. I'm less keen on buying it now, even though the protection from bites sounds promising.
- 5y ago
- pier25 5y agoHow long does the the bottle of carbonated water last? Do you just open it and leave it there?
- LinuxBender 5y agoA little more than an hour. Long enough to pull in a swarm. A 2 litter would last longer but I just get the flavored sparkling water. I open it just to the point I can begin to hear a sound.
- 101011 5y agoJust curious: do you notice a difference in the population over time, or is it one of those things that mostly just works while it's running?
- LinuxBender 5y agoIt could be my imagination but it seems like there are less of them overall. For sure when I use the disposable fly traps there are less flies overall. I can't stand seeing horses eyes covered in flies. If I were a horse that would drive me insane.
- Cthulhu_ 5y agoI think in addition - depending on where you live - controlling surface water would be a factor. Don't leave water to go stale in puddles or containers, and if you have something like a pond, either treat the water with something or get plenty of mosquito-egg-eating fish.
- pier25 5y agoWhat fishes eat the mosquito eggs?
- convolvatron 5y agoyou'd be hard pressed to find a fish that wouldn't like a tasty larvae
- heavyset_go 5y agoWhat kind of fan are you using? Would a box fan work?
- LinuxBender 5y ago24 inch drum fan. Box fans might work. The drum fans have higher air flow so I guess its up to the specs of the fan. Try it and see if they stick to the screen.
- heavyset_go 5y agoThanks
- 11thEarlOfMar 5y ago> their carcasses can be used in plant fertilizer Or fish food.
- throwaway894345 5y agoI wonder if you could just use something sticky, sort of like fly strips? Fertilizer becomes untenable, but perhaps you could put the energy savings toward a more efficient fertilizer approach?