5 ms·

Way better than a bug zapper! Those are commercially available, somewhat popular, indiscriminate killers of any small species that crosses the relevant boundary

Way better than a bug zapper! Those are commercially available, somewhat popular, indiscriminate killers of any small species that crosses the relevant boundary, and hazardous to humans -- they typically explode the insects, releasing parasites and pathogens that manage to stay alive.

echelon 4y ago
> they typically explode the insects, releasing parasites and pathogens that manage to stay alive. This seems dubious to me. I can't imagine it would aerosolize, and even droplets would need to be close to a human to infect them. Is there a citation for this?
- Mountain_Skies 4y ago
  There seems to have been only one study, which is what is cited by everyone. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 The study only looked at houseflies and as long as you're two meters away from the zapper, the danger is very low. You probably don't want the zapper on your patio but if it's in a part of the yard where people aren't close by, it's probably ok.
  - Jeff_Brown 4y ago
    Wirecutter[0] cites at least two others, from Kansas State University[1] and the University of Delaware[2]. They have so many hyperlinks in the article that I don't want to check if any go to other studies. Certainly a lot of the links are to statements by professors and organizations rather than papers. But this passage seemed at least noteworthy: """We found similar statements from the Harvard Medical School (“Don’t buy a bug zapper”), Iowa State University (“Bug Zappers are Harmful, not Helpful”), the Texas Tech University Infant Risk Center (“Don’t use bug zappers”), and the US Department of Agriculture (PDF) """ [0] https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/do-bug-zappers-work/ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/do-bug-zappers-work/ [1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 [2] https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddiversityofnontarget1925/densityanddiversityofnontarget1925_djvu.txt https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddivers...
- robbrown451 4y ago
  My thought exactly. Far more dangerous is to allow them to inject it into your veins rather than fling it through the air.
  - Jeff_Brown 4y ago
    If, as the U of Delaware study found, only 0.22 percent (not 22%) of what's killed are mosquitoes, it had better be at least 1 / 0.0022 = 454 times worse. [0] https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddiversityofnontarget1925/densityanddiversityofnontarget1925_djvu.txt https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddivers...

echelon 4y ago

> they typically explode the insects, releasing parasites and pathogens that manage to stay alive. This seems dubious to me. I can't imagine it would aerosolize, and even droplets would need to be close to a human to infect them. Is there a citation for this?

Mountain_Skies 4y ago
There seems to have been only one study, which is what is cited by everyone. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 The study only looked at houseflies and as long as you're two meters away from the zapper, the danger is very low. You probably don't want the zapper on your patio but if it's in a part of the yard where people aren't close by, it's probably ok.
- Jeff_Brown 4y ago
  Wirecutter[0] cites at least two others, from Kansas State University[1] and the University of Delaware[2]. They have so many hyperlinks in the article that I don't want to check if any go to other studies. Certainly a lot of the links are to statements by professors and organizations rather than papers. But this passage seemed at least noteworthy: """We found similar statements from the Harvard Medical School (“Don’t buy a bug zapper”), Iowa State University (“Bug Zappers are Harmful, not Helpful”), the Texas Tech University Infant Risk Center (“Don’t use bug zappers”), and the US Department of Agriculture (PDF) """ [0] https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/do-bug-zappers-work/ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/do-bug-zappers-work/ [1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s002840010132 [2] https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddiversityofnontarget1925/densityanddiversityofnontarget1925_djvu.txt https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddivers...
robbrown451 4y ago
My thought exactly. Far more dangerous is to allow them to inject it into your veins rather than fling it through the air.
- Jeff_Brown 4y ago
  If, as the U of Delaware study found, only 0.22 percent (not 22%) of what's killed are mosquitoes, it had better be at least 1 / 0.0022 = 454 times worse. [0] https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddiversityofnontarget1925/densityanddiversityofnontarget1925_djvu.txt https://archive.org/stream/cbarchive_110397_densityanddivers...